Has USNews always ranked DO school against MD?

[drdrtoledo]

I was just checking out the rankings at <a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/bcmed.htm" target="_blank">http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/bcmed.htm</a>
I was suprised to find osteopathic schools in the mix with allopathic. I don't think I have ever seen that before. There are 3 DO schools ranked higher in family medicine than UCSF,Brown,& UPenn. Damn... Osteopathic Medicine is getting it's weight up.

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[Amra]

There have been wonderful debates on the validity and criteria of those reports here on the forums.

Personally, I think it's all about perspective and match lists... then again, I could be wrong....

 

[Pilot]

The 2002 rankings are the first time that D.O. schools have been included in the rankings. I would like to point out that three Osteopathic schools (Michigan State, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State - my school) also ranked ahead of Baylor and Yale in the training of primary care physician.

 

[Boomer]

Originally posted by Pilot:
•The 2002 rankings are the first time that D.O. schools have been included in the rankings. I would like to point out that three Osteopathic schools (Michigan State, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State - my school) also ranked ahead of Baylor and Yale in the training of primary care physician. •••

No. DO schools have been listed in the primary care rankings since before I applied (1999).

 

[jimjones]

What is the criteria used in the rankings? Because if its just what % graduates go into primary care, its not a function of the quality of the school.

 

[John DO]

read "Methodology" to find out the, um, methodology.

 

[SawBones]

I think including DO schools in the rankings with MD schools is incredibly bogus -- for both sides. The emphasis of the two schools is WAY different. MD schools favor research, so if you rank schools based on research production then DO schools fall at the bottom. DO schools favor primary care medicine, so if you rank schools based on production of primary care physicians, suddenly 15 year old DO schools are ranked higher than ivy-league institutions.

While we are at it, I don't think we should be ranking schools based on GPAs and MCATs either. What does this say about the "quality" of a school? Nothing. Those GPAs and MCATs were determined prior to admission to the medical institution, therefore don't be fooled into thinking that higher numbers means a better school. It is much more important to look at the type of student an institution turns out, as opposed to the student they bring in. How do you look into this? Board scores and match lists -- if you can get them.

So don't let rankings influence your decision of where to attend. Find somewhere you will be happy, and I mean "quality of life" happy. Because happier students learn more and handle medical school stress better.

Face it, medical school sucks -- no matter where you go. At least go somewhere you know you'll have fun and be able to enjoy yourself.