MD residency after DO school?

[Herpeto]

I was reading on one of the posts that most states allow people to do MD residencies after going through a DO program. However, some states prohibit this and I was if anyone knew what states they are or where I could find specific information on the topic? If I were to graduate as a DO from one of these states could I still do an MD residency in another state? Thanks


Herp

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[DcK]

I think I've read on here you can, but you'd have to take and place well on the USMLE (in addition to the COMPLEX). But, I'm not certain, so I'll wait to see what the experts say as well.

 

[oceandocDO]

There are 5 states (PA, FL, MI, WV, OK) which require an osteopathic rotating internship in order to become a licensed osteopathic physician. These states dont prohibit D.O.s from doing an MD residency, they just need to complete the internship in addition to the MD residency. What consitutes an osteopathic rotating internship has changed somewhat of late, and the requirements are more lax, none-the-less, you need it for licensure. You can also apply to have your first year of MD residency count as your osteopathic rotating internship, but you must prove that the MD program will meet certain criteria. The USMLE is not required to enter an MD residency, per-se, it just may enable you to be more competitive as some MD programs are unfamiliar with the COMLEX grading system. You need to pass the COMLEX to graduate from most schools and become a licensed osteopathic physician.

The ideology behind the internship was originally based on the fact that osteopathic physicians are trained to see the body as a complete unit, thus they should be exposed to all the major areas and disciplines of medicine as a young physician, rather than diving into their specialty right away, which many MD programs involve. Overall, it's one of the things that, on paper, separates a D.O.'s training from an M.D.'s training.

Different people have different views on whether the internship is worthwhile, and much of it is probably based on strength/weaknesses of particular programs and personal opinion on how quickly they would like to be training in their specialty.

hope this helps.

 

[Herpeto]

Thank You! This is exactlywhat I was looking for.

Herp

 

[OldManDave]

Just to further define the above offered info - yes, there are 5 states that insist upon making things more complicated for DOs who seek to train in ACGME post-grad programs. They are: MI, WV, OK, FL & PA.

However, 3 of the 5 will permit you to obtain a training license & train in an ACGME post-grad program w/o having done an AOA internship. Those are OK, FL & PA. Now, as I said, you can train there, but you will not be able to obtain a full license w/o the AOA internship. That means you will most likely not be able to moonlight outside of your training facilities - this requires a full license to do - and that you will have to seek employment, post-residency, in another state.

Now, 2 of the 5 are truly sticklers: MI & WV. You cannot even obtain a training license in these states w/o having completed the AOA internship. So here, the answer is NO - no AOA internship = no can train here, period.

 

[dctrben]

I wish to respond to the previous comments as to the necessity of USMLE to attend an ACGME residency. That is not universally the case, you will need to check with your proposed director of Medical Education for that particular residency. I know of a couple (mainly FP) that do NOT require it. It has been suggested to take the USMLE to make it easier for the Med. Directors to compare you to other applicants. There are atleast two residencies that I know of that my school (KCOM) brought the directors in and showed them the differences between USMLE and COMLEX. Mainly to educate them about what the COMLEX really is. (As an aside, according to the Canadian government, the COMLEX is a much more challenging test. This fact came up in some discussions our SGA had with a former member of the NBOME).

I say this only because I am sick of people thinking they need to take the USMLE no matter what. Do some research, talk to the directors of the residencies you really want to go to and see what you can work out. With the advent of the PE in the next couple years, taking both would be financially draining.

Bottom line?? Do your research and educate potential colleagues.

Ben

 

[ramsestiger]

Here's another point that a DO student at KCOM told me: the residency directors that only accept the USMLE usually have anti-DO sentiments that go along with the policy. Therefore, many of these programs would probably not accept you EVEN AFTER you do well on the USMLE. In general, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment if you apply to programs that don't regard the DO route as an MD route equivalent.

Although that's a valid point, I honestly believe that you must take the USMLE as a DO student if you truly wish to get into one of the ultracompetitive allo residencies.

Caveat: I'm not even a 1st year just yet, so my opinion is based on general perceptions and inferences, not facts or real life examples.

 

[drusso]

I disagree with some of the advice give here. In general, most programs will interview and accept DO graduates with only the COMLEX-USA boards. This is is especially true for primary care specialties. Still, some programs will not. It's is almost impossible to know which programs will and which programs will not ahead of time. Therefore, the prudent thing to do is call programs directly and ask the PROGRAM DIRECTOR not some administrative aid or secretary. Talk to the head hancho.

If you are gunning for a competitive specialty or a pretigious program you should complement your COMLEX-USA scores with USMLE scores. It just makes sense. The good news is that you will only need to take USMLE Steps I and II. No one in the world will care about step III as it is only a means to state licensure. I advice DO students to think of the COMLEX-USA as an important means to an end (state medical licensure) and the USMLE just another kind of standardized achievement test like the MCAT, GRE, etc.

 

[DrWBD]

Originally posted by OldManDave
Just to further define the above offered info - yes, there are 5 states that insist upon making things more complicated for DOs who seek to train in ACGME post-grad programs. They are: MI, WV, OK, FL & PA.

However, 3 of the 5 will permit you to obtain a training license & train in an ACGME post-grad program w/o having done an AOA internship. Those are OK, FL & PA. Now, as I said, you can train there, but you will not be able to obtain a full license w/o the AOA internship. That means you will most likely not be able to moonlight outside of your training facilities - this requires a full license to do - and that you will have to seek employment, post-residency, in another state.

You are the man
Thanks for providing this information. I never knew that "training licenses" existed. Does it apply for fellowship training as well, or only residency?