how important is DO experience?

[persianrug]

hi everyone,

lately i've been considering applying to DO schools. i applied for md this past cycle and i'm on waitlists there, however i learned that DO's are very similar to MD's in terms of career experiences and goals. so i thought i would try DO school as well this time round.

anyway, getting to my main question: since up until now i've mainly focused on teh md aspect of my application, all my shadowing has been of md's. how important do you guys think it is that i shadow a do and get a letter from a do? (i intend on applying for the current cycle, and i would like to send in my application as early as possible). i already have a letter from an md. do you think it will hamper my chances if i have zero experience specifically in the do setting?

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[JasonUD]

hi everyone,

lately i've been considering applying to DO schools. i applied for md this past cycle and i'm on waitlists there, however i learned that DO's are very similar to MD's in terms of career experiences and goals. so i thought i would try DO school as well this time round.

anyway, getting to my main question: since up until now i've mainly focused on teh md aspect of my application, all my shadowing has been of md's. how important do you guys think it is that i shadow a do and get a letter from a do? (i intend on applying for the current cycle, and i would like to send in my application as early as possible). i already have a letter from an md. do you think it will hamper my chances if i have zero experience specifically in the do setting?

Many DO schools require a letter from a DO, you can find out what schools from their websites. Even for the one's that don't require it, I would still recommend it. Think of it like this: You could read about DOs all you want but that's not going to give you the same feel as if you actually spend time with one and get to know him. DO schools obviously know this and I would think that they would prefer candidates who show serious interest (like spending a lot of time shadowing or working with one) in the field, not just using DO schools as a backup to allopathic schools.

 

[mizzoudude]

Many DO schools require a letter from a DO, you can find out what schools from their websites. Even for the one's that don't require it, I would still recommend it. Think of it like this: You could read about DOs all you want but that's not going to give you the same feel as if you actually spend time with one and get to know him. DO schools obviously know this and I would think that they would prefer candidates who show serious interest (like spending a lot of time shadowing or working with one) in the field, not just using DO schools as a backup to allopathic schools.

I thought we could compile a list of schools that do and don't require a DO letter:

-Midwestern = MD letter can be substituted for a DO
-Touro = MD or DO letter

 

[OSUdoc08]

hi everyone,

lately i've been considering applying to DO schools. i applied for md this past cycle and i'm on waitlists there, however i learned that DO's are very similar to MD's in terms of career experiences and goals. so i thought i would try DO school as well this time round.

anyway, getting to my main question: since up until now i've mainly focused on teh md aspect of my application, all my shadowing has been of md's. how important do you guys think it is that i shadow a do and get a letter from a do? (i intend on applying for the current cycle, and i would like to send in my application as early as possible). i already have a letter from an md. do you think it will hamper my chances if i have zero experience specifically in the do setting?

Most schools require a DO letter, and those that don't will look more favorably upon applications that do.

 

[dr.z]

hi everyone,

lately i've been considering applying to DO schools. i applied for md this past cycle and i'm on waitlists there, however i learned that DO's are very similar to MD's in terms of career experiences and goals. so i thought i would try DO school as well this time round.

anyway, getting to my main question: since up until now i've mainly focused on teh md aspect of my application, all my shadowing has been of md's. how important do you guys think it is that i shadow a do and get a letter from a do? (i intend on applying for the current cycle, and i would like to send in my application as early as possible). i already have a letter from an md. do you think it will hamper my chances if i have zero experience specifically in the do setting?

It helps to have letter from DOs. You can apply to all of the DO schools if you have a letter from a DO. Otherwise you are limited to schools that accept MD letters.

 

[cyclohexanol]

I thought we could compile a list of schools that do and don't require a DO letter:

-Midwestern = MD letter can be substituted for a DO
-Touro = MD or DO letter

-Western/COMP = MD or DO letter

I had 0 DO experience, didn't matter.

 

[nvshelat]

The 3 DO schools I applied to didn't require a DO letter (NYCOM, PCOM, UMDNJ). I didn't have one (had 2 MD letters) and got into 2 of those schools. I'm not sure what a DO can testify about your skills that an MD can't

 

[dtrain5]

I think that you should be okay with a letter from an MD, unless otherwise specified (Must have a letter from a DO). To be honest, I shadowed a DO, and he made it very clear that the biggest difference from one doctor to the next is their personal preference of how to approach medicine (MD or DO). He did an MD residency and practices alongside two MD's, so I think he has a pretty well rounded perspective. I would be hard pressed to find anyone that could walk into a clinical setting and pick out the DO's and the MD's without seeing the two letters behind their name. My advice would be to read up on the history of the osteopathic profession, because if you get an interview with an MD letter the interviewers are going to make sure that you understand what the main "differences" are between MD and DO. You can almost certainly plan on them asking you the question "Why DO?".

From what I said above I kind of made it sound like I am using DO as a backup myself, but that is actually the farthest thing from the truth. I decided to pursue medicine because of my exposure to ostepathic medicine, and I only applied to DO schools. The DO's that I have had contact with were all great doctors, and feel some gratitude to them for the dedication that the profession has shown to rural medicine (I am from a small agricultural town in SE Colorado).