Plethora of questions

[Schlockinz]

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OK, so I have some interest in becoming a DO but I have some questions.

What is OMM and who really practices it? Are there any data out that shows that it is an effective treatment?

What about specializing, is it harder to specialize as a DO than an MD?

Shadowing, I have never knowingly shadowed a DO, never asked the Dr's who I worked with what kind of doctor they were. So, would it be better to shadow a DO that has interests similar to my own, or would it be better to find one that uses OMM (if they are in fact two different people).

Also Engineering Physics (upper div physics courses didn't help me with the GPA). After this semester, I may have a 3.3 cum, and 3.37 GPCM. MCAT scores are as follows.

BS:11
PS:11
VR:10
Writing:T

Lastly, most of my volunteering and shadowing happened about 5-6 years ago. I am currently volunteering when I can, but it is difficult to squeeze in the time when I have research and work that I have to do as well.

Any thoughts on this? Anyone here that is part of a DO/PhD program that can tell me what its like?

Thanks in advance.

 

[RySerr21]

OK, so I have some interest in becoming a DO but I have some questions.

What is OMM and who really practices it? Are there any data out that shows that it is an effective treatment?

Here is a lil blurb from the AOA regarding OMM. I think only between 5-7% practice OMM. Usually the ones that do are in fields like family medicine, pediatrics, sports medciine, etc. If you are an opthomologist you arent gonna have much use for it. And if you work in a fast paced environment like the ER its not really gonna be useful either. So yes, the applicability of OMM is heavily dependent on the specailty of your choice. But no mater what specailty you go in to, it will always be fun to use the techniques on family members and friends! And, yes there is data showing it is an effective treatment. Do a pubmed search for "osteopathic manipulative treatment" and you will get hundreds of hits evaluating its effectiveness. One of the things I hear quite often from current students is their distaste for the cranial aspect of OMM...i guess some feel that its not really useful, but I'm not a student so I cant really speak on that...maybe a current student will respond and give you his/her thoughts.

What about specializing, is it harder to specialize as a DO than an MD?

No, you can specialize as an MD or a DO. It doesnt matter. You can be an anesthesiologist, cardiologist, orthopedic surgeon, whatever you want. DOs are able to apply to both MD residencies and their own DO residencies which only DOs can apply to.

Shadowing, I have never knowingly shadowed a DO, never asked the Dr's who I worked with what kind of doctor they were. So, would it be better to shadow a DO that has interests similar to my own, or would it be better to find one that uses OMM (if they are in fact two different people).

You can shadow a DO from any field, the schools just want to see that you are interested in learning about the profession. If you are interested, it might also be nice to shadow a physician that uses OMM, but it is certainly not required and may be difficult depending where you live. It would make since that you might be interested in learning a little bit about OMM if in fact you are applying to DO programs tho. If you shadow someone who does OMM and you think to yourself "man i really dont have any interest in learning this for two years" then it might be smart to just apply MD b/c youll be miserable otherwise. You can use this website and search for DOs to shadow. Loook them up by city/state that you live in and all of the DOs in the area will pop up and it will tell you their practicing specialty.

Also Engineering Physics (upper div physics courses didn't help me with the GPA). After this semester, I may have a 3.3 cum, and 3.37 GPCM. MCAT scores are as follows.

BS:11
PS:11
VR:10
Writing:T

Lastly, most of my volunteering and shadowing happened about 5-6 years ago. I am currently volunteering when I can, but it is difficult to squeeze in the time when I have research and work that I have to do as well.

GPA is a little on the lower end, but its not bad at all, and your MCAT is definitely above average. It may hurt that you have dont any volunteering in 5-6 years, but you said you are trying to fix that right now. So I'd recommend finding some place to volunteer when you can (which you are doing) and try shadowing a DO, and maybe even one that practice OMM. If you do these things and apply early and to many schools, you shouldnt have a problem.

 

[FutureInternist]

Certain schools require a LOR from a DO so it would be best to shadow at least one.

 

[RySerr21]

Certain schools require a LOR from a DO so it would be best to shadow at least one.

Only like 7 schools require a DO letter ( LECOM-E, LECOM-B, LMU-DCOM, PCSOM, RVU-COM, VCOM, and WVSOM) out of 28 total programs......but even if you arent applying to those schools, it will definitely help your app.

 

[213965]

Anyone here that is part of a DO/PhD program that can tell me what its like?

I am also wondering about this option. Does it work the same way as MSTP's, or does the student have to obtain his or her own funding through the graduate program?

 

[rajaholick]

i wish people would use google more
there are whole websites dedicated to "what is a DO?"

 

[Schlockinz]

i wish people would use google more
there are whole websites dedicated to "what is a DO?"

I wish that people would promote discussion rather than chiming in with nothing of any importance or value.

Damn it, just became a hypocrite🙄