Is it harder for DO students to match into dermatology than it is for MD students?

[john7991]

I looked at some forums here that were posted a few years back and they pretty much said it’s very difficult for DO students to get into dermatology programs. It’s hard for MD students as well according to them, but the older forums I looked at made it seem as if it’s almost impossible for DOs. One replier to an OP said that if anyone wants derm, they shouldn’t go for a DO school. Some even degraded DO schools. One person said dermatology programs for DO students are sketchy….. huh? Is it still, or was it truly ever, that hard for DO students to get into derm?

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[Sidus1011]

Yes it is a lot harder. It's a multifactorial thing where you won't have as much access to derm research, strong letters of rec from well known faculty, or a home program in most cases. This coupled with the stigma that we're weaker students (which let's be real, we're all DO for a reason) and have weaker clinical education (not always the case, but at the newer schools definitely) plays a part. If you end up powering through and overcoming all of the ordeals, you have about a 70ish percent chance of matching. Not shabby, but it's from a self selected group of superstars. MD students don't just walk in and match though, it's extremely difficult as an MD as well. You're in the top 10 percent of students no matter what US Medical School you attend, you're going to have to fight tooth and nail to be the top 1 percent able to match derm.

If you want to be hypercompetitive and shoot for the stars, be my guest. I just don't understand everyone's fascination with these excessively competitive fields when many other specialties are able to provide a high pay and good job security while still being enjoyable.

 

[Goro]

I looked at some forums here that were posted a few years back and they pretty much said it’s very difficult for DO students to get into dermatology programs. It’s hard for MD students as well according to them, but the older forums I looked at made it seem as if it’s almost impossible for DOs. One replier to an OP said that if anyone wants derm, they shouldn’t go for a DO school. Some even degraded DO schools. One person said dermatology programs for DO students are sketchy….. huh? Is it still, or was it truly ever, that hard for DO students to get into derm?

Answer: yes.

It's hard enough for MD's match into it because it's a lucrative and competitive specialty.

Some Program Directors will also not allow DOs because they're afraid that elitist MD candidates will ask "There's DOs at that program? What's wrong with it?"

Read this (page 26)

https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-PD-Survey.pdf

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Yes it is far more difficult. Not to beat a dead horse but if you want derm I highly suggest not going to a DO school. It happens, we had one person do it in my class, but you need to have elite board scores and research just be in contention.

 

[deleted771945]

Answer: yes.

It's hard enough for MD's match into it because it's a lucrative and competitive specialty.

Some Program Directors will also not allow DOs because they're afraid that elitist MD candidates will ask "There's DOs at that program? What's wrong with it?"

Read this (page 26)

https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-PD-Survey.pdf

From that pdf, also look at page 32, top right hand corner. 33% of programs (n=12) will never interview a DO senior.

 

[FutureDoctor5000]

Yes it is far more difficult. Not to beat a dead horse but if you want derm I highly suggest not going to a DO school. It happens, we had one person do it in my class, but you need to have elite board scores and research just be in contention.

I’d argue you shouldn’t go to any medical school(MD or DO) with the full expectation of matching derm.

 

[FutureDoctor5000]

From that pdf, also look at page 32, top right hand corner. 33% of programs (n=12) will never interview a DO senior.

That’s progress, just a few years before the residency merger that number would have been 60-70%

 

[john7991]

Answer: yes.

It's hard enough for MD's match into it because it's a lucrative and competitive specialty.

Some Program Directors will also not allow DOs because they're afraid that elitist MD candidates will ask "There's DOs at that program? What's wrong with it?"

Read this (page 26)

https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-PD-Survey.pdf

Unrelated but this website says,

“In 2020, dermatology had a total of 692 applicants and 538 spots. This equates to 1.29 applicants per position. Of the 388 U.S. MD seniors who applied, 70 did not match.”

How Competitive is a Dermatology Residency? Updated in 2023

If you want a career as a dermatologist, here is how competitive the medical specialty is to match into a dermatology residency.

www.prospectivedoctor.com

The 692 applicants include DO and MD seniors which make up 446 of them. Who are the other applicants?

 

[BioPsychotic]

According to the 2021 Program Director survey, 35.3% of dermatology program directors surveyed considered medical school reputation when deciding which candidates to interview. The mean importance of medical school reputation in deciding which candidates to interview was 3.5/5.0. Note that Step 1 score, MSPE, and grades in required clerkships were considered by the vast majority of program directors surveyed.

Other factors that are not discussed in this survey, such as the lack of research opportunities at DO programs, make it more difficult for DO students to match dermatology.

More difficult? Yes. Impossible? No. If becoming a dermatologist is your goal, find a mentor and work hard to achieve that goal.

Anyone who degrades medical schools on a healthcare-oriented forum should re-evaluate their life choices. Life is a series of complicated, nuanced decisions, and analyzing any of them through the lens of a single factor will not get you far.

2021 PD survey: https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021-PD-Survey-Report-for-WWW.pdf

 

[Goro]

According to the 2021 Program Director survey, 35.3% of dermatology program directors surveyed considered medical school reputation when deciding which candidates to interview. The mean importance of medical school reputation in deciding which candidates to interview was 3.5/5.0. Note that Step 1 score, MSPE, and grades in required clerkships were considered by the vast majority of program directors surveyed.

Other factors that are not discussed in this survey, such as the lack of research opportunities at DO programs, make it more difficult for DO students to match dermatology.

More difficult? Yes. Impossible? No. If becoming a dermatologist is your goal, find a mentor and work hard to achieve that goal.

Anyone who degrades medical schools on a healthcare-oriented forum should re-evaluate their life choices. Life is a series of complicated, nuanced decisions, and analyzing any of them through the lens of a single factor will not get you far.

2021 PD survey: https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021-PD-Survey-Report-for-WWW.pdf

Many thanks for clueing me into the newest PD survey.

I'm quite pleased that the % of Derm PDs who will never/seldom/often interview DOs changed from 33/58/8 for 2020 to 25/50/25!

And for ranking DO, the numbers changed from 27/55/18 to 21/50/29.

For US IMGs, the numbers got a lot worse, FYI.

 

[FutureDoctor5000]

Derm is actually doable for a top/ well rounded DO student…

 

[never-too-late]

Isn't there a derm residency in NY that used to be a DO program before the merge? If it wasn't, it at least has DO faculty. Not that a single program increases your odds. Derm is going to be difficult to match into either way. I would have a back-up plan if I were you. I also think it's a good idea to head to medical school with an open mind. I haven't decided what I want to do yet...I mean I have an idea, but I'm open to changing it.

 

[hallowmann]

That’s progress, just a few years before the residency merger that number would have been 60-70%

To be fair it was more like ~40% (in 2016), but its definitely improved steadily over the years (per the historical data reports) and the most recent one was 25%.