I have a DO willing to work with me.... about that letter

[Hopefulpremed123]

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Hello Everyone,

I was in contact with an osteopathic physician for shadowing and unfortunely due to COVID, that doesn’t seem so likely now or probably even in July or August. Anyways, he was very supportive Of having students And writing letters of recommendation but said due to the current times, the patients might be a bit worried about having me ( Totally agree).

I am just wondering, what if I email him and say I would love to chat with him about osteopathic medicine and learn through that exposure? I know it isn’t patient exposure, but I don’t know what more I can do at this point.

1. Do you think this Do Letter, would be okay due to current times? If he agrees to write me a letter then I’m sure he would write that I learned from Him..... but due to covid there wasn’t much clinical interaction.
- I also have an MD letter but I want to also use this DO letter if it’s okay.
- is there anything more I can request from him in terms of virtual stuff that I can observe or learn or?

@Goro

 

[Goro]

Hello Everyone,
.

1. Do you think this Do Letter, would be okay due to current times? If he agrees to write me a letter then I’m sure he would write that I learned from Him..... but due to covid there wasn’t much clinical interaction.


2. - I also have an MD letter but I want to also use this DO letter if it’s okay.


3. - is there anything more I can request from him in terms of virtual stuff that I can observe or learn or?

@Goro

1. Yes, it would be OK. Just merely talking to him and getting the letter shows that you have gone above and beyond the call of doing due diligence

2. Totally fine

3. IF he does OMM, find out if there's a way you can see it done

 

[Hopefulpremed123]

1. Yes, it would be OK. Just merely talking to him and getting the letter shows that you have gone above and beyond the call of doing due diligence

2. Totally fine

3. IF he does OMM, find out if there's a way you can see it done

You’re the best Goro. Thanks a lot- OMM is actually what drew me to Osteopathic schools, as I always wanted to do family medicine. I also wanted to ask you a question regarding schools that I am interested in applying to.

I am a California resident and I don’t know much about out of state preference but two schools that caught my attention are NYITCOM, and PCOM.
- Do you think my residency will affect my shot at an interview at either of these schools? Gpa wise I’m at a 3.8. My MCAT is a 510.

Also as you know with MD schools there’s a top 10 list. For DO schools, do you have any sort of ranking of the top 5 schools in your estimation? KCU, DMU, e.t.c? I’m thinking of applying to 6 schools in total, and would love to get your suggestions.

 

[Goro]

You’re the best Goro. Thanks a lot- OMM is actually what drew me to Osteopathic schools, as I always wanted to do family medicine. I also wanted to ask you a question regarding schools that I am interested in applying to.

I am a California resident and I don’t know much about out of state preference but two schools that caught my attention are NYITCOM, and PCOM.
- Do you think my residency will affect my shot at an interview at either of these schools? Gpa wise I’m at a 3.8. My MCAT is a 510.

Also as you know with MD schools there’s a top 10 list. For DO schools, do you have any sort of ranking of the top 5 schools in your estimation? KCU, DMU, e.t.c? I’m thinking of applying to 6 schools in total, and would love to get your suggestions.

The private DO schools have no state preference. Any preference is due to the hordes of talented applicants who already live in those states and nearby. The only exceptions appear to be UNECOM and PacNW

 

[DO2015CA]

FWIW I was accepted to unecom and from California so if you are interested in the school I would still apply to it

 

[Hopefulpremed123]

FWIW I was accepted to unecom and from California so if you are interested in the school I would still apply to it

Hey thank you so much for your response! I’m definitely applying to UNE because I have family in Boston/ NH.

As someone who is interested in IM with an Heme/Onc fellowship after what do you think about my school list as a CA applicant? My stats are good, so I’m really trying to choose the schools that will pave the best path for me.

I have Touro CA, Touro NV, Western CA, KCU,DMU, NYITCOM, UNE.

I grew up in VA so I’m considering adding in VCOM- VA but that’s about it for me.

 

[DO2015CA]

Hey thank you so much for your response! I’m definitely applying to UNE because I have family in Boston/ NH.

As someone who is interested in IM with an Heme/Onc fellowship after what do you think about my school list as a CA applicant? My stats are good, so I’m really trying to choose the schools that will pave the best path for me.

I have Touro CA, Touro NV, Western CA, KCU,DMU, NYITCOM, UNE.

I grew up in VA so I’m considering adding in VCOM- VA but that’s about it for me.

honestly it’s really not going to matter too much for a DO. If you want IM-> HO then you’ll need a decent IM. The low to mid tier academic programs don’t differentiate DO schools in their eyes. A DO is a DO is a DO. You’ll need to take step 1 and 2. Then get research. This will put you at a pretty decent shot to match low/mid tier academic IM. The only difference is some DO schools will offer more in terms of research. Plenty of DO students just complete research during the summer between 1 and 2 at whatever institution will accept them. Plenty of people do this at their local MD school while at home. Then in year 3 do a couple case reports of interesting things you see on rotations. Present these at local or state conferences, doesn’t have to be anything big.

 

[Hopefulpremed123]

honestly it’s really not going to matter too much for a DO. If you want IM-> HO then you’ll need a decent IM. The low to mid tier academic programs don’t differentiate DO schools in their eyes. A DO is a DO is a DO. You’ll need to take step 1 and 2. Then get research. This will put you at a pretty decent shot to match low/mid tier academic IM. The only difference is some DO schools will offer more in terms of research. Plenty of DO students just complete research during the summer between 1 and 2 at whatever institution will accept them. Plenty of people do this at their local MD school while at home. Then in year 3 do a couple case reports of interesting things you see on rotations. Present these at local or state conferences, doesn’t have to be anything big.

I understand! So I often hear that some DO schools have teaching hospitals (I.e. Tuoro NV) how is this going to be beneficial to me exactly?

Also, if practicing in California is my long term goal how important Is it that I attend a medical school in CA?

Do you also know about how difficult an anesthesiology or IM+ Card/ Gastro pathways are as a DO?
- I’m guessing based on what you are saying there are no top 5 do schools that will give me a better shot at a mid /high tier IM program, are there? The original 5, maybe?

 

[DO2015CA]

I understand! So I often hear that some DO schools have teaching hospitals (I.e. Tuoro NV) how is this going to be beneficial to me exactly?

Also, if practicing in California is my long term goal how important Is it that I attend a medical school in CA?

Do you also know about how difficult an anesthesiology or IM+ Card/ Gastro pathways are as a DO?
- I’m guessing based on what you are saying there are no top 5 do schools that will give me a better shot at a mid /high tier IM program, are there? The original 5, maybe?

Anesthesia is obtainable as a DO. Cards/GI is as well. They are competitive but they largely depend on your residency program so you run into the same issue as heme/onc. You will not get a high tier IM residency as a DO. The ceiling is mid tier IM. Which is fine. Low and mid tier university programs will still allow you to match competitive specialties.

If you want to practice medicine in California then you will. There are some markets that are saturated for super specialized specialties but if you are just wanting to be in California you will be. You don’t need to attend medical school there.

I do not believe any schools other than the state schools will give you an advantage when trying to maximize your IM match potential. Being from california you are unlikely to get into OSU, OHUCOM, TCOM, or Rowan. Look into schools that have the most residency programs associated with the school.