Gevitz is one of the osteopathic profession's greatest assets, and a great source of information for premeds interested in going DO.
I think the DO students on the board can probably answer your question of shadowing a DO a bit better, but I can attempt a guess. When I first learned of the osteopathic profession, I just graduated from high school and was heading off to college. Med school was on my mind and how best to get there was a deep concern (until I learned of the all-important college party, of course).
Anyway the osteopathic profession has NEVER, and even with the AOA's recent campaign to increase public awareness of the profession, really explained what DOs do, how they are trained, or even how they are different from MDs. What I learned of DOs came out of a book called "Barron's Guide to Medical and Dental Schools," which had a separate section for osteopathic schools. The writer attempted to explain the osteopathic philosophy which, knowing what I know today, was a horrible misinterpretation of Still's early work, but more importantly, it failed to mention a DO's training.
I was left with questions such as:
Did DOs receive the same training as MDs?
How was the system of postgraduate medical education of the DO set up?
Where did DOs work after leaving residency?
Were DOs restricted to being primary care physicians?
There were few resources and those available weren't particularly helpful. So my only real choice was to rule out the DO profession -- hey, I didn't know anything about them, so how could I ever want to be one?
So at the end of freshman year, I was in this "premed fellowship" on a physiatry (physical medicine and rehabilitation) service of a major academic medical center in New York. I worked with this one doctor who, as far as I could tell, worked like an MD, talked like an MD, smelled like an MD, and heck, even looked like an MD with white coat, stethoscope, and all. I never thought of finding a DO in the local phonebook and giving him a call, so I asked this doctor to tell me all he knew about DOs. His reply was, "I think they used to be looked down upon by MDs, but today they're enjoying many of the same benefits and privileges. They're practically equals today." He then asked, "Are you applying to osteopathic school?" "Oh no," I replied, "I mean, I might but that's only if I don't get into MD school and I have nowhere else to go." That's probably the MOST IGNORANT statement I've ever made in my life (I know there are some on this board who would disagree, but regardless...).
I later learned that he was a DO, and I was completely amazed. I had no idea that DOs practiced the same medicine and did the same things MDs did, and when I found out he was a DO, I asked him to show me some OMT on some of the patients. And what he showed me knocked me on my rear, and I've been a supporter of the profession since.
So why do DO schools want you to shadow a DO, despite their being the same? I think the schools know that most people have no idea what a DO is, and only the truly interested would be willing to go out there and research the profession. To shadow one is to learn that a DO is the same, but different, and that being a DO doesn't mean you'll be removing yourself from medicine, but rather adding something extra to your patient's overall care.
And your second question: Psychiatry and Neurology are, currently, among the least competitive of all residencies in the MD world -- even at Harvard affiliates it's not all that big a deal. I don't know if there are all too many Neuro and Psych residencies in the DO world, but I don't think you'd have much trouble matching to an MD program in Psych or Neuro if you were a DO. General Surgery, the surgical subspecialties, and some IM programs at the more snooty institutions might give you some lip, but who cares?
Oh, and if you didn't know, there are combined Neuro/Psych residencies available at some MD institutions. Check out
www.ama-assn.org/freida for more information.
Sorry for the long reply. I guess I'm procrastinating and not really into reading about megaloblastic anemia.
Tim of New York City.
PS, Of course the NEW YORK YANKEES.
