option 1 or 2

[lachloe]

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everyone i speak with is giving me totally different opinions, so maybe you can help me out:

option 1: wait a year and apply to DO schools that I am pretty sure I can get into

option 2: go to the caribbeans for MD degree as early as May or Fall and get my MD degree there.

Here's what I know- please correct me if I am BSing.
- US DO is better than Caribb MD for rotations (US MD>US DO>Caribb MD>foreign MD)
- both are rather expensive
- both will allow me to practice medicine
- MD will give me a better chance of teaching, but I always run the risk of "why did you go to the carrib?"
- DO isn't internationally recognized, but is it any better than a Caribb MD for international recognition (ie if i decide to practice outside the US)?


I don't really care where I go to school or how far it is...all i want is a good education that will prepare me for a good medical career and passing the boards (either as a DO or MD). I also want to have the option of teaching available; preferably teaching at an undergrad level or in a college setting (no high school or JC). Although I would prefer for it to be cheap rather than pricey, it is more important to get that education at whatever cost.
I need to know soon because May in the Caribbs is coming up and I don't know if I should go there for May 2009 and just not apply to US DO schools or if I should wait it out on the Caribb and apply to US DO schools to go there for the 2010.

Long post, but I'm really torn. Every time I decide on one, I start to think about how the other is a much better option.
So I would REALLY appreciate advice because my emotional eating is turning me into a blimp.

thank you SO MUCH!

 

[Bacchus]

This is sometimes hard to distinguish if you get into the established Caribbean schools and the newer Osteopathic schools. I would garner though that, yes, as a DO student your rotation availabilities will be better/numerous.

Some of the DO schools are "cheaper." For example, if a Texan resident, TCOM is a great deal! LECOM averages 25,000 dollars for tuition and VCOM is only a bit more expensive. The cost between the DO schools and private MD schools is comparable.

Teaching at an undergraduate level is possible through either career path. Both MDs and DOs teach at medical colleges across the country so teaching at the undergrad level is plausible.

Practicing internationally is not an open door policy with an MD degree. You still need to meet licensure requirements in the country. The list of countries having DO practice rights is increasing. As a DO, or MD, you won't have a problem if you do programs such as Doctors without Borders.

I personally would stay within the United States.

 

[sarahg]

I would go DO for two main reasons:
1. The attrition rate at Caribbean schools scares me -- attrition at US schools is almost nonexistent because once you're in, they really want you to graduate. Attrition in the Caribbean is really high because they don't really care whether you graduate. This makes it a huge risk, I'd be afraid that one year I'd happen to have family problems, become depressed, or something, not perform up to my standards, and be SOL (whereas an American school would work with you more).

2. Residency. 90-something percent of US grads match (I'm not sure what the stat is for DOs because some do Allo and some do Osteo residencies but it's probably similar). Under half of Caribbean grads match and that number will keep getting lower as more US schools open and US grads increase. It doesn't matter what you degree got if you can't get a residency. If you're interested in uncompetitive specialties and don't care about geographic location that might be a smaller problem, but personally I like to keep my options open. I have no interest in neurosurgery right now but if I discover I love it while I'm in med school I'd like a decent shot at pursuing it, and you can as a DO (maybe not in an allo residency but there are DO residencies in it) but it's not likely as an FMG.

 

[Bacchus]

I would go DO for two main reasons:
1. The attrition rate at Caribbean schools scares me -- attrition at US schools is almost nonexistent because once you're in, they really want you to graduate. Attrition in the Caribbean is really high because they don't really care whether you graduate. This makes it a huge risk, I'd be afraid that one year I'd happen to have family problems, become depressed, or something, not perform up to my standards, and be SOL (whereas an American school would work with you more).

The more established schools such as Ross have low attrition rates. However, I will agree that in the states there is a MUCH bigger investment in your education.

2. Residency. 90-something percent of US grads match (I'm not sure what the stat is for DOs because some do Allo and some do Osteo residencies but it's probably similar). Under half of Caribbean grads match and that number will keep getting lower as more US schools open and US grads increase. It doesn't matter what you degree got if you can't get a residency. If you're interested in uncompetitive specialties and don't care about geographic location that might be a smaller problem, but personally I like to keep my options open. I have no interest in neurosurgery right now but if I discover I love it while I'm in med school I'd like a decent shot at pursuing it, and you can as a DO (maybe not in an allo residency but there are DO residencies in it) but it's not likely as an FMG.

This year about 78% of DO students matched in the allopathic match compared to I believe a little less than 50% of Caribbean students.

 

[lachloe]

oh okay--this is all great advice thanks!

but about the other 50% of caribb students who didn't get matched into allopathic (that means MD right?)...so what did they do? if they don't get matched, then what is their backup option?

 

[JennaQ]

Option 3: They go back to the past.

 

[simpleman]

oh okay--this is all great advice thanks!

but about the other 50% of caribb students who didn't get matched into allopathic (that means MD right?)...so what did they do? if they don't get matched, then what is their backup option?

no back up....they just wait to apply for the following year

go DO!!!!! waiting the extra year to gain admission in to DO program is worth it...trust me!

and since you will have a year off, you can work in the hospital as a telemetry tech or something similar and get into the field. It will look good when you are interviewing and you will know what u r talking about.

good luck

 

[coffeeeandtea]

Here's what I know- please correct me if I am BSing.
- DO isn't internationally recognized, but is it any better than a Caribb MD for international recognition (ie if i decide to practice outside the US)?

from Wikipedia

"On the other hand, US-trained D.O.s are currently able to practice in 45 countries with full medical rights and in several others with restricted rights."

And if you're not looking to move to the country and practice there, i.e. only joining a program such as Doctors Without Borders, they don't mind whether you're a DO or MD - (source: http://doctorswithoutborders.org/work/field/profiles/physicians)

" Requirements

• M.D. or D.O. and current license
• Completion of a residency program
• Current or recent practical experience "

 

[Eudjinn]

carib is getting worse and worse match results every year and this is a trend that will continue as mentioned before. they do not care if you graduate or drop out for whatever reason.

stay in US > FMG any day of the week

teaching is not easier as an MD... I'm a DO student and we have both DO and MD lecturers and MD students have both MD and DO lecturers. The opportunities are equal.

 

[135892]

Going out of the country should be an absolute last resort... option 1

 

[nevinleiby]

I've heard nothing but warnings, etc, about going international. And that includes talking with three or four department directors at our hospital.

For instance, I've been working with a Romanian physician at our hospital when I started doing my pre-reqs. She's been trying to take her boards and apply for a residency at the hospital. She's a new mother of one, but she has been pretty focused on her education and doing about 8 hrs/week shadowing at our hospital.
Regardless, I already finished my pre-reqs and I'm headed off to medical school in the fall. She still hasn't passed the USMLE's (failed step 1 at least once if not two times) and she is wondering if she will ever be a physician...she is really considering giving it up completely and doing something else...

 

[lachloe]

this is all great advice. thanks so much. i think i am leaning more and more towards getting a US DO!
for that interim year though, would it be better to take classes to boost my GPA? I mean the grades for those classes wouldn't be in my application anyway. I'm super poor and loan payments are coming in, so i'm really tempted to go for a job. any thoughts here?