osteo post bacc but want an MD?

[jintonic5]

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i'm looking at different graduate programs, and i was wondering whether anyone who wants to go to an allopathic medical school is considering biomedical master's programs/post-bacc work at osteopathic schools. in particular i was looking at pcom and nova...
would enrollment and completion of a program at an osteopathic school be viewed differently from a regular MS or SMP? anyone know? thoughts?

 

[housecleaning]

i think you already know the answer to that one.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

I don't know whether the osteopathic programs would be viewed with less weight. I would assume that some would be viewed less favorably than say G-town or BU, simply because some of these osteopathic grad programs don't include medical courses. However, one guy on SDN is going to MSU-CHM (the MD school of MSU) now and finished an osteopathic graduate certificate program, if I remember correctly. I believe he did the LECOM certificate.

I'm in the middle of preparing a list of some postbac enhancement programs. In case you're curious, here is a listing of some of the osteopathic pre-professional graduate programs:

KCOM has a 1-2 year (typically 2) MS in Biomedical Sciences program. It's a traditional MS program, but I believe the program contains some courses that resemble the courses taught in the medical curriculum.

AZCOM and CCOM both have 2 year Master of Biomedical Sciences programs.

KCUMB has a one year MS in Biomedical Sciences program. I know very little about it and the website is pretty vague.

LECOM PA has a one-year postbac certificate program.

Nova has a 2 year Master of Biomedical Sciences program.

OSUCOM has a 1-2 year (typically 2) MS in Biomedical Sciences program.

PCOM has the one year biomedical sciences certificate / 2-year MS in Biomedical Sciences program. The coursework is similar to the courses taught in the DO program and is taught by the same professors, if I remember correctly.

UMDNJ-SOM has a 1-2 year MBS (non-thesis) / MS (thesis) program that allows you to take two medical courses with the DO students. Some of the graduate courses resemble the courses taught in the medical school.

TCOM / UNT has a postbac certificate program.

 

[baylorshannon]

The TCOM/UNT postbac is a one year program that includes courses with med school (even gross lab in the spring), school of public health (biostats), and the graduate school in biomedical sciences. If you don't get a 3.5, you are automatically withdrawn from TCOM's applicant pool. It's competitive - last year there were 24 students, and this year the class size was increased to 35. I know of several students who went through the certificate program and started medical school - osteo and allo - the next year.

 

[mstann]

i'm looking at different graduate programs, and i was wondering whether anyone who wants to go to an allopathic medical school is considering biomedical master's programs/post-bacc work at osteopathic schools. in particular i was looking at pcom and nova...
would enrollment and completion of a program at an osteopathic school be viewed differently from a regular MS or SMP? anyone know? thoughts?

From what I understand, the master's programs at PCOM are separate from the medical school. I went to an information session on the many master's programs they offer, and asked if they would be considered "osteopathic." They said that although the classes will be taken at an "osteopathic" medical school, the programs are not affiliated with the osteopathic approach. This includes the physician assistant program, biomedical sciences programs, psych and forensic programs as well. Therefore, I'd classify it as a pre-osteopathic, pre-allopathic SMP; probably just as good as any other one. How picky are ad coms about the SMP being taken at an osteopathic college? I do not know. If you are interested in an allopathic school's SMP in the philly area, I'd check out Drexel's program. The two schools are literally 7 minutes from each other (if you have a car).

 

[arsenalgunner]

You should ALWAYS do your post-grad work at the med school you would eventually like to go to. That way you meet all those people who will eventually be making the admissions decisions and a preference is always given to the "in house" applicants. Also, schools don't tend to trust anyone else's programs , but their own.

If this isn't an option, it is possible to get into an allo school with osteo post-grad work. I ended up going to an osteo school for my MS since they were the only ones accepting apps at the time and am a 2nd year at an allo school now. Several people who were in the post-bacc program at the time also endd up at allo schools.

 

[USArmyDoc]

i think you already know the answer to that one.

🙄

 

[kwangho]

Junebug,

I need your advice bro. I come from a family where I was the first born child and graduated from the 4-Yr university in the US. I had a tough time in college partying and not realizing the importance of how education would benefit me in the future. My undergrad gpa was 2.3 and my science gpa was 2.3 as well. I graduated with BA in theatre and my major gpa was 3.6 (don't think this applies to any med school admissions). Since I graduated from the university, I took General Chemistry II (B-), Organic Chemistry I, II (3.5), and Physics I (4.0). I am planning to take the MCAT in upcoming April, 2006. I am currently living in the east coast and studying naturopathic medicine; however, because of its current credentials, I am planning to apply to allopathic medical schools. I looked at various Post-Bacc programs across the country but they require MCAT scores. I also spoke to counselor at SGU, she said that average entrance applicant's gpa is 3.2 which I don't have. Which route you think I should take? Do you have any suggestion?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[priam18]

Junebug,

I need your advice bro. I come from a family where I was the first born child and graduated from the 4-Yr university in the US. I had a tough time in college partying and not realizing the importance of how education would benefit me in the future. My undergrad gpa was 2.3 and my science gpa was 2.3 as well. I graduated with BA in theatre and my major gpa was 3.6 (don't think this applies to any med school admissions). Since I graduated from the university, I took General Chemistry II (B-), Organic Chemistry I, II (3.5), and Physics I (4.0). I am planning to take the MCAT in upcoming April, 2006. I am currently living in the east coast and studying naturopathic medicine; however, because of its current credentials, I am planning to apply to allopathic medical schools. I looked at various Post-Bacc programs across the country but they require MCAT scores. I also spoke to counselor at SGU, she said that average entrance applicant's gpa is 3.2 which I don't have. Which route you think I should take? Do you have any suggestion?

Thanks for all your help!

How many years was it between your undergrad and post-bac years? If it was a significant amount of time (or sometimes, even if it's a short period), there may be some forgiveness of the lower GPA. It looks like you did well enough with the science courses you took after you graduated, but did you also complete Physics II, General Chemistry 1, and the year of biology? These are also part of the pre-reqs for medical schools.

I suggest you study very hard and take the MCATs, hoping for a high score. Your chances for allopathic schools in the US are slim, but there is still a very strong chance if you also have good clinical experience, letters of recommendations, and personal statements. Work on making those flawless, plus the MCATs, and I think you're set.

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Oops, just realized the question was directed to Junebug...sorry, June! 😳