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- Jun 20, 1999
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After this past week's flame war, I'd like to share my observations...
To pre-meds:
As an MSU student, I have a unique perspective on the differences between MD and DO students (the first year classes are jointly administered between the 2 programs). There is a fair amount of interaction and mutual respect between students of the two colleges. The primary differences that I see (I'm not going to comment on grades, MCAT's etc) involve personality types. Generally, MD students tend to be more competitive. If given a choice between getting a few hours of sleep prior to a test and scoring 80%, or not sleeping and acing the test, I've found DO students to take the former. As noted in other posts, this probably has to do with the type of person chosen by the respective admissions committees (ad coms). I've also found DO students to be more assertive and independent (but coooperative). The people that usually speak up in class tend to be the Osteo students. Again, this may be due to ad coms, or it may be due to the theory that Osteo med is often considered an alternative path to becoming a doctor and therefore attracts students that do not fit a "pre-med mold." Why is all this important? Numerous studies have shown that personality is an important determinant of a individual's happiness and success in a chosen career. Granted, the DO and MD routes are not perfectly equal. Getting into the residency of choice must be considered in the decision. But, given the choices, make sure that your personality fits the program.
I welcome comments regarding my observations.
To pre-meds:
As an MSU student, I have a unique perspective on the differences between MD and DO students (the first year classes are jointly administered between the 2 programs). There is a fair amount of interaction and mutual respect between students of the two colleges. The primary differences that I see (I'm not going to comment on grades, MCAT's etc) involve personality types. Generally, MD students tend to be more competitive. If given a choice between getting a few hours of sleep prior to a test and scoring 80%, or not sleeping and acing the test, I've found DO students to take the former. As noted in other posts, this probably has to do with the type of person chosen by the respective admissions committees (ad coms). I've also found DO students to be more assertive and independent (but coooperative). The people that usually speak up in class tend to be the Osteo students. Again, this may be due to ad coms, or it may be due to the theory that Osteo med is often considered an alternative path to becoming a doctor and therefore attracts students that do not fit a "pre-med mold." Why is all this important? Numerous studies have shown that personality is an important determinant of a individual's happiness and success in a chosen career. Granted, the DO and MD routes are not perfectly equal. Getting into the residency of choice must be considered in the decision. But, given the choices, make sure that your personality fits the program.
I welcome comments regarding my observations.
