IMG vs. DO

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Doc driven

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I have the choice of attending a foreign school or a DO school. Can somebody please let me know what would be better for landing a residency in neurosurgery? I really appreciate it.

Thank you
 
The DO school HANDS DOWN.

Neurosurgery is mad competitive and a "good ol' boys" residency but DO's have matched in allopathic neuro programs in the past. Rare but does happen.

Lets not forget that DO's have their own neurosurgery programs that no one else besides DO's can apply for. PCOM has one such program. Last I checked, IMG's don't have their own exclusive residency programs in the US.

In the end, no matter where you go, your job is to work your ass off, get AT LEAST a 230+ on the USMLE (or equivalent on the COMLEX-I for the DO programs), do reseach, do key rotations to get big time letter, etc. It's the same formula pretty much for all competitive residencies!

Also keep in mind that according to the statistics, it is "likely" that you will change your mind at least once regarding residency during med school.

G'luck.
 
be careful. the above guy has some true statements, but misses a few things too.

1. i believe there are more IMG's than DO's in traditional MD residency programs.

2. DO's have their own residencies that MD's cannot touch. this is not true for IMG (good point from above poster)

3. IMG's may have difficulty matching into many fields, not just neurosurgery, in the United States. DO you'll be guaranteed to match somewhere in something in USA if this is where you're planning to practice.

the safer bet is DO. but if you are gunning for a top residency training, then IMG may be a better choice. I don't want to sound harsh or overly critical, but if you were unable to get into an MD school for scholarly reasons, then you may be better of going the DO route. work hard and realistically you can expect to get into a DO residency and still become a neurosurgeon.

good luck
 
Thank you, and I agree. I am going to take the DO route because it is safer and smoother. I may also change my mind in medical school, and the stigma is if you chose to go foreign, you could not get into DO or MD in the U.S. Therefore, I think residencie directories may look at a DO over a foreign medical graduate whether this is really true or not.👍
 
naegleria brain said:
but if you are gunning for a top residency training, then IMG may be a better choice.
Click to expand...

It is more likely that more IMGs get into allopathic NS residencies, or any competitive ones in general, is because a lot of those IMGs had prior training in said field in their own country. The OP probably got into a Caribbean medical school, in which case almost no one gets into uber-competitive residencies. One or two do, but these one or two don't constitute the majority of IMGs matching into competitive residencies. It's the superstars who are published in whatever country they are from and still get the 260/99 that make it in.
 
Doc driven said:
Thank you, and I agree. I am going to take the DO route because it is safer and smoother. I may also change my mind in medical school, and the stigma is if you chose to go foreign, you could not get into DO or MD in the U.S. Therefore, I think residencie directories may look at a DO over a foreign medical graduate whether this is really true or not.👍
Click to expand...

I think you made the right choice (and I'm not a DO student).👍
 
YES I agree too. 👍 The foreign school I was thinking about is ST. GEORGE's in the Caribbean. I think the DO route here would be a lot easier. Thanks
 
Do not go to the caribbean. Facilities, opportunities, and education in general are inferior to both MD and DO stateside.
 
thanks but I heard St. George, ROSS and AUC are FINE, especially St. George. Why do you think it is so bad?

I appreciate your advice
 
naegleria brain said:
be careful. the above guy has some true statements, but misses a few things too.

1. i believe there are more IMG's than DO's in traditional MD residency programs.

2. DO's have their own residencies that MD's cannot touch. this is not true for IMG (good point from above poster)

3. IMG's may have difficulty matching into many fields, not just neurosurgery, in the United States. DO you'll be guaranteed to match somewhere in something in USA if this is where you're planning to practice.

the safer bet is DO. but if you are gunning for a top residency training, then IMG may be a better choice. I don't want to sound harsh or overly critical, but if you were unable to get into an MD school for scholarly reasons, then you may be better of going the DO route. work hard and realistically you can expect to get into a DO residency and still become a neurosurgeon.

good luck
Click to expand...

Would you like to explain to me, sir, what exactly it is that "I missed?"

You basically repeated what I said! :laugh:
 
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