I was reading up on the EM residency program at the Henry Ford Health System(in MI). Very good program by the way. But it said that DOs need to do an osteopathic internship before applying for the PGY-1 year. Is this common? Do Osteopathic grads need to do an intern year before applying for allo residencies? Or is it state dependent ?
Four states (FL, MI, PA, & OK) require that DOs complete a TRI or "AOA equivalent" internship prior to becoming licensed. This is a requirement set forth by the DO medical boards of thoses states. There is a way (AOA Res. 42) to get an ACGME PGY-1, pre-lim, or TY to be considered equivalent in order to get licensure in those states. It requires some extra stuff you have to do during 1st year of residency, like give a presentation about OMT, attend an AOA conference, etc.
That said, I have been noticing that some ACGME programs near me (I'm in PA) require that DOs complete the TRI prior to starting residency, regardless of whether or not they have a categorical pre-lim year. They either don't know about Res. 42, or they just don't want to have to deal with the hassle associated with it. As a result of this, those programs only interview DOs who are in a TRI. This complicates things a bit, because from what I've heard, applying from a TRI might actually hurt your chances with AOA programs, but it might actually have the opposite effect with ACGME programs.
Now, its expected that after the merger (after 2020), Res. 42 won't be necessary anymore because all programs will be ACGME accredited and there will be no AOA internships, but the states involved will have to modify laws in order for that to be official, which they'll have to do, or else they wouldn't be able to license DOs.
Hey I was going to ask something like this yesterday!
@DermViser , do you know a lot about this? Wasn't it that for DO's to even consider an MD derm program you had to do an additional rotating year or something?
The Dermatology issue is different. First off, Dermatology is an advanced residency. They start as a PGY-2 year following one year (PGY-1) of an internship that's either a TY or a pre-lim medicine year. For the ACGME programs, you apply to match in Derm programs 2 years prior to starting (i.e. you apply as a MS4 for a position you will start after you complete an internship, which you also apply for in the same match). So basically, the people applying Derm this cycle, won't start their Derm residencies until July 2016. Derm is not alone in this, and a few programs require an internship or pre-lim year, while some may actually be "categorical" meaning that the specific program includes a PGY-1 year.
Second, for AOA residencies, it works a little differently. They still require a 1 yr PGY-1 internship (TRI - traditional rotating internship), but the difference is that they do NOT accept applications in advance, and you can only apply to them as an intern the year before you are supposed to start PGY-2. This is why many match lists don't list a Derm match. Those matches are made by people who matched into a TRI when they graduated, because they had the intention of applying Derm during their TRI year.
In order to practice in some states (like MI), DO's must complete an osteopathic internship or apply for a waiver. You do not need to complete this intern year prior to applying for residency. All EM programs (MD and DO) are categorical, meaning that when you match, you are matching for the entire duration of training at that institution.
All AOA EM programs are PGY 1-4.
This is true.
The thing that I have actually noticed, however, is that some ACGME programs in those states simply don't interview any DOs that aren't currently in or that haven't already completed a TRI. I'm guessing they're scared that the DOs will have an issue getting licensed, they don't know about Res 42, or they just don't want to have to deal with it. These programs make it very clear that DOs should only apply if they have done/are doing a TRI. The funny thing is, if you apply out of state, if you're from those 4 states, and complete an ACGME program and do Res. 42, you'll probably save yourself a year and still be able to practice/be licensed.
Also, its weird, because regardless, the DO medical board in my state provides the temporary licensure to DOs for residency, even if they're doing an ACGME program without Res 42. They won't be able to get permanent licensure after training, but its perfectly fine for people to train in the state and be licensed (after PGY1/Level 3 obviously) even without a TRI or Res. 42.
