Osteopathic Hospitals

[stoic]

As a future DO (hopefully) I'm trying to get a feel for all aspects of the profession and culture. My state (kansas) has no DO hospitals, so I've got to find other sources for my information.

What is the general state of osteopathic hostpitals? Are more opening than closing? Are most of the DO hospitals operating in the black? How does the level of technology compare between osteopathic and allopathic hospitals of the same size? Finally, is there any information about differences in nursing shortages between DO and Allo institutions?

Finally, is the hospital associated with kirksville an osteopathic hospital?

Thanks,
Dave

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[Dr JPH]

Nationwide more hospitals are closing than opening, osteopathic as well as allopathic.

Right now most osteopathic hospitals are community hospitals and are not associated with large universities and large university money. MSUSOM and VCOM are rarities (along with OUCOM) in that they are osteopathic schools associated with larger universities.

I've seen osteopathic hospitals and IMHO they are no different than any other hospital. Techonology, staffing and even patient care. Not like the osteopathic hospitals of yore where OMM was offered more than penicillin. I suppose we can consider ourselves lucky for that.

 

[Homunculus]

Originally posted by JPHazelton
Nationwide more hospitals are closing than opening, osteopathic as well as allopathic.

Right now most osteopathic hospitals are community hospitals and are not associated with large universities and large university money. MSUSOM and VCOM are rarities (along with OUCOM) in that they are osteopathic schools associated with larger universities.

I've seen osteopathic hospitals and IMHO they are no different than any other hospital. Techonology, staffing and even patient care. Not like the osteopathic hospitals of yore where OMM was offered more than penicillin. I suppose we can consider ourselves lucky for that.

you forgot OSU

 

[DO for ophtho]

Just my 2 cents here.....

The hospitals involved in our OPTI are mostly small community hospitals. This means that for many rotations, it is just you and the attending, b/c these small community hospitals often do not have residents in fields outside of IM and ER. Just you and the attending can be great if you have an attending who is dedicated to teaching and is willing to take time with you. I have been on rotations with some amazing attendings who really inspired me. I have also been on rotations with attendings who could care less if you were there and you end up writing notes and not learning much.

I think in some ways, it depends on your personality. For me, I enjoyed the elective rotations I did at larger allopathic hospitals, b/c even if the attending was not interested in teaching, you still had residents you could bounce questions off of, and for me, I was less intimidated asking a resident a "stupid" question or to show me how to do a procedure than an attending. Additionally, I saw a larger variety of pathology....which in my opinion helps me retain the information better. If I can attach some facts to a particular case I had to deal with, I seem to retain it better.

I loved my first two years at my college. The staff was willing to bend over backwards to help, and the students also helped one another out....it was a very non-competitive, relaxed learning environment. My last two years though, I feel a bit at a disadvantage, in that I wish I could have benefited from a larger institution with a strong organization and framework for teaching.
Our class as a whole also bombed step II pretty much, which makes me wonder how well our clinical years prepared us for boards.

Just some constructive criticism on my part, I am not trying to start the DO vs MD flame war that has been beaten to death.

Hope this helps any of you....just one person's point of view.

 

[VentdependenT]

At least at AZCOM if you put in the effort your clinical years can be very strong. On the flip side, If you wan't to be weak its also easy if you put in the effort. I didn't allow the school to run my rotations if I felt they were weak.

Too bad that your entire class blew the COMLEX II, that sucks man. I must add that the COMLEX II SUCKED and it is in NO WAY reflective of what kind of doctor you will be. That ridiculous to even entertain that inane thought. You know in your heart if you got what you wanted out of your clinical years. In the end we're all gonna git whooped in intern year.

The study materials and rotations are out there. People just need to be proactive about their careers. Not sure how things work at your school for electives though.


Best of luck.

 

[OsteoMed02]

Dave,

One of the best things about being an osteopathic student at MSU is that for clinical rotations, you are sent to one of twelve institutions throughout the state. While some of these hospitals have a combined MD/DO staff, a large majority are simply D.O. hospitals and provide excellent care to patients within the state. From what I've witnessed, there are no major differences between these hospitals and more "traditional" settings. In fact, one of the largest D.O. hospitals, Metropolitan in Grand Rapids, is building a brand new campus which will actually become a well-equipped "health care village" complete with an on-site OMM research team by 2006. Many students from all over the nation visit hospitals within the state of MI because of its large D.O. population and its wealth of osteopathic resources. If you have any other questions, let me know!

Julia