Obedeli said:
Before everyone jumps on a well articulated but grossly INCOMPLETE response, maybe you should actually look at the source.
Incomplete... Hmmm. Incomplete.... WELL pushinepi if you actually looked at the source you will see that it INCLUDED the amount of osteo students withdrawn! 17.8 % if you want to be exact. 😉
That still left 29.6% of senior osteopath students with a depressing email on black monday. "You did not match."
Incomplete it is then. Give me moment to collect my thoughts; everytime I look at Ventdependent's avatar or read his responses, I've got to recover from convulsive fits of laughter. NIH grands for pine scented undergarments ? Maybe that's the secret to the tomorrow's era of osteopathic centered research!
For the last time, I made no attempt to refute the NRMP's stats. I simply wanted to put them in proper context. Let's assume DO students consistently underperform their MD counterparts with regard to USMLE steps I and II. Include the withdrawn DO applicants and still the higher unmatched rate stares us DOs in the face on 'black Monday.'
The points articulated in my previous post are nevertheless valid. First, osteopathic students are not coached to take the USMLE! Until this past year, the number of questions on USMLE vs. COMLEX differ as does the method of examination. The NBoME just moved to computerized testing. Furthermore, the focus of the exam is slightly different. OMM is integrated into approximately 30% of COMLEX questions. The COMLEX blueprint, it would seem, is more interested in assessing the integration of data, osteopathic and traditional, rather than pure basic science facts. Critics would reply that OMM knowledge is either an excuse or a way for DOs to artifically inflate their scores. Like it or not, osteoapthic physicians must demonstrate at least a rudimentary understanding of physical medicine principles to pass all three examination stepsIts also interesting to note how the scores virtually parallel each other in the Step III section. Finally, the use of USMLE scores as a bechmark for clinical excellence is by no means a well established litmus test. To truly address the question of equivalence (with regard to board performance), MDs and DOs should take the same licensing examinations. In the future, such tests would permit PDs and statistics junkies to more directly compare osteopathic to allopathic graduates.
Referring back to the original post, the "MD view of DOs," I don't think its fair to say that discussions of USMLE vs. COMLEX characterizes anyone's perspective. DO schools often recruit an entirely different type of student. I'm not ashamed to say that I was rejected from the University of Florida three times in a row. At the time of application, I was working as a full time firefighter / paramedic. I didn't have the time to spend on an MCAT prep course and was enrolled post-bacc to complete requirements in Biochemistry and Physics lab. And yes, I did bring the ambulance to school a time or two. My cumulative GPA was around 3.7, science 3.3 or so, and my MCAT was average. When I talked to the admissions coordinator about my chances during re-application, she advised me to quit my job and pursue post-grad study. This course was absolutely unacceptable for me, but it also reiterated the point that top medical schools (MD ones especially) focus on the numbers. To be fair, it could also have been that applicants to UF are absolute super geniuses capable of juggling a full time career, doctoral thesis, and volunteer hours at the local homeless shelter. When I interviewed there, I sat between a PharmD and a PhD candidate in chemistry. Interpret the above anectode however you like; I was most certainly a non traditional applicant. My story is not at all unique, however. Many classmates of mine have former lives as RNs, EMT-Ps, PTs, DC's, and physician assistants. DO school admissions committees place a higher premium an prior experience and are interested in looking at the bigger picture inclusive of board scores. MD school admissions committees labeled me as an underperformer and an average applicant. DO schools, however, saw something a little different. See where I'm going with this ? Scores, GPAs, match stats.. they are all part of a larger perspective. Is it true that my rejection from allopathic school solidified my place as a mediocre student ? Was my average MCAT score predictive of underachievement in medical school? Absolutely not. People choose the DO route for a variety of reasons. As for myself, I really wanted to become a physician. Other students buy into the rhetoric of a, 'whole person' approach to medicine. Still others value the tradition of providing primary care to underserved populations. These motivators result in the matriculation of a different demographic. The average age of DO school applicants is ,or was, older when compared to their allopathic counterparts. A significant number of osteopathic students have had prior experience in the health care field. The end result is the graduation of a complete physician. NBME and NBOME numbers aside, osteopathic students are lucky enough to enjoy the same opportunities for post graduate training as their MD colleagues. Even if we agree 100% with your logic, the only sacrifice is that DO students MAY have to work a little harder to secure a competitive spot.
So, we're left with the cold hard facts of underperformance on the USMLE. I'm fine with that and have no intention of undertaking an exhaustive research project to put those scores in perspective. As long as residency program directors and faculty understand the value of DO education and continue to recruit and select top osteopathic students, the collegial relationship between the two types of physicians will continue.
That said, I'm looking forward to precepting superior allopathic students on rotation at Shock/Trauma. I can dazzle them with such marvelous anectodes as, "My DO friend is over at Hopkins!"
