Osteopathic schools equivalent of AOA?

[bravotwozero]

By AOA, I mean alpha omega alpha honor society. Is there anything equivalent to this at most osteopathic schools? If so, do allopathic residency PD's give it any consideration? Or is that something they primarily look for in allopathic applicants?

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[spicedmanna]

By AOA, I mean alpha omega alpha honor society. Is there anything equivalent to this at most osteopathic schools? If so, do allopathic residency PD's give it any consideration? Or is that something they primarily look for in allopathic applicants?

I believe the Osteopathic equivalent of Alpha-Omega-Alpha is Sigma-Sigma-Phi. I don't know the answers to your other questions.

 

[JonnyG]

ERAS only acknowledges two honor societies AOA and Sigma Sigma Phi. Its a shame sine not all DO schools have sigma sigma phi. Its also more of a community service organization than honors society.

 

[NeuroDocDO]

Sigma Sigma Phi (SSP) = National Osteopathic Service Fraternity, you need to be top 30% of the class, but the main emphasis is on service. Students are inducted into this society by fellow students who are already members. Most DO schools have this society on campus.

Psi Sigma Alpha (PSA) = National Osteopathic Scholastic Honor Society, you need to be top 15% of the class by the end of 2nd year of Medical School. No service requirement, purely academic. Students are inducted into this society by senior faculty members and the dean of the college. Only a few DO schools have this society on campus. ( KCUMB, UNECOM, and a couple of others)



Hope this helps

 

[Taus]

I can say w/a fair amt. of certainty that while SSP is nice......it pales in comparison to what AOA adds to an application for an allopathic applicant

 

[JonnyG]

I can say w/a fair amt. of certainty that while SSP is nice......it pales in comparison to what AOA adds to an application for an allopathic applicant

I totally agree but we both didn't join this organization SOLEY to enhance are already large amount of volunteer work. I want my cords.


Taus, change your sig, your an MsIV now.

 

[SomeDoc]

So SSP is top 30% and community based... whereas PSA is purely academic and top 15% and yet ERAS has no spot for PSA honors. It would be nice to see PSA acknowledged on ERAS since IMO it's much more of an accomplishment than SSP.

 

[Shinken]

So SSP is top 30% and community based... whereas PSA is purely academic and top 15% and yet ERAS has no spot for PSA honors. It would be nice to see PSA acknowledged on ERAS since IMO it's much more of an accomplishment than SSP.

Well, that depends on the point of view. In my opinion, the addition of a significant amount of extracurricular community activities add significantly to the value of SSP over PSA.

It's difficult to be in the top 15% of the class. It's also difficult to be in the top 30% and have significant time invested outside of class in service activities.

When we had to choose inductees to SSP, the requirements in terms of sheer number of hours and quality of experience was quite significant. I think SSP is more in the spirit of osteopathic medicine where they "look beyond the numbers" to a more rounded view of a person, whereas PSA is purely academic and not as well-rounded. Again, just my opinion.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

I can say w/a fair amt. of certainty that while SSP is nice......it pales in comparison to what AOA adds to an application for an allopathic applicant

Totally agree sir.

PSA is the closest thing to the allopathic AOA. Too bad PCOM doesn't have a chapter.

SSP blows at PCOM. I wasn't inducted as a 2nd year -- despite being top 10% with both national and international volunteer work during med school -- mainly b/c the people who used to run it were a bunch of HATERS. Yeah I said it. You know who you are and if you're reading this guess who got the last laugh..

Having said that, I was never asked about SSP during internship or ophtho interviews.

 

[Jamers]

Sigma Sigma Phi (SSP) = National Osteopathic Service Fraternity, you need to be top 30% of the class, but the main emphasis is on service. Students are inducted into this society by fellow students who are already members. Most DO schools have this society on campus.

Psi Sigma Alpha (PSA) = National Osteopathic Scholastic Honor Society, you need to be top 15% of the class by the end of 2nd year of Medical School. No service requirement, purely academic. Students are inducted into this society by senior faculty members and the dean of the college. Only a few DO schools have this society on campus. ( KCUMB, UNECOM, and a couple of others)



Hope this helps

Actually, the requirements for SSP vary from school to school; which is all the more reason it isn't as highly respected and why I didn't spend money on joining it. For example: DMU first year induction is top 25% but second year is top 50%.