Just got a DO interview. Should I go to it?

[grapp]

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What!? Ignore the above poster.

No acceptances, go to the DO interview and hopefully you get a spot this cycle, then you can worry about what you want to be.

Exactly like Goro said, do you want to be a doctor? @Goro I've seen multiple posts before and DO's typically have a harder time competing with more competitive specialities. I didn't say he will definitvely become a family medicine or internal medicine doctor. I asked him if he was okay that there is a higher chance he will become one of these? Why ignore my post? I was stating the chance, if he works super hard I think he could match into a competitive residency.

 

[Goro]

If one goes through the Specialty Choice pages of MSAR, you can see that MD grads overwhelmingly specialize. For data from the Classes of 2011-2014 for Albany, for example, some 19% choose Family Med + Peds, and another 34% choose IM. Now, keep in mind that many people then go onto subspecialize, so there's no way of knowing how many people end up in Primary Care IM. But let's pretend that 0% of these kids stayed with the PC aspects of IM. That would mean ~20% Albany grads end up in Primary Care, at the minimum, and 80% specialize.

Contrast this with the grads at my school, of whom ~40% specialize, and ~60% enter Primary Care. For other DO schools for whom I've seen match lists, it's about 2/3rds PC, 1/3rd specialties.

Of my own grads, with some ten years of data, ~5% go in ACGME ROADS, I think. I don't have the spreadsheet with the data in front of me, alas.

~5% of our grads go into Gen'l Surgery. Compare that to 7% at Harvard, 10% for Pitt and Albany. The avg for MD schools seems to be ~10%. In the last MSAR the avg was around 5%! I guess it takes a different type of person to be a surgeon?😉

So, yes, a DO can specialize.

Exactly like Goro said, do you want to be a doctor? @Goro I've seen multiple posts before and DO's typically have a harder time competing with more competitive specialities. I didn't say he will definitvely become a family medicine or internal medicine doctor. I asked him if he was okay that there is a higher chance he will become one of these? Why ignore my post? I was stating the chance, if he works super hard I think he could match into a competitive residency.

 

[osckey]

"Study medicine on the scenic beaches of Titan's beautiful methane-ethane seas!"


I'm calling it. That's going to be an ad for a for-profit med school in the year 2500.

I don't think there will be residency spots available for interplanetary medical graduates.

 

[deleted407021]

I don't think there will be residency spots available for interplanetary medical graduates.

Oh, def. not. Especially after the merger of Terran and Vulcan GME.

 

[Lucca]

I don't think there will be residency spots available for interplanetary medical graduates.

That's fine with me. Do you know how underserved Saturn's moons are? I plan to set up shop there. No income tax either. That basically means it is heaven.

 

[JustAPhD]

I don't think there will be residency spots available for interplanetary medical graduates.

Oh, def. not. Especially after the merger of Terran and Vulcan GME.

True. But once the Moon colony gets up and running there should be plenty of spots out there for IMGs (Interstellar Medical Graduates).

 

[Mad Jack]

"Study medicine on the scenic beaches of Titan's beautiful methane-ethane seas!"


I'm calling it. That's going to be an ad for a for-profit med school in the year 2500.

TouroCOM-Titan

 

[deleted407021]

TouroCOM-Titan

Did you know their average MCAT score is like as high as some MD schools??


I am ok with the direction this thread has taken.

 

[osckey]

TouroCOM-Titan

No gpa or MCAT requirements. The only pre-req is that you survive the journey to the school.

 

[235009]

If one goes through the Specialty Choice pages of MSAR, you can see that MD grads overwhelmingly specialize. For data from the Classes of 2011-2014 for Albany, for example, some 19% choose Family Med + Peds, and another 34% choose IM. Now, keep in mind that many people then go onto subspecialize, so there's no way of knowing how many people end up in Primary Care IM. But let's pretend that 0% of these kids stayed with the PC aspects of IM. That would mean ~20% Albany grads end up in Primary Care, at the minimum, and 80% specialize.

Contrast this with the grads at my school, of whom ~40% specialize, and ~60% enter Primary Care. For other DO schools for whom I've seen match lists, it's about 2/3rds PC, 1/3rd specialties.

Of my own grads, with some ten years of data, ~5% go in ACGME ROADS, I think. I don't have the spreadsheet with the data in front of me, alas.

~5% of our grads go into Gen'l Surgery. Compare that to 7% at Harvard, 10% for Pitt and Albany. The avg for MD schools seems to be ~10%. In the last MSAR the avg was around 5%! I guess it takes a different type of person to be a surgeon?😉

So, yes, a DO can specialize.

This post is absolute nonsense

The % of students going into general surgery at Harvard says more about the waning desirability of surgery. At US MD schools the choice of which field a student goes into is generally a function of their preference. Same cannot be said for students at DO schools. If you look at the HMS match list from this year (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/match-list-2016.1189265/page-2#post-17556323) you'll see that 10 (!) went into derm, 22 went into surgical subspecialties (which pulls from the same pool of individuals who would potentially go into gen surg if they didn't have all doors open to them) and 38 of the 42 who went into IM ended up at programs that do not even consider DOs.

To even try to compare a DO match list to that of Harvards is ridiculous, disingenuous and demonstrates a complete and utter lack of understanding of the match.

 

[Mad Jack]

This post is absolute nonsense

The % of students going into general surgery at Harvard says more about the waning desirability of surgery. At US MD schools the choice of which field a student goes into is generally a function of their preference. Same cannot be said for students at DO schools. If you look at the HMS match list from this year (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/match-list-2016.1189265/page-2#post-17556323) you'll see that 10 (!) went into derm, 22 went into surgical subspecialties (which pulls from the same pool of individuals who would potentially go into gen surg if they didn't have all doors open to them) and 38 of the 42 who went into IM ended up at programs that do not even consider DOs.

To even try to compare a DO match list to that of Harvards is ridiculous, disingenuous and demonstrates a complete and utter lack of understanding of the match.

General surgery is surgery for people that can't get into the better branches of surgery.

 

[deleted407021]

@MeatTornado , don't you have a DO match list to dump on? We get it. Thanks for the insight

This thread was getting entertaining, especially since it looks like OP's question was well addressed.

 

[Dr. Death]

I have a question for current med students and adcom members--if you turn down an MD or DO acceptance and reapply in the subsequent cycle, are schools automatically informed of this fact? If I were in OP's shoes and had a solid plan for another gap year, then I would seriously consider not attending this interview and reapplying, regardless of the answer to my question above. OP says he/she is not interested in competitive specialties at the moment, but who knows how things are going to change during 4 years of med school and beyond. Of course you want to be a doctor and of course it is an immense privilege to be able to learn and practice medicine in the United States, but why risk having doors shut in front of you when you apparently have the academic capability to succeed as an MD. This one year in your early/mid 20's could significantly alter your career path. If you think about why medical students study so hard for their step 1..

Most all secondaries ask you some iteration of "have you applied to medical school before, if yes explain further." I think the fact that you were accepted to another medical school is pertinent information and your app may be flagged to check this information

 

[Dr. Death]

General surgery is surgery for people that can't get into the better branches of surgery.

So it's the DO of surgery? badum pish

 

[Bones 2020]

I have a question for current med students and adcom members--if you turn down an MD or DO acceptance and reapply in the subsequent cycle, are schools automatically informed of this fact? If I were in OP's shoes and had a solid plan for another gap year, then I would seriously consider not attending this interview and reapplying, regardless of the answer to my question above. OP says he/she is not interested in competitive specialties at the moment, but who knows how things are going to change during 4 years of med school and beyond. Of course you want to be a doctor and of course it is an immense privilege to be able to learn and practice medicine in the United States, but why risk having doors shut in front of you when you apparently have the academic capability to succeed as an MD. This one year in your early/mid 20's could significantly alter your career path. If you think about why medical students study so hard for their step 1..

From what I have read from the adcoms on this site, if you turn down a DO acceptance, you have a very slim to none chance of your application being looked at in a later cycle by DO schools.

 

[ortnakas]

To provide a perspective from 7 years down the road: it sucks to be limited in what you can achieve despite putting in the effort and getting the requisite grades/scores. I'm very glad I went to a US MD school because I was able to forge my own path. I also went into this profession not just because I wanted a job or for the title. I wanted to make a difference - potentially be a leader in the field. That option is not available to the vast majority of DOs (>90% probably) who end up being community physicians.

Even as a DO student who often disagrees with you, I concur with this advise.

If your main goal is to be a doctor, DO will get you there, and community physicians absolutely "make a difference." It's a totally fine career path. But if you have other loftier goals in addition to being a physician-- academia, research, government, some subspecialties, "leader in the field," what have you-- those are definitely more attainable as an MD, and DO school will be a poor fit. Those goals aren't impossible for DOs, but they're more of an uphill battle.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Do you want to be inherently limited by the two letters behind your name? Have to learn weird voodoo rituals on top of your medical school curriculum? Take not one but two sets of licensing exams? Then DO is for you!

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Do you want to be inherently limited by the two letters behind your name? Have to learn weird voodoo rituals on top of your medical school curriculum? Take not one but two sets of licensing exams? Then DO is for you!

Why tho?

 

[sliceofbread136]

Why tho?

Why go DO you ask? So you can learn to rub heads and backs to unleash health restoring chakra!

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Why go DO you ask? So you can learn to rub heads and backs to unleash health restoring chakra!

Not sure why you're deriding your colleagues. It's actually quite sad...

 

[sliceofbread136]

Not sure why you're deriding your colleagues. It's actually quite sad...

The facts hurt that bad huh?