M.D. or D.O. Dermatologist

[el poblano]

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So this story has a bit of background. As an undergrad I spent a while shadowing a dermatologist's office whom I had met before. The guys was a nice guy for sure, and when he heard my plans to apply for medical school the year after graduating, he invited me out to work as an MA. Since then I have been privileged to work and has a unique role in the clinic- while I have the normal responsibilities of an MA, the Dr. also asks my diagnosis (outside the room, of course), teaches me why he diagnoses the way he does, and even invited me out to the journal club he directs with several local derm offices, all the participants of which are doctors. Needless to say I feel especially grateful for the experience.
Here is where the story gets interesting. The Dr., as it turns out, is a program director for a D.O. derm residency. Having submitted my application to both D.O. and M.D. schools at the same time, its not surprising I got my first acceptance to a D.O. program. The Dr., who has been such a good example and help, got excited, and time and time again said how much he'd love to have me in his program (no joke... I know it sounds odd, but we really developed a good friendship over the last year, and no we aren't related- I met him near the end of college). Since then I have been accepted to my number one school- an M.D. program. The Dr., being a nice guy, is obviously supportive, but still has tried to convince me to choose D.O. using the residency as reasoning.
So... I have chosen to go M.D. regardless, but with the knowledge I will likely never excel to the level necessary for the super competitive specialties. Was this a bad choice? Too be honest derm doesn't exactly interest me, but its hard to argue with the hours/compensation. Juest curious what others think.

 

[flatearth22]

- MD vs DO? check

- Lucrative specialty? check

- Insider connections? check

OP I do believe you have created the perfect sh*tstorm of a troll-post. The only thing you're missing is you forgot to mention that you are a URM.

 

[CoolWhipp]

- MD vs DO? check

- Lucrative specialty? check

- Insider connections? check

OP I do believe you have created the perfect sh*tstorm of a troll-post. The only thing you're missing is you forgot to mention that you are a URM.

Your troll senses make spidey senses look like a cheap card trick.

 

[235788]

- MD vs DO? check

- Lucrative specialty? check

- Insider connections? check

OP I do believe you have created the perfect sh*tstorm of a troll-post. The only thing you're missing is you forgot to mention that you are a URM.

true true. But only the best of the best become derms, hopefully OP gets a 250+ boards.

Congrats on acceptance flatearth!

 

[flatearth22]

Your troll senses make spidey senses look like a cheap card trick.

One must be a player to truly understand the game

true true. But only the best of the best become derms, hopefully OP gets a 250+ boards.

Congrats on acceptance flatearth!

Thanks man!

 

[el poblano]

Honestly I didn't mean to rile anybody up... I had no intention of trolling or otherwise, just wanted honest opinions.

 

[flatearth22]

Honestly I didn't mean to rile anybody up... I had no intention of trolling or otherwise, just wanted honest opinions.

I was only half-kidding. I looked up your post-history and you seem legit. You said it yourself....Derm doesn't interest you and the MD will open up more doors for other competitive specialties you might be interested in*. Not to mention the guilt in knowing you only got the spot because of a connection made before you even applied to med school.


*this is assuming you're a guy. If you're a female you need to jump on the Derm bandwagon like there's no tomorrow (srs). Derm is the holy grail for women and you will be cursing at yourself for not taking it when you're either working too much to raise your kids or not working enough to carry your own weight (Derm will allow you to do both).

 

[hmockingbird]

*this is assuming you're a guy. If you're a female you need to jump on the Derm bandwagon like there's no tomorrow (srs). Derm is the holy grail for women and you will be cursing at yourself for not taking it when you're either working too much to raise your kids or not working enough to carry your own weight (Derm will allow you to do both).

Not every woman wants kids...

 

[Barcu]

Leaving out the whole MD/DO thing, choosing a school based on a potential residency spot that is in no way guaranteed and one that doesn't even interest you much just seems like a poor choice.

I would go with your first choice.

 

[235788]

Not every woman wants kids...

Most married adults do. If she doesn't and gets married -- odds are her husband will. (homosexuals play by a different game - so this wouldn't apply)

I want 4 kids, no questions asked 😀

 

[hmockingbird]

Most married adults do. If she doesn't and gets married -- odds are her husband will. (homosexuals play by a different game - so this wouldn't apply)

So are you saying that if her husband wants kids and she doesn't she has to have them? And then is expected to want to be the primary caregiver (derm allows women to prevent "working too much to raise your kids" according to you)?

Although hopefully you would work out the kids issue BEFORE you got married, the above is coming off as very sexist. Even if a woman wanted to have kids, that doesn't mean she has to find a job with a smaller time commitment so she can stay home with them. There are plenty of stay at home dads and families with two working parents.

It sounds like having kids and a flexible specialty might be your goal for yourself, but that does not mean it is the same for every woman.

You can definitely list flexible hours and good pay as a plus for women interested in raising a family without implying that it's the best choice for EVERY woman.

 

[tantacles]

Most married adults do. If she doesn't and gets married -- odds are her husband will. (homosexuals play by a different game - so this wouldn't apply)

I want 4 kids, no questions asked 😀

To be fair, while homosexual men tend to play a different game, gay women often have children.

 

[235788]

So are you saying that if her husband wants kids and she doesn't she has to have them? And then is expected to want to be the primary caregiver (derm allows women to prevent "working too much to raise your kids" according to you)?

Although hopefully you would work out the kids issue BEFORE you got married, the above is coming off as very sexist. Even if a woman wanted to have kids, that doesn't mean she has to find a job with a smaller time commitment so she can stay home with them. There are plenty of stay at home dads and families with two working parents.

It sounds like having kids and a flexible specialty might be your goal for yourself, but that does not mean it is the same for every woman.

You can definitely list flexible hours and good pay as a plus for women interested in raising a family without implying that it's the best choice for EVERY woman.

following gender norms isn't necessarily sexist. Derm is very popular with woman, just as urology is more popular with men then woman (real men 😉). Is it wrong to say some genders have different and often predictable interests? Nothing is obviously in absolutes.

People have their own personal expectations for a mate. I don't want a divorce, so i may steer away from a female general surgeon etc (2 surgeons are a ticking timebomb). I'm sure you do the same in some way or another.

I'm not trying to attack to "belittle" woman.

 

[CoolWhipp]

So are you saying that if her husband wants kids and she doesn't she has to have them? And then is expected to want to be the primary caregiver (derm allows women to prevent "working too much to raise your kids" according to you)?

Although hopefully you would work out the kids issue BEFORE you got married, the above is coming off as very sexist. Even if a woman wanted to have kids, that doesn't mean she has to find a job with a smaller time commitment so she can stay home with them. There are plenty of stay at home dads and families with two working parents.

It sounds like having kids and a flexible specialty might be your goal for yourself, but that does not mean it is the same for every woman.

You can definitely list flexible hours and good pay as a plus for women interested in raising a family without implying that it's the best choice for EVERY woman.

Way to feminunicate your point.

Come on, you know he didn't mean to rub anyone the wrong way. Don't be so defensive.

 

[hmockingbird]

Bl4ckout maybe this is just a semantics issue but you used very strong language like "need" and "holy grail" which is what made me respond. To me it came off like obviously if the OP is a woman they HAVE to do derm/it's always the best choice. I do agree that gender norms exist and they are stereotypical for a reason, because many people follow them. (In fact my own dermatologist is a woman and chose dermatology because she wanted to be more involved with her kids.) I just thought there could be a better way to suggest that the flexibility would be an asset if you want to have kids than basically saying it's the best choice for women. Same with your statement that odds are if she doesn't want kids her husband will, implying that she has to have them. That kind of seemed like you expected a woman to have to do whatever her husband wants when you clarified you meant it more of a personal expectations/deciding factor in a relationship. I would agree everyone has their own "must have"/"definite no" factors for serious relationships which are used to pick a partner not force a partner to go against their wishes.

Anyway I am an English major and think about semantics a lot, so I didn't mean to overreact, but I understand where you are coming from after your clarification.

Come on, you know he didn't mean to rub anyone the wrong way. Don't be so defensive.

Thank you for the handslap.

 

[flodhi1]

Another thread going totally off topic wtf is up with SDN now a days.

 

[fahimaz7]

It doesn't really matter if you are married to the program director of a derm residency, as there are about 100,000 things that have to happen in your favor prior to matching into a derm residency. With that said, go to whatever school type that you want, and sure as hell don't base it on what some guy that you worked for prior to medical school wants you to do.

Chances of you being the derm guy(s) in your class is about 1/100.

 

[fahimaz7]

true true. But only the best of the best become derms, hopefully OP gets a 250+ boards.

Congrats on acceptance flatearth!

I love how the pre-meds even know about step 1 scores.

 

[ensuii]

I love how the pre-meds even know about step 1 scores.

I don't really think they appreciate the relative difficulty of scoring that high. What is 250? Like 95th percentile? Excelling at such a high level among what's probably the most academically accomplished group of college graduates is asking quite a bit. Then again, judging by the step 1 forums, everyone on SDN gets at least 250. 🙄

 

[thesauce]

Mean for derm is a 244. It's a tough match, but by no means 1/100.

 

[Pisiform]

Not every woman wants kids...

Unlucky for me ... Most women I talk to bring kids into convo somehow


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile app

 

[el poblano]

It doesn't really matter if you are married to the program director of a derm residency, as there are about 100,000 things that have to happen in your favor prior to matching into a derm residency. With that said, go to whatever school type that you want, and sure as hell don't base it on what some guy that you worked for prior to medical school wants you to do.

Chances of you being the derm guy(s) in your class is about 1/100.

Let me clarify a bit...
I already made my choice for various reasons- I wanted to make my own way, I got into the school I always wanted to go to, and I certainly didn't want to take the easy way out or use an unfair advantage. In fact the choice can't even be changed at this point (I withdrew my application from the other school).
The reason I made the thread was just to get other peoples opinions- I was curious if my decision was in line with the majority of people. I really wasn't trying to justify making one choice or the other, I just wanted to know what others would have done.

 

[tantacles]

Unlucky for me ... Most women I talk to bring kids into convo somehow


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile app

Well, if they're saying that they want to have kids with you, then I can't see how this is unfortunate news. 😉

 

[thesauce]

OP: Don't go to a DO school because one specific PD might get you into derm. That would be foolish. What if he's not even the PD in 4 years? What if you accidentally piss him off or he finds he likes someone better? What if you (*gasp*) don't want to do derm when the time comes? What if your scores end up being poor and he has concerns about whether you could pass your derm boards? He may like you fine, but if your scores aren't there... This is a bad idea.

Also, don't sell yourself short - you very well could be in the running for the competitive specialties at an MD school. Half of people that applied to rads with less than a 200 on their step 1 ended up matching. Some good research goes a long way. You may be more competitive than you think when the time comes.

 

[Whatyousay]

One must be a player to truly understand the game

It's like he's become Good Guy Troll or something...

 

[235788]

I love how the pre-meds even know about step 1 scores.

Welcome to SDN pre-allo.

So your saying you didn't know anything about boards prior to medical school?

Here in pre-allo, we get these cool threads such as "As a ___ resident anything," where residents tell it how it is.

 

[235788]

It's like he's become Good Guy Troll or something...

be nice! 😛

 

[ensuii]

Welcome to SDN pre-allo.

So your saying you didn't know anything about boards prior to medical school?

Here is pre-allo, we get these cool threads such as "As a ___ resident anything," where residents tell it how it is.

I certainly didn't know average scores by specialty. I feel like dwelling on that sort of information is like putting the cart before the horse. Try to be the best student you possibly can be. Even if you're going for "just" family medicine or peds, I don't think there's any less incentive for you to try to get the best board score possible. Worry about things like charting outcomes and average board scores to assess your competitiveness after you've taken the exams and have a rough idea of the potential specialties you're interested in.

Let me clarify a bit...
I already made my choice for various reasons- I wanted to make my own way, I got into the school I always wanted to go to, and I certainly didn't want to take the easy way out or use an unfair advantage. In fact the choice can't even be changed at this point (I withdrew my application from the other school).
The reason I made the thread was just to get other peoples opinions- I was curious if my decision was in line with the majority of people. I really wasn't trying to justify making one choice or the other, I just wanted to know what others would have done.

You made a good choice OP. Eat some popsicles and enjoy life til your school year starts.

 

[235788]

I certainly didn't know average scores by specialty. I feel like dwelling on that sort of information is like putting the cart before the horse. Try to be the best student you possibly can be. Even if you're going for "just" family medicine or peds, I don't think there's any less incentive for you to try to get the best board score possible. Worry about things like charting outcomes and average board scores to assess your competitiveness after you've taken the exams and have a rough idea of the potential specialties you're interested in.

Yeah but you also have to keep in mind many of us are MS0's 😀 (not everyone changes their signature or area above their name the second they get accepted)

Its just knowledge, no plans or anything.

I know derm because it comes up a lot on here. I know a couple of others, but nothing too crazy.

 

[flatearth22]

Plus such information is readily available online: http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2011.pdf

 

[fahimaz7]

Yeah but you also have to keep in mind many of us are MS0's 😀 (not everyone changes their signature or area above their name the second they get accepted)

Its just knowledge, no plans or anything.

I know derm because it comes up a lot on here. I know a couple of others, but nothing too crazy.

MS0 means you're about as educated on step 1 as the middle school student with a sibling in medical school. Not trying to be mean, but it's the truth. It's impossible to wrap your mind around what that test means, the wealth of material, or the challenge of getting a score that's high enough to make the cut-off for interviews.

 

[thesauce]

I certainly didn't know average scores by specialty. I feel like dwelling on that sort of information is like putting the cart before the horse. Try to be the best student you possibly can be. Even if you're going for "just" family medicine or peds, I don't think there's any less incentive for you to try to get the best board score possible. Worry about things like charting outcomes and average board scores to assess your competitiveness after you've taken the exams and have a rough idea of the potential specialties you're interested in.

You made a good choice OP. Eat some popsicles and enjoy life til your school year starts.

I disagree. Medicine is such a broad field that it's silly not to have some idea what you want to do when going in. Saying you want to go to medical school while having no idea what kind of doctor you want to be is just giving lip-service to admissions. After all, what do all doctors have in common? Very little aside from esoteric things like being called doctor and having stable employment.

That isn't to say you can't (or shouldn't) change your mind during school. But saying something like "I want to be a doctor" is akin to saying "I want to work in the United States." It's meaningless without a statement of the scope of work involved. Requisite to having an idea of what you want to do is having some idea what it takes to get there. Which is why being informed about step 1 as a pre-med is a good idea.