How do you answer "Why DO?" in interviews?

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pglo

pglo

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I'm not fishing for answers for my own benefit. I'm just genuinely curious how others answer this question. Do you cite the DO philosophy? Talk about OMM? Talk about how you were the patient of a DO? Share your responses!
 
I brought my martial arts experience to some of my essays in regards to being interested in OMM. I also think it's cool to be able to snap to and apply that skill to address some common issues.

I like the biopsychosocial and preventive care emphasis within the philosophy as well as the historical progressiveness of the profession -- the first DO school was one of the first medical training institutions to encourage women to attend.
 
:beat:

There's no perfect answer to this question. (I'll choose to believe that OP isn't fishing for answers, it's just that this thread comes up a lot.).

Figure out why YOU want to be a DO. As long as it's not "because MDs don't treat the whole patient" and has some honest thought behind it, you're probably fine.
 
I saw someone once here say something along the lines of "Going to DO school gives me the opportunity to become a physician." I'm not sure if this > coming up with specific reasons for DO school or not, but he stated he was accepted (n=1).
 
I talked about shadowing a DO and how much I loved it. Also the emphasis on preventive care is a good topic.
 
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I had a personal approach to this question. My wife has an autoimmune disorder and I talked about how important preventative medicine is and how I use it in my daily life to take care of her. The key is to apply it to you your life.
 
I just said, "I see OMM as an additional way to treat patients, and I'd like to be trained to use it when applicable." Short and sweet.

I've heard of students that sometimes bash MDs (intentionally or just through poor-wording), and get rejected because of it. Never bash another profession.
 
My response for "why DO?" was because of the emphasis on prevention. I believe more in prevention now, than when I first started applying.
 
Because having the patient's involvement in the decision-making process improves compliance / outcomes, and the philosophy aligns with how I want to practice medicine. Second, learning OMM can further integrate the knowledge in my medical education, and I think having another tool in the medical toolbox can only benefit patients.
 
I said that to be the best physician I can be, I want to be trained in as many treatment methods as possible. OMM is one of those and a very low risk one as well (which makes it appealing)
 
J Senpai said:
I brought my martial arts experience to some of my essays in regards to being interested in OMM. I also think it's cool to be able to snap to and apply that skill to address some common issues.
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Long-ass version of "OMM's cool. I do stuff with my hands and OMM uses hand manipulation so...yeah."

J Senpai said:
I like the biopsychosocial and preventive care emphasis within the philosophy as well as the historical progressiveness of the profession -- the first DO school was one of the first medical training institutions to encourage women to attend.
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Tell patients to stop slowly killing themselves (even MDs do this all. the. time.). Then appeal to hot button diversity issue. Nice.

sb247 said:
"I just want to be a doctor, if learning OMM helps me take care of my patients, I'm in..."
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Essentially the same for me. I also recited the principles and said how I agreed with them. Oh and I said my stats weren't good enough for MD this late in the game. I'll find out how that worked in a few days.





From all that I've read though I'm thinking credentials >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> interview, as long as you're not a total a**hole/weirdo. This is basically how I'd run it if I were in an admissions committee. I'd basically just ask the iterviewers, "Was he a total d*ck?" If the answer is no, and if he seemed sincere about his desire to pursue medicine/help people for reasons that will carry him through the whole process, and if his credentials are more competitive than the others, he's in.
 
docycle said:
From all that I've read though I'm thinking credentials >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> interview, as long as you're not a total a**hole/weirdo. This is basically how I'd run it if I were in an admissions committee. I'd basically just ask the iterviewers, "Was he a total d*ck?" If the answer is no, and if he seemed sincere about his desire to pursue medicine/help people for reasons that will carry him through the whole process, and if his credentials are more competitive than the others, he's in.
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I believe this is true. Many would disagree with you, though. Apparently, for some folks, they claim that the interview was the most important factor in determining admission. There are some who have extremely high stats but still get rejected post interview. For those, I believe the interview went very poorly.

I think it depends on the person. If you have below average stats, your interview becomes more important. If you have very competitive stats, then as long as your interview is decent/okay, you'll be accepted.
 
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The "I'm more focused on preventative care and DO focuses on this" is kinda meh. How will someone who knows OMM differ from an allopathic physician in regards to preventative care? Regular Exercise, diet, health screenings are preventative care. I believe most physicians try to practice this.
 
FCMike11 said:
The "I'm more focused on preventative care and DO focuses on this" is kinda meh. How will someone who knows OMM differ from an allopathic physician in regards to preventative care? Regular Exercise, diet, health screenings are preventative care. I believe most physicians try to practice this.
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I agree it probably shouldn't be the main reason. I mentioned it because A.T. Still founded osteopathic medicine partially to improve preventive care, and it has remained a stated emphasis of the profession and their philosophy.
 
know the tenants of osteopathic medicine, and work them into why you they hold true today, and their practical use in medicine today...and don't just list them off. use them in a conversation without saying "#1...#2...#3...#4..."
 
Yep. Can confirm that the BPS model is the secret weapon that kills at every DO interview 😉

J Senpai said:
I brought my martial arts experience to some of my essays in regards to being interested in OMM. I also think it's cool to be able to snap to and apply that skill to address some common issues.

I like the biopsychosocial and preventive care emphasis within the philosophy as well as the historical progressiveness of the profession -- the first DO school was one of the first medical training institutions to encourage women to attend.
Click to expand...
 
I heard that Steven Seagal was a DO. I wanted to learn that cervical HVLA

hqdefault.jpg
 
J Senpai said:
He's a 7th degree black belt in Aikido -- the same art I'm in. It's all about joint manipulation, which is why I drew the parallels with OMM.
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MCMAP is similar, but with a pack on your back. I'm finishing a modified exercise science program which is basically biochemistry of exercise, which I branded my "Why DO" response around, combined with military and personal training work. My wife is an independent trainer and combined with my OMM ninja skills, there is potential for a badass business of gym/clinic in the event I "get stuck with" FM.

But I'm leaning toward being an unemployed pediatric neuropathologist.
 
Doesn't have to be a profound answer. Mine is something along the lines of "was treated by a DO and it worked. Find it cool to diagnose and treat with hands. Able to help some patients before they even step out of the office. Why not have that tool in my doctors bag." Also I usually throw in an example of a patient encounter I saw while shadowing that highlights the above reasons.
 
J Senpai said:
I brought my martial arts experience to some of my essays in regards to being interested in OMM. I also think it's cool to be able to snap to and apply that skill to address some common issues.

I like the biopsychosocial and preventive care emphasis within the philosophy as well as the historical progressiveness of the profession -- the first DO school was one of the first medical training institutions to encourage women to attend.
Click to expand...
tumblr_myuouoWTek1s5bmrpo1_400.gif

Martial arts and OMM really do have a lot in common, at the end of the day.
 
Why DO? I didn't get accepted to Janitor School...
 
I agree with most posts, it doesn't have to be super deep. Personally, I said something along the lines of "aging population and limited doctors = need preventative care to keep more people in good health." Also, if you're athletic and have ever experienced an injury you might know first-hand that incorporating regular strengthening and stretching exercises can cure/prevent a lot of ailments before they occur, which is typically more effective than providing a fix after the injury occurs. Although not a classic medical example of preventative care, it's certainly a common preventative measure that I feel provides a real life example of the osteopathic vision.

Also, in my interviews (because I had applied to both programs) I got asked to choose between MD or DO? You may want to be prepared for that question. I think you just answer with: "one program isn't better than the other. My goal is to be a successful physician and I'll do that by whatever means necessary." Keeps things safe and simple.
 
pglo said:
I'm not fishing for answers for my own benefit. I'm just genuinely curious how others answer this question. Do you cite the DO philosophy? Talk about OMM? Talk about how you were the patient of a DO? Share your responses!
Click to expand...

For me, I said that above all else my goal is to simply become a good physician. In my opinion, for someone to be good at something they need to learn all that is available to them, and that it would be a missed opportunity for me to not learn what osteopathic medicine adds.
 
My answer had to do with a population I'm especially and personally interested in: military and vets. OMM is a useful skill to have for these populations as they have a lot of chronic pain issues and OMM is one of the only ways to treat chronic pain. People like to talk about how OMM has little evidence for it's efficacy, but to these populations it can be very useful and I'm the type of person who wants to explore every option with my patients.
 
Personally, I observed OMM in action and saw the positive impact it had on a patient (without ever needing to prescribe drugs). Sold me on it.
 
To learn the pelvic diaphragm release.

No but really. Yesterday, I had a patient with inanimate shear of one weeks duration. I had the tools to diagnose him and treat him affectively. He is now pain-free. Would he have gotten better on his own? Perhaps. Or this could have went on to be chronic LBP. Would one of my MD counterparts been able to accurately diagnose his cause of LBP? Unlikely.

OMT gives you an extra tool to put in your tool bag. And in medicine, it's nice to have tools. I personally have felt that the diagnostics have been more important than the treatment modality itself. I can't begin to tell you how valuable it is to diagnose leg length discrepancies, chest wall pain, neck pain, and lower back pain. I've seen patient who have seen every specialist in the hospital to treat their insidious onset of chest pain. Normal EKG, TTE, Stress test, PFT, CT chest. Who would think that a rib being pushed out of place could cause debilitating pain while someone ran? If you don't know it exists...you won't consider it apart of your differential.
 
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j4pac said:
To learn the pelvic diaphragm release.

No but really. Yesterday, I had a patient with inanimate shear of one weeks duration. I had the tools to diagnose him and treat him affectively. He is now pain-free. Would he have gotten better on his own? Perhaps. Or this could have went on to be chronic LBP. Would one of my MD counterparts been able to accurately diagnose his cause of LBP? Unlikely.

OMT gives you an extra tool to put in your tool bag. And in medicine, it's nice to have tools. I personally have felt that the diagnostics have been more important than the treatment modality itself. I can't begin to tell you how valuable it is to diagnose leg length discrepancies, chest wall pain, neck pain, and lower back pain. I've seen patient who have seen every specialist in the hospital to treat their insidious onset of chest pain. Normal EKG, TTE, Stress test, PFT, CT chest. Who would think that a rib being pushed out of place could cause debilitating pain while someone ran? If you don't know it exists...you won't consider it apart of your differential.
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Inanimate innominate?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
Hopefully this doesn't come off bad, but the only answer I can think of it I have to face that question is,

"I don't really see a difference. I've worked with a MDs and DOs and they always seemed equal in their knowledge and professionalism."

Is that awful to say/really bad response?
 
psychic_detective said:
Hopefully this doesn't come off bad, but the only answer I can think of it I have to face that question is,

"I don't really see a difference. I've worked with a MDs and DOs and they always seemed equal in their knowledge and professionalism."

Is that awful to say/really bad response?
Click to expand...
Probably not the best response to say in an interview.
 
psychic_detective said:
Hopefully this doesn't come off bad, but the only answer I can think of it I have to face that question is,

"I don't really see a difference. I've worked with a MDs and DOs and they always seemed equal in their knowledge and professionalism."

Is that awful to say/really bad response?
Click to expand...

That sounds like an extremely lazy response without any research into what a DO actually entails. Also, that response doesn't really answer the question.

Give an example of why you want to be a DO. State your shadowing experiences with a DO, and mention OMM, if you've seen it practiced.
 
mathnerd88 said:
That sounds like an extremely lazy response without any research into what a DO actually entails. Also, that response doesn't really answer the question.

Give an example of why you want to be a DO. State your shadowing experiences with a DO, and mention OMM, if you've seen it practiced.
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ermm i said i didn't notice a difference and got in so..

there really isn't a difference between most DOs and Mds once they are practicing from what I've seen. its not a lazy response. its an accurate one
 
As long as you are honest with yourself and the interviewer. If you start talking about philosophies and OMM and you honestly don't know about it do not bring it up or it will make for an awkward interview. I think the best thing to do is what mathnerd88 said and relate experiences to answer that question.
 
All get that it may seem lazy, but the only difference I've ever noticed working years with both was the last two letters behind the name. Also I am only applying to one DO school because it is just another medical school for me. It's not a safety or second choice or anything, just 1 of the 10 in Texas.
Medschoolornah said:
ermm i said i didn't notice a difference and got in so..

there really isn't a difference between most DOs and Mds once they are practicing from what I've seen. its not a lazy response. its an accurate one
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Thanks
 
Medschoolornah said:
ermm i said i didn't notice a difference and got in so..

there really isn't a difference between most DOs and Mds once they are practicing from what I've seen. its not a lazy response. its an accurate one
Click to expand...

It still doesn't answer the question "Why DO?" The question is completely irrelevant to MD vs. DO and the answer gives no actual value to why you want to become a doctor.

It is better to say that you've always wanted to be a physician because of blah blah (what you've written in your PS) There's no point in bringing up MD anyways and may cause an inferiority complex. You can say that you wanted to become a physician and saw no difference between MD and DO so you applied to both in hopes of reaching your goal. Perhaps bring some specific DO experiences to strengthen your point.

Also try to demonstrate that you actually know what a DO does, and some differences that DO has vs. MDs. That way, it sounds intelligent instead of some generic answer that anyone would come up with. Don't go straight into MD vs. DO unless you were asked or you can transition into that point smoothly.
 
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yes ur right. i didn't read the thread actually. if the question is just why DO of course dont bring up MD... pretty obvious
 
Not sure if it has been suggested as I have not read the responses but along the lines of "I'm interested in how the musculoskeletal structures and dynamics of the body influence its function" is a great way to start. Perhaps @Goro can help.
 
psychic_detective said:
All get that it may seem lazy, but the only difference I've ever noticed working years with both was the last two letters behind the name. Also I am only applying to one DO school because it is just another medical school for me. It's not a safety or second choice or anything, just 1 of the 10 in Texas.
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See my post above.

Also as an example, if you worked at a BMW dealership and a customer asks you, "Why BMW?" You're not going to start saying that there's no difference between BMW and Mercedes and Porsche...

You want to convince the customer that BMW is the right car for them by naming the specifics that BMWs have. You can also mention how all these cars have similar performance but BMWs have this feature that nobody else has.

Spin man, spin.
 
mathnerd88 said:
See my post above.

Also as an example, if you worked at a BMW dealership and a customer asks you, "Why BMW?" You're not going to start saying that there's no difference between BMW and Mercedes and Porsche...

You want to convince the customer that BMW is the right car for them by naming the specifics that BMWs have. You can also mention how all these cars have similar performance but BMWs have this feature that nobody else has.

Spin man, spin.
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I just don't get why I'd have to "nuance" the truth. I'll look up some discussion topics though. Thank you all for the advice.
 
mathnerd88 said:
See my post above.

Also as an example, if you worked at a BMW dealership and a customer asks you, "Why BMW?" You're not going to start saying that there's no difference between BMW and Mercedes and Porsche...

You want to convince the customer that BMW is the right car for them by naming the specifics that BMWs have. You can also mention how all these cars have similar performance but BMWs have this feature that nobody else has.

Spin man, spin.
Click to expand...


disagree. this is a poor analogy.
 
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