More DOs becoming specialists?

[letsrun4it]

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I once read that 80%+ of all DOs were family practice doctors / rural medicine. Since that was really low on my list I thought MD would be better but after looking at match lists, it looks very much like MD match lists. Lots of family practice and internal medicine but it sure seems like there are tons of options if a student wants to have some sort of speciality.

So is the DO field changing? Was it always this way? Or are the vast majority still doing family practice?

 

[USArmyDoc]

While a lot of osteopathic students do enter primary care, I think they have always been specializing. With that being said, I do think its getting easier than it was "back then".

 

[rahulazcom]

I haven't observed that DO's are at any disadvantage should they choose to specialize. Sure, they might have to do this specialized field at an osteopathic program or at an undesirable allopathic program but ultimately every qualified DO will have the opportunity to specialize in their chosen field should they choose to do so.

Something else you should think about is that many DO's subspecialize. Internal medicine, Family Practice and Pediactrics are primary care fields. But many DO's will apply to fellowships beyond this initial training and specialize in fields like Cardiology, GI, Pulm/Critical Care, Sports Medicine, Geriatrics Rheumatology, Allergy/Immunology, Hem-Onc etc. But a match list will not show that information. It will only show that a student matched in one of these primary care fields. And obviously, it can't show that information because the earliest students can apply for fellowship is during the start of their second year of residency.

I know a lot of pre-medical students are not aware that you have to do a primary care field first like internal medicine, family practice or pediatrics before you can subspecialize in these fields. So someone can easily make the mistake of looking at a match list and seeing that someone is going into Internal Medicine, Family Practice or Pediatrics and will do that the rest of their lives. What these lists don't show is that many of these students will do a fellowship later on and specialize. So it's not true that 80% of DO's do only primary care.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I haven't observed that DO's are at any disadvantage should they choose to specialize. Sure, they might have to do this specialized field at an osteopathic program or at an undesirable allopathic program but ultimately every qualified DO will have the opportunity to specialize in their chosen field should they choose to do so.

Something else you should think about is that many DO's subspecialize. Internal medicine, Family Practice and Pediactrics are primary care fields. But many DO's will apply to fellowships beyond this initial training and specialize in fields like Cardiology, GI, Pulm/Critical Care, Sports Medicine, Geriatrics Rheumatology, Allergy/Immunology, Hem-Onc etc.

I know a lot of pre-medical students are not aware that you have to do internal medicine or pediatrics first before you can subspecialize in these fields. So a pre-med can make the mistake of looking at a match list and seeing that someone is going into Internal Medicine or Pediatrics and will do that the rest of their lives. What these lists don't show is that many of these DO's will do a fellowship later on and specialize. So it's not true that 80% of DO's do only primary care.

I would have to disagree. I would say that 80% or more of DO graduates practice in the primary care setting. To use your "sports medicine" example --> the fellowship is entitled "Primary Care Sports Medicine," because it is considered primary care. In addition, many areas consider Emergency Medicine a primary care setting.

 

[rahulazcom]

I would have to disagree. I would say that 80% or more of DO graduates practice in the primary care setting. To use your "sports medicine" example --> the fellowship is entitled "Primary Care Sports Medicine," because it is considered primary care. In addition, many areas consider Emergency Medicine a primary care setting.

It's a matter of semantics and tradition. Some people consider OB/GYN as a primary care field and others consider it a specialized field. I have always considered OB/GYN as a specialized field as well as Emergency Medcine and Sports Medicine. I'm of the school of thought that considers primary care fields being general internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics and psychiatry. Generally speaking, I think most would disagree with you if you claimed Emergency Medicine is a primary care field.

You have to look at the context of this question. When someone asks if most DO's go into primary care, I don't think they are referring to Emergency Medicine or Sports Medicine. In general, they are probably referring to Family Practice, Peds and IM.

 

[PlasticMan]

The increase in ease(as oppossed to years ago) for a DO to specialize has also prompted many of us, who have plans other than primary care, to apply to both MD and DO schools.

 

[rahulazcom]

The increase in ease(as oppossed to years ago) for a DO to specialize has also prompted many of us, who have plans other than primary care, to apply to both MD and DO schools.

I agree in that I think it will easier for many DO's to specialize or have access to competitive programs than in years past simply due to the sheer numbers of DO's that are entering the system. Many more DO's schools have opened up and as M.D.'s have the opportunity to work with DO's, many of them drop their initial DO prejudice they might have had as pre-med applicants.

But in defense of the allopathic world, the vast majority of M.D.'s who I have met have not shown any discrimination toward DO's. I think many times, DO students including myself are more sensitive to this issue than we need to be.

 

[PlasticMan]

I agree in that I think it will easier for many DO's to specialize or have access to competitive programs than in years past simply due to the sheer numbers of DO's that are entering the system. Many more DO's schools have opened up and as M.D.'s have the opportunity to work with DO's, many of them drop their initial DO prejudice they might have had as pre-med applicants.

But in defense of the allopathic world, the vast majority of M.D.'s who I have met have not shown any discrimination toward DO's. I think many times, DO students including myself are more sensitive to this issue than we need to be.

👍 To me, it does not matter whether I go to DO or MD, so long as I get to study medicine and become a surgeon.

 

[OSUdoc08]

It's a matter of semantics and tradition. Some people consider OB/GYN as a primary care field and others consider it a specialized field. I have always considered OB/GYN as a specialized field as well as Emergency Medcine and Sports Medicine. I'm of the school of thought that considers primary care fields being general internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics and psychiatry. Generally speaking, I think most would disagree with you if you claimed Emergency Medicine is a primary care field.

You have to look at the context of this question. When someone asks if most DO's go into primary care, I don't think they are referring to Emergency Medicine or Sports Medicine. In general, they are probably referring to Family Practice, Peds and IM.

Ah, so it's not a definitive answer then, right?

 

[QuantumMechanic]

👍 To me, it does not matter whether I go to DO or MD, so long as I get to study medicine and become a surgeon.

It doesn't matter of course, but I plan on going MD due to the fact that more of my class will be going into specialties as I plan on doing myself. There's nothing wrong with doing your own thing, but I feel it will be a bit more beneficial for me to be around others with the same goals as I do. If I were thinking about a primary care field however, it might prefer DO over MD due to the same reason, especially since I have heard stories about students at MD schools who talk down primary care fields.

 

[OSUdoc08]

It doesn't matter of course, but I plan on going MD due to the fact that more of my class will be going into specialties as I plan on doing myself. There's nothing wrong with doing your own thing, but I feel it will be a bit more beneficial for me to be around others with the same goals as I do. If I were thinking about a primary care field however, it might prefer DO over MD due to the same reason, especially since I have heard stories about students at MD schools who talk down primary care fields.

I guess this theory wouldn't work if you plan on doing a residency at your institution, since you would be competing with these same classmates.

 

[-Goose-]

I'm of the school of thought that considers primary care fields being general internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics and psychiatry.

Psych? Really?

😕

 

[letsrun4it]

What do you guys/gals know about DOs getting into urology programs? Thats my biggest interest.

Which schools have the best speciality matching success?

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Psych? Really?

😕

NHSC considers psych to be primary care. That's the only group I've seen that does that.

 

[Shodddy18]

I once read that 80%+ of all DOs were family practice doctors / rural medicine. Since that was really low on my list I thought MD would be better but after looking at match lists, it looks very much like MD match lists. Lots of family practice and internal medicine but it sure seems like there are tons of options if a student wants to have some sort of speciality.

So is the DO field changing? Was it always this way? Or are the vast majority still doing family practice?

Since America is in desperate need of primary care physicians we are lucky that many do go into primary care.

 

[rahulazcom]

Psych? Really?

😕

I'm not really sure about it either. I have just heard people lumping psych into the primary care category. Again, as we can see the definition as to what is and isn't primary care is pretty vague. Like I said, a lot of people argue about whether OB/GYN is a primary care field?

I think the best thing is to remember the context of the question. The OP asked: "Or are the vast majority still doing family practice?" So I'm assuming the author was asking whether most DO's mostly enter FP, IM and Peds or fields that are traditionally and safely regarded as primary care. Hey, we can all agree Fam, IM and Peds are primary care right?

 

[rahulazcom]

What do you guys/gals know about DOs getting into urology programs? Thats my biggest interest.

Which schools have the best speciality matching success?

I don't know if any school will give you a definitive advantage over another school on a national scale. Sure, I think there are more established DO schools with better reputations like OSUCOM and MSUCOM but it's not like in the allopathic world where being the last ranked student at Harvard, Mayo or Hopkins can open doors for you. I don't think any of the DO schools will give a student that much more of an edge over another DO student when applied nationally. I do think certain schools can students advantages regionally. If I wanted to settle down in Texas and somehow match in a competitive residency there, I would probably try to attend the Texas DO school or OSUCOM. Likewise, if I wanted to do my residency in Michigan or Illinois, I would probably choose MSUCOM.

There was a student who graduated from AZCOM in 2004 that matched at the University of Minnesota urology program. He was a top student at our school with excellent board scores and research. I really believe that a student at any DO school has the opportunity to match urology if he or she has competitive grades, board scores and research. So in my opinion, you should attend the DO school you would see yourself being the most happiest at as opposed to giving you an edge residency-wise.

 

[Beau Geste]

👍 To me, it does not matter whether I go to DO or MD, so long as I get to study medicine and become a surgeon.

👍 Well said.