Let an older DO know what changed

[DocEspana]

Hey everyone. I'm, i guess by definition, an older DO graduate now. Class of 2012, so it's been 10 years since I was worried about this next topic: Matching.

I was finishing residency when the skeleton for how this whole NRMP/AOA thing was decided and into my first year(s) of being an attending not in academics when it actually began happening. So I'm so curious.... what has that been like? What is the realities of that combined match? Are there fields that are suddenly *too* competitive now that they can match MDs like some thought? Is there more parity and equality, like others thought? Has nothing changed at all? What are the new realities of the match given the merger and whatever "grand plans" the NRMP had for the osteoapthic residencies?

Feel free to answer this however you want. I honestly felt other (all very old) threads didn't cover this right because I really want older and out of touch DOs to be able to come here and figure out what the hell ever came from this and seeing 100s of messages of people talking in hyper-specifics among others who also are going through the same thing leads to a lot of nuance and details being missed for someone like me, who has no damn clue what the general gestalt is among the DO student and recent graduate community.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrZoidbergDO]

generally DOs are matching better at programs that previously wouldnt. and the do match rate has done pretty well.

 

[Ho0v-man]

It’s overall been a net positive. DOs aren’t basically forced to take an AOA spot because the match happens right before the NRMP like before.

It’s probably hurt the most competitive applicants a little because now they’re competing with MDs for coveted surgical sub spots.

It’s also hurt the least competitive applicants because there’s not a bunch of community programs in the SOAP that only take DOs.

These affects are marginal and it just means DOs have had to adjust their application strategies.

The thing that’s hurt DOs the most in the past 10 years is school expansion. It literally feels like everything is competitive now simply due to the size of the applicant pool.

 

[Goro]

generally DOs are matching better at programs that previously wouldnt. and the do match rate has done pretty well.

This is what we have seen at our school. Our students are matching into academic residency sites that no DO has ever been in prior, or getting into uber-specialties long known to be DO unfriendly.

The glass door is definitely cracking open, and the sky never fell either.

I also gave noted, with both surprise and pleasure, that a number of my grads have landed faculty gigs at a number of MD schools!

 

[calvinhobbes]

I remember you! You went to Touro Harlem right? One of the first classes there to graduate? You used to give great advice, and advocate for DO rotations and against Carib expansion. I think I was a few years behind you. I recall you wanted to go into Urology or EM— hope you’re doing well man!