Has Mass General ever taken a DO for IM?

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Tozanzibarbymotorcar

Tozanzibarbymotorcar

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I ran into a DO who said he did his residency at MG but it could have been a different specialty..
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They haven’t, but there are DOs in other specialties who probably rotate through the medicine teams. I wouldn’t be surprised if a DO matches MGH (IM) in the relatively near future.
 
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An example to the above would be PM&R spaulding's residents who do a few rotations at MGH. This program has taken DOs and has one currently, but they are not MGH trained exactly...
 
IsWhat said:
I mean, technically no competitive residency ‘needs’ to look beyond MDs. There are plenty of them to choose from. UW Ortho can basically choose whoever they want, and a DO just matched there.
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That's true, but UW isn't as elitist as Brigham/MGH and takes far more from lower tier schools. All great students nonetheless, but odds were a lot higher there just due to the culture of the institution. UW is actually the most prestigious IM program I've seen a DO match as well.
 
Tozanzibarbymotorcar said:
I ran into a DO who said he did his residency at MG but it could have been a different specialty..
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MGH is ridiculously difficult to get into for US MDs who don't go to Top 20 schools. I don't see DOs matching into MGH anytime soon. If a DO somehow matches into MGH, it's likely due to insane connections with Harvard bigwigs on top of having insanely high Step scores, all honors in clinical years and very productive research (think dozens of publications and presentations).

IsWhat said:
They haven’t, but there are DOs in other specialties who probably rotate through the medicine teams. I wouldn’t be surprised if a DO matches MGH (IM) in the relatively near future.
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I would definitely be surprised if a DO matches into MGH since they basically accomplished a virtually impossible task.​
 
Dwan said:
That's true, but UW isn't as elitist as Brigham/MGH and takes far more from lower tier schools. All great students nonetheless, but odds were a lot higher there just due to the culture of the institution. UW is actually the most prestigious IM program I've seen a DO match as well.
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I would consider matching a surgical subspecialty at UW is at least as competitive as MGH IM - probably more so TBH. I’m not saying it’s likely, just that it wouldn’t surprise me to see a DO match there at this point.
 
Lawper said:
MGH is ridiculously difficult to get into for US MDs who don't go to Top 20 schools. I don't see DOs matching into MGH anytime soon. If a DO somehow matches into MGH, it's likely due to insane connections with Harvard bigwigs on top of having insanely high Step scores, all honors in clinical years and very productive research (think dozens of publications and presentations).
There are 2 D.O. Anesthesia residents at MGH right now... One is from Lake Erie and the other is from AZCOM.... so the impossible happen twice!!!


I would definitely be surprised if a DO matches into MGH since they basically accomplished a virtually impossible task..​
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IsWhat said:
I would consider matching a surgical subspecialty at UW is at least as competitive as MGH IM - probably more so TBH. I’m not saying it’s likely, just that it wouldn’t surprise me to see a DO match there at this point.
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I'm not talking about step scores or research/grades/etc. Like I said, I'm sure the students at UW are very qualified. However, BWH/MGH just have an elitist culture and will not take many qualified applicants due to pedigree (even MDs). Compare the school lists with the ones from UW orthopedics: Meet the Residents. The majority here come from normal schools.
 
WesternU had one person match Dermatology at Case Western this year....So the lightening struck again......
 
drfeelgood said:
There are currently 2 DO anesthesia residents at Mass General Hospital...aka Man’s Greatest Hospital... One is from Lake Erie and the other is from AZCOM. So it’s possible.....
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drfeelgood said:
WesternU had one person match Dermatology at Case Western this year....So the lightening struck again......
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I wish we knew what their residency applications were like. I'm curious whether the standard theory of having strong Step scores + all honors in clinical years + very productive research + strong connections still applies. Or whether something else happened.
 
drfeelgood said:
I know of DOs matching anesthesia at UCSF and Gen Surg at UCSD.... any guaranteed spots there?????
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A categorical gsurg match at UCSD probably isn't true, but show me and I'd be interested. Anesthesia is no longer competitive among MDs (below avg students at my normal school are interviewing at top 10 programs, while top students are not getting MGH IM). But anyways, that's completely irrelevant to my points above, if you actually read what I wrote...
 
Dwan said:
A categorical gsurg match at UCSD probably isn't true, but show me and I'd be interested. Anesthesia is no longer competitive among MDs (below avg students at my normal school are interviewing at top 10 programs, while top students are not getting MGH IM). But anyways, that's completely irrelevant to my points above, if you actually read what I wrote...
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Scott Elner,DO a surgeon in Connecticut. My friend was in his class.... He took care of a lot of the Sandy Hook shooting victims who survived.... He did 5 years at UCSD.....
 
drfeelgood said:
Scott Elner,DO a surgeon in Connecticut. My friend was in his class.... He took care of a lot of the Sandy Hook shooting victims who survived.... He did 5 years at UCSD.....
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Thanks, that's a great match and even more impressive CV. My point was regarding the elitist culture within some of the top IM residencies though, not that there has never been qualified DOs.
 
There are great matches every year. Who cares if a DO has ever matched to MGH, there are several that have matched to strong academic programs in more difficult specialties. There are plenty of DO residents in strong academic IM programs... it’s the surgical specialties that are few and far in between. Nonetheless, there are those special few that get in and it’s becoming more common each year

There’s a ortho resident at Mayo, Gen surge at Cleveland clinic, neurosurgery at UC Irvine, pathology at UCSF. It happens. Hopefully we’ll see much more of these matches in the near future.
 
Dwan said:
I'm not talking about step scores or research/grades/etc. Like I said, I'm sure the students at UW are very qualified. However, BWH/MGH just have an elitist culture and will not take many qualified applicants due to pedigree (even MDs). Compare the school lists with the ones from UW orthopedics: Meet the Residents. The majority here come from normal schools.
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Yeah I got that. Basically, I’m more surprised a DO matched plastics and Ortho at UW than I will be if/when a DO matches at MGH IM - regardless of their elitist nature. Matching at a top 10 program in a surgical subspecialty is just simply more impressive to me - especially given the extra hurdles DOs must jump to be competitive in surgery.
 
drfeelgood said:
There are currently 2 DO anesthesia residents at Mass General Hospital...aka Man’s Greatest Hospital... One is from Lake Erie and the other is from AZCOM. So it’s possible.....
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Before med school I worked with a 2 FMG from China who both went to Mass Gen (anesthesia) then fellowship at UCSF (pain).
 
drfeelgood said:
There are currently 2 DO anesthesia residents at Mass General Hospital...aka Man’s Greatest Hospital... One is from Lake Erie and the other is from AZCOM. So it’s possible.....
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Were not saying its not impossible, we are saying is there any proof of a DO matching into IM previously? Emphasis on previously. We have no idea.

And the number will be 4 soon, if you include the two from AZCOM and NYIT who are currently in there intern year (yes AZCOM matched twice to MGH anesthesia).
 
Nothing is impossible. PCOM matched someone into Upenn for Integrated Plastics, which in my mind should be harder to do than IM at MGH. The problem isn't even the competitiveness of the applicants, it's the reluctance of the PD's to give them a chance due to pedigree/egos. And honestly at the end of the day it's the medical students' faults. We all know one of the ways we rank how competitive a residency is by how many USMD's are in their programs, per specialty, THEN we rank them based on what tier of medical schools they went to. For residency programs to keep recruiting the best (I.E. having ppl from top 20 schools keep applying to their programs), they have to show exclusivity by picking ppl from top schools only. (Yes, even if they have lower scores, less research, aren't as competitive, etc.)

It's a game ppl, it's a game.

It's kind of like going for a famous actor/actress. If you're not extremely rich, good looking, and famous, they don't even want to consider you. No true love here ;P.
 
neurorads1558 said:
There are great matches every year. Who cares if a DO has ever matched to MGH, there are several that have matched to strong academic programs in more difficult specialties. There are plenty of DO residents in strong academic IM programs... it’s the surgical specialties that are few and far in between. Nonetheless, there are those special few that get in and it’s becoming more common each year

There’s a ortho resident at Mayo, Gen surge at Cleveland clinic, neurosurgery at UC Irvine, pathology at UCSF. It happens. Hopefully we’ll see much more of these matches in the near future.
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To this list add PM&R NYU, Psych-UCSF and Gas-WashU in past years (not one of my kids, but we've done as well in different places).
 
*barges in*
I actually saw two PMR matches at Hopkins from either LECOM or UNECOM recently. Not sure if PMR is a top program at John Hopkin's hospital but it looks like it.
 
JamesPotterMS-3 said:
I don't know about IM but I've met a [relatively young] DO surgery attending that did a fellowship at MGH.
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Many of the surgical fellowships are not competitive. Similarly some IM subspecialties are exceptionally non-compeittive. For both of these, people from no-name programs can match to big name programs. Really depends on what fellowship as to whether it is competitive.
 
MADD!!! said:
Nothing is impossible. PCOM matched someone into Upenn for Integrated Plastics, which in my mind should be harder to do than IM at MGH.
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He had connections to the program through the PD himself due to an extensive research fellowship, if the rumors are true.


As for MGH IM: Anything is possible with the right connections. But I can tell you personally that the culture at Harvard teaching hospitals like MGH and MEEI when it comes to brand name and pedigree is at the very upper end of "extreme", and probably beyond anything you will see anywhere else in the country. A few people in one particular program told me that, barring notable connections in the field, their department will always rank an average/mediocre applicant from a top 10 school over a graduate with top scores from a low tier MD school. They had never even heard of a DO application getting looked at. As a DO, unless you have ridiculous connections at the IM program at MGH, I am certain that no one is going to look at your application.
 
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sab3156 said:
He had connections to the program through the PD himself due to an extensive research fellowship, if the rumors are true.

Anything is possible with the right connections. But I can tell you personally that the culture at Harvard teaching hospitals like MGH and MEEI when it comes to brand name and pedigree is at the very upper end of "extreme", and probably beyond anything you will see anywhere else in the country. A few people in one program told me that, barring notable connections in the field, their department will always rank an average/mediocre applicant from a top 10 school over a graduate with top scores from a low tier MD school. They had never even heard of a DO application getting looked at. As a DO, unless you have ridiculous connections at the IM program at MGH, I am certain that no one is going to look at your application.
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You would certainly be wrong, as there is a a girl in our DO class who interviewed there this year. Once again, spewing knowledge you think you have but actually don’t. Spare us.
 
jrlob91 said:
You would certainly be wrong, as there is a a girl in our DO class who interviewed there this year. Once again, spewing knowledge you think you have but actually don’t. Spare us.
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Be clear - did she interview at MGH IM?

And if so, that's fine, but I'm sure she had some very special connections going for her. I am telling you what I know from several department PDs and residents. I don't think you know much until you actually work in research there, get to know people, and speak to them. Spare us the incomplete anecdotes without any real information.
 
JamesPotterMS-3 said:
I don't know about IM but I've met a [relatively young] DO surgery attending that did a fellowship at MGH.
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Even MEEI Ophthalmology just took a couple of DOs this past year into Glaucoma (from Cornell) and Med Retina (I think from Bronx Lebanon) fellowships. The residency program is an entirely different story, though.
 
sab3156 said:
He had connections to the program through the PD himself due to an extensive research fellowship, if the rumors are true.

Anything is possible with the right connections. But I can tell you personally that the culture at Harvard teaching hospitals like MGH and MEEI when it comes to brand name and pedigree is at the very upper end of "extreme", and probably beyond anything you will see anywhere else in the country. A few people in one program told me that, barring notable connections in the field, their department will always rank an average/mediocre applicant from a top 10 school over a graduate with top scores from a low tier MD school. They had never even heard of a DO application getting looked at. As a DO, unless you have ridiculous connections at the IM program at MGH, I am certain that no one is going to look at your application.
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Loll did you read my entire post? I basically said the same thing.
 
MADD!!! said:
Loll did you read my entire post? I basically said the same thing.
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I didn't disagree with you. Just calling attention to the fact that there were some obvious connections at play for the integrated plastics at UPenn, and the rest of the post wasn't really directed towards you in particular. I understand that is unclear, so I will change it.
 
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sab3156 said:
Be clear - did she interview at MGH IM?

And if so, that's fine, but I'm sure she had some very special connections going for her. I am telling you what I know from several department PDs and residents. I don't think you know much until you actually work in research there, get to know people, and speak to them. Spare us the incomplete anecdotes without any real information.
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You haven’t even been through the interview process, so you “talking to Department PDs and residents “ means even less than my “incomplete anecdote.” She had no connections, got an interview based on merit and application alone. That may be hard for you to comprehend since you like to **** on DOs every chance you get, but your anecdotal evidence from talking to PDs when you aren’t even close to interviewing means much less than my proven example. I mean come on, no one is saying everyone will get an interview at MGH, but don’t discount someone else’s experience because you can’t wrap your brain around the fact that you are wrong about this and most other things you post on here.
 
jrlob91 said:
You haven’t even been through the interview process, so you “talking to Department PDs and residents “ means even less than my “incomplete anecdote.” She had no connections, got an interview based on merit and application alone. That may be hard for you to comprehend since you like to **** on DOs every chance you get, but your anecdotal evidence from talking to PDs when you aren’t even close to interviewing means much less than my proven example. I mean come on, no one is saying everyone will get an interview at MGH, but don’t discount someone else’s experience because you can’t wrap your brain around the fact that you are wrong about this and most other things you post on here.
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You didn't answer my question. Was this interview at MGH IM? If so, you probably don't know anything about this person's background story, so it makes it difficult to take the anecdotes at face value. And yes, department PDs must give different stories to different people depending on what year they are in. Seems legit.
 
mwsapphire said:
*barges in*
I actually saw two PMR matches at Hopkins from either LECOM or UNECOM recently. Not sure if PMR is a top program at John Hopkin's hospital but it looks like it.
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The residents on the PM&R forums in the past haven't put Hopkin's as a top program. However, it is still a really good match. PM&R has DOs at almost every single program. The heavy hitters such as Baylor, Mayo, Harvard, UW, Kessler, and of course RIC all have DOs.
 
jrlob91 said:
You haven’t even been through the interview process, so you “talking to Department PDs and residents “ means even less than my “incomplete anecdote.” She had no connections, got an interview based on merit and application alone. That may be hard for you to comprehend since you like to **** on DOs every chance you get, but your anecdotal evidence from talking to PDs when you aren’t even close to interviewing means much less than my proven example. I mean come on, no one is saying everyone will get an interview at MGH, but don’t discount someone else’s experience because you can’t wrap your brain around the fact that you are wrong about this and most other things you post on here.
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It's not proven though. I know there's not really any way FOR you to prove it, but you're asking us to just accept it as true that not only did she get an interview at a place that has never ever sniffed the DO bucket before but that she did it without even knowing anyone at the institution? Did she do an away rotation there? Did she do an away rotation at another super prestigious place and get a letter of rec from somebody who's a somebody? You can understand why people might have a bit of skepticism.
 
jrlob91 said:
You haven’t even been through the interview process, so you “talking to Department PDs and residents “ means even less than my “incomplete anecdote.” She had no connections, got an interview based on merit and application alone. That may be hard for you to comprehend since you like to **** on DOs every chance you get, but your anecdotal evidence from talking to PDs when you aren’t even close to interviewing means much less than my proven example. I mean come on, no one is saying everyone will get an interview at MGH, but don’t discount someone else’s experience because you can’t wrap your brain around the fact that you are wrong about this and most other things you post on here.
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There are years of data on very outstanding DO applicants in the IM match results threads (260+ Steps, top 5% of class, publications, and all honors) who would easily make a top 10 IM program if they were an MD (with good odds of interviewing at BID/Brigham/MGH), and they do not get interviews anywhere near that level (not even at BID, the easiest of the 3 Harvards). It's understandable why someone would be skeptical of this claim. The bias is real and any DO at that level who has been through the cycle can tell you about it.
 
Dwan said:
The bias is real and any DO at that level who has been through the cycle can tell you about it.
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I mean, they won't listen to them. Even when PDs and current residents who are involved in resident selection at programs are cited, they dismiss them and start with the ad hominem attacks. I think the level of insecurity has made this type of discussion a very emotional one for a lot of people.
 
sab3156 said:
I didn't disagree with you. Just calling attention to the fact that there were some obvious connections at play for the integrated plastics at UPenn, and the rest of the post wasn't really directed towards you in particular. I understand that is unclear, so I will change it.
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Yes I agree. From the rumor mills I heard that the PD, after knowing the applicant so well, literally told him "We'd love to take you but we just don't take DO's." I'm going to ask one of my Deans here to see if She knew some more details about it.
 
Dwan said:
There are years of data on very outstanding DO applicants in the IM match results threads (260+ Steps, top 5% of class, publications, and all honors) who would easily make a top 10 IM program if they were an MD (with good odds of interviewing at BID/Brigham/MGH), and they do not get interviews anywhere near that level (not even at BID, the easiest of the 3 Harvards). It's understandable why someone would be skeptical of this claim. The bias is real and any DO at that level who has been through the cycle can tell you about it.
Click to expand...

sab3156 said:
I mean, they won't listen to them. Even when PDs and current residents who are involved in resident selection at programs are cited, they dismiss them and start with the ad hominem attacks. I think the level of insecurity has made this type of discussion a very emotional one for a lot of people.
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MADD!!! said:
Yes I agree. From the rumor mills I heard that the PD, after knowing the applicant so well, literally told him "We'd love to take you but we just don't take DO's." I'm going to ask one of my Deans here to see if She knew some more details about it.
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You know what's sad though?
How prestige is so important in literally the hardest career path in the USA.
I mean, from the perspective of pre meds, it really adds the feeling like you'll never be good enough?
Medicine is a career where its so hard just to get your foot in the door, then stuff like this almost makes you feel less accomplished that you even made it to med school ( MD/DO) in the first place.
IDK I hate to be whiney it just depresses me, especially combined with the SDN mentality.
 
acapnial said:
It's not proven though. I know there's not really any way FOR you to prove it, but you're asking us to just accept it as true that not only did she get an interview at a place that has never ever sniffed the DO bucket before but that she did it without even knowing anyone at the institution? Did she do an away rotation there? Did she do an away rotation at another super prestigious place and get a letter of rec from somebody who's a somebody? You can understand why people might have a bit of skepticism.
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The most interesting thing for me is that this person actually did not even answer my repeatedly asked question about whether this interview was even at MGH IM, and not anesthesia or PMR. Instead, this person lashed out emotionally, likely due to their own insecurities regarding this subject.
 
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