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I'm thinking of going DO if I can't get into an MD school (don't attack me 🙂 , I'm just trying to be practical, if medicine doesn't work out I'll glady go dental too. Anyway, I'm under the impression that DO's can match into a wider variety of specialities compared to Carribean grads, that's why I'd choose DO.
Now, I know that matching into specialties depends on your med school grades, LOR's, USLME's, etc but I read that the majority of DO's go into primary care - is there a reason for this?
When you're in med school, do DO's and MD's have the same opportunities to do observerships and electives in the same hospitals, ability to obtain research projects in the summer at a teaching hospital etc - you know, all the things that would help make you more competitive for the more competitive specialties? Because I don't understand why the majority of DO's go into primary care, unless a lot of students had this mind to begin with, or perhaps the education moves students in this direction - I assume that for most students going to med school - DO or MD - there's a good mix of students who want to do different specialties. Thus, is there some sort of bias against DO's in this regard? In terms getting the opportunities to match into say rad or path or something like that...is it a bit skewed towards MD graduates? I'm not asking about salary or anything, I'm asking about whetehr the opportunities are the same.
For example, doing a DO degree in the US, does not give you the same opportunities as doing an MD degree in the US for Canadian citizens wishing to do a residency in Canada - you're limited to FP (or primary care, I think, but I could be wrong). This is the current situation, it could change of course in a couple years. (docbill, correct me if i'm wrong)
Now, I know that matching into specialties depends on your med school grades, LOR's, USLME's, etc but I read that the majority of DO's go into primary care - is there a reason for this?
When you're in med school, do DO's and MD's have the same opportunities to do observerships and electives in the same hospitals, ability to obtain research projects in the summer at a teaching hospital etc - you know, all the things that would help make you more competitive for the more competitive specialties? Because I don't understand why the majority of DO's go into primary care, unless a lot of students had this mind to begin with, or perhaps the education moves students in this direction - I assume that for most students going to med school - DO or MD - there's a good mix of students who want to do different specialties. Thus, is there some sort of bias against DO's in this regard? In terms getting the opportunities to match into say rad or path or something like that...is it a bit skewed towards MD graduates? I'm not asking about salary or anything, I'm asking about whetehr the opportunities are the same.
For example, doing a DO degree in the US, does not give you the same opportunities as doing an MD degree in the US for Canadian citizens wishing to do a residency in Canada - you're limited to FP (or primary care, I think, but I could be wrong). This is the current situation, it could change of course in a couple years. (docbill, correct me if i'm wrong)