Osteopathic Pathology

[kittywampus]

I've read old posts and checked many of the "official" websites in a hopefully somewhat good attempt at making myself slightly informed on this topic. I'm a future osteopathic student who wants to go into a pathology residency. There are NO osteopathic residencies for pathology and thus an allopathic residency will be required. I'm going to school in Florida and will also want to stay in that state for residency and future employment.

My questions to be discussed are:

Can any osteopathic student who has taken the USMLE enter the allopathic residency match? Is it dependent on the program itself? I've e-mailed all the pathology residency programs in Florida and only UF replied with a very brief : Yes we accept DO's.

It appears that to be state licensed and able to work in Florida as a DO you need to have done an AOA approved residency. From what I could gather, it appears the way some have done this is by doing an AOA internship year and then going to an allopathic pathology program. Is this accurate?

Any other information, including all the discussion of pathologist’s ability to find jobs and the uselessness of AOA pathology boards can be left for another discussion elsewhere please, unless it pertains in some way to my above questions. Thanks to all

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[insidor]

In theory, any DO student can apply to any allopathic residency, including pathology. Depending on the program, they may require the USMLE. It is up to the program if they choose to interview any DO applicant, and/or choose to rank them. I know of at least 3 Allopathic pathology residencies that take at least 1 DO a year, and 2/3 "strongly recommend" the USMLE

Yes, to be licensed to practice as a DO in the state of Florida, you have to do an AOA approved internship, or prove to them that your 1st year of residency is equivalent to that of a AOA internship. That means - includes various number of primary care months, women's health, surgery, adolescent medicine, and others. So either an AOA-approved year or an allopathic prelim spot that has all of this (or an FP 1st year spot) would fulfill the requirement. If you would like to stay in Florida to practive, doing an AOA year would be the easiest

 

[kittywampus]

In theory, any DO student can apply to any allopathic residency, including pathology.

Yes, to be licensed to practice as a DO in the state of Florida, you have to do an AOA approved internship, or prove to them that your 1st year of residency is equivalent to that of a AOA internship.

I read this in a different thread posted in 2008 by member group_theory:

"Right now, due to a lack of osteopathic pathology residency, under current guidelines for Resolution 42, you will most likely have your ACGME PGY1 year be AOA-approved. If you are beginning your PGY1 year July 1, 2008 or later, there is no curriculum requirement (for pathology) to get your PGY1 year approved.

https://www.do-online.org/index.cfm?...ostdocabtres42

Just do the following

1. Remain a member of the AOA (at least when you are applying)
2. Fill out the application
3. Either do 8 credit-hours of CME from a AOA meeting (or state osteopathic meeting or educational activity sponsored by an osteopathic school) OR give a lecture on a topic in osteopathic medicine for your residency program.

For pathology, fulfill those requirements and your intern year will be AOA-approved"

I guess what this person is suggesting is that the AOA can approve an allopathic pathology residency and PGY1 can be spent in that residency, rather than a traditional AOA residency?

I was hoping some actual DO pathology residents could comment on what route they took to get to where they are.

 

[insidor]

Hmmmm.... I think you are right, yet the data is a bit conflicting

Full details here:
http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/Education/postdoctoral-training/Pages/resolution-42.aspx

Per that call (312) 202-8276 to find out for sure... then again, they can always change the rules by the time you are ready to obtain a license

 

[kittywampus]

http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-a...riculum-for-approved-ogme-1-training-year.pdf


13 Pathology​

14 NA – approval based on exceptional circumstance of no program currently available

That seems pretty much like they are saying that Pathology programs will get AOA approval, and thus one would NOT have to do the AOA internship year. But I'll call that number and find out for sure and post what I find.

 

[kittywampus]

Per a reliable source,

Osteopathic student's who match pathology DO NOT have to do the one year internship to get licensed in the states that require AOA approval. If you match into an allopathic pathology program, the AOA will grant you approval, and you can go straight into the residency. Resolution 42, due to no osteopathic residency programs. Hope it helps someone else....

 

[dermpathdoc]

Kittywampus,
did you even go to the AOCP and AOBPa websites? and talk with the people listed on those sites as reference?
It took you a long time to find out something we could have told you in 5 minutes.
The AOCP will approve ACGME pathology residencies as long as the resident submits yearly reports on their progress. If the resident wishes to seek certification from the AOBPa, then they submit thier application thru the COPT office( name has changed recently).
The board examinations are administered yearly. Last year we had ACGME candidates who took our examinations for the primary anatomic and Lab medicine, rather than take the ABP boards. One candidate took both ABP and AOBPa exams. I am a former Chair of the AOBPa as well as Past president of the AOCP and continue to serve on the Board of the AOBPa.
I encourage all who have questions about this process to contact the AOCP and AOBPa directly.

Per a reliable source,

Osteopathic student's who match pathology DO NOT have to do the one year internship to get licensed in the states that require AOA approval. If you match into an allopathic pathology program, the AOA will grant you approval, and you can go straight into the residency. Resolution 42, due to no osteopathic residency programs. Hope it helps someone else....[/QUOTE]

 

[Osteopathology]

My friend is a DO, in pathology, in FLORIDA. You in fact do NOT have to do an AOA year in order to be fully licensed and practice there.

UF does take DOs.

 

[kittywampus]

Kittywampus,
did you even go to the AOCP and AOBPa websites? and talk with the people listed on those sites as reference?
It took you a long time to find out something we could have told you in 5 minutes.[/QUOTE]

Yes, your right. I just needed to know where to look. Hince my posting on SDN. Hindsight can be 20/20...... I am still just a pre-med, weighing toward's osteopathic medicine, who shadowed a pathologist (MD) recently and was just tossing around thoughts in my head. I did a pretty through search online trying to find the anwer before posting, and just seemed to pass by the AOCP and AOBP sites.

 

[the alchemist]

Kittywampus,
did you even go to the AOCP and AOBPa websites? and talk with the people listed on those sites as reference?
It took you a long time to find out something we could have told you in 5 minutes.[/QUOTE]

Yes, your right. I just needed to know where to look. Hince my posting on SDN. Hindsight can be 20/20...... I am still just a pre-med, weighing toward's osteopathic medicine, who shadowed a pathologist (MD) recently and was just tossing around thoughts in my head. I did a pretty through search online trying to find the anwer before posting, and just seemed to pass by the AOCP and AOBP sites.

i'm a do applying for pathology this yr and dermpathdoc always gives great advice. pathology as a specialty does not require an internship year anymore so u go straight into pgy-1 and yes, resolution 42 covers us in those 4 states where u r supposed to do a do internship to get ur license (pa, mi, fl and either ok or wv - i know one of the last 2 dropped the requirement). in any other state, most of us don't even deal w/ resolution 42 unless we want to remain part of the aoa/aocp or become a future faculty at a do school). yes, there are currently no do residencies in path so unless some open up by the time u apply, we do have to apply to md res for path at the moment. some md programs don't accept comlex (our boards exams) and if u want to apply to those, u will have to take all 3 usmle exams (which is more annoying due to the extra $2300 or so as opposed to having to study twice). many recommend at least the 2 written usmle so i'd rather take them then to be disqualified b/c of that since the rest of my app is good. path is a fairly do friendly field tho some of the most competitive programs r not do friendly but that can happen w/ any md specialty.

 

[dermpathdoc]

thanx for the vote of confidence, Alchemist...
I am always available via PM to answer members questions about Pathology for D.O.'s. There are also new Board members (AOBPa) who are monitoring this forum, but I am the only one who is actively teaching at a medical school.
Many of my former student's have had success in applying for path programs and send me info about their programs.
I plan to write a note about this for the next year of applicants..so all my former students and those DO's in or just out of Path programs..please PM me so I can compile something all can use in this coming app cycle

i'm a do applying for pathology this yr and dermpathdoc always gives great advice. pathology as a specialty does not require an internship year anymore so u go straight into pgy-1 and yes, resolution 42 covers us in those 4 states where u r supposed to do a do internship to get ur license (pa, mi, fl and either ok or wv - i know one of the last 2 dropped the requirement). in any other state, most of us don't even deal w/ resolution 42 unless we want to remain part of the aoa/aocp or become a future faculty at a do school). yes, there are currently no do residencies in path so unless some open up by the time u apply, we do have to apply to md res for path at the moment. some md programs don't accept comlex (our boards exams) and if u want to apply to those, u will have to take all 3 usmle exams (which is more annoying due to the extra $2300 or so as opposed to having to study twice). many recommend at least the 2 written usmle so i'd rather take them then to be disqualified b/c of that since the rest of my app is good. path is a fairly do friendly field tho some of the most competitive programs r not do friendly but that can happen w/ any md specialty.

 

[homeboy]

I'm a DO in an ACGME path residency.

No problems not doing the DO internship; not necessary per all the previous posts.

I rotated at UF as a student and enjoyed it very much, almost ended up there (very DO friendly). I've heard most most FL ACGME sites are quite DO friendly, as expected. Most path programs in general are DO friendly, except maybe a few hoity toity big name academic institutions, and even then, if you carry with your DO a PhD or rocking board scores, it's apples to apples.

 

[Fiddlesticks]

What would be the advantages/disadvantages of being certified through the AOBPa vs ABP? Do the 4 "special" states require DO's to be certified by AOBPa? I don't understand why there is an osteopathic board of pathology for certification when there aren't even any osteopathic pathology residencies available.

 

[Fiddlesticks]

I just did a little digging. According to the ABP 2011 booklet:

http://www.abpath.org/2011BookletofInformation.pdf

To take the cert. exam:
1. You must have completed training in either an accredited MD or DO medical school
2. You must have completed an ACGME residency in pathology

Since there aren't ANY osteopathic residencies this would include all MD's and DO's that have completed a path residency.

So, why is there an AOBPa?

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Probably to make the last bit of moola they can make before everyone certified in pathology is from the acgme.

 

[dermpathdoc]

Probably to make the last bit of moola they can make before everyone certified in pathology is from the acgme.

NOOO! that is disingenuous. It is because of the Osteopathic Maintenance of Certification requirement( of which there is a similar requirement for the ABP) once you are certified in pathology by which ever board( and IM and Ortho and EM or whatever specialty you go into)you have to be re-certified every 10( depending on the Board...some have 7 years. This requirement began back in 1997. The AOBPa also certifies DO's who go to MD programs for training and those in military programs who desire to become certified thru the AOA. There actually are people who want to do that believe it or NOT!
For now it is also cheaper to get certified by the AOBPa(depending on how you register for the exams).
there are also still DO's who did take osteopathic residencies who need to get re-certified every 10 years. I am one of them, I have 3 certifications( AP, lab Med and Dermpath) and have to re-certify in two of those.

 

[DOPathologist]

Check out osteopathic pathology boards on SDN.