I hope some of the DOs out there can clarify something for me. I am a graduate of an osteopathic school. I was wondering if a DO can do a traditional internship year and then go to an allopathic institution for residency. And if this is possible, would we be able to start as PGY-2? Say, for example, I did an osteopathic traditional internship and then wanted to start as PGY-2 in internal medicine at an allopathic program, would there be any problems having the first year approved? Would some things need to be repeated?
I appreciate any insight from you guys. Thanks.
It definitely is possible, but you may have to repeat a few things. My friend did that going into IM/PEDS, and only had to do about 2-3 months extra to make up for the intership. I would defeintely contact both programs before thinking about doing this though, some places may make you repeat your internship...and that would bite.
Alot probably depends on whether the traditional year is at a dually accreditted institution or just a straight AOA institution. I would think that in a dually accredited ACGME/AOA internship you won't have a problem but in just an AOA internship without ACGME approval you probably will need to repeat a year.
If you plan to go into a program that requires a separate PGY-1 first -- Derm, Rad, Neuro, etc -- then it's a definite possibility. The key here is that it is completely dependent on what the appropriate board feels. Last I checked, the Amer Board of Derm had no rules at all about what happens in the PGY-1 -- one of my Derm prelims missed a bunch of time due to a medical illness, and in the end didn;t have to make up any of that time. The Amer Board of Psych and Neuro, on the other hand, has strict rules about what the neuro people have to do in their internships -- I have had a few PGY-5/6's in our neuro program (after finishing a fellowship), come back for a few months of PGY-1 work to complete their training because their original PGY-1 year didn't meet the board's criteria.
If you want to transfer into a PGY-2 medicine slot, then if the Osteo internship is dual accredited (ACGME and AOA) then you will get credit -- if it is AOA only then you will get little or no credit -- maybe three months, probably zero. A dual accredited program will also have a PD who can advocate for a PGY-2 spot for you in other ACGME programs. PGY-2 spots are not listed on any central list (like the match) -- you simply have to call and find one. It can be difficult, there are threads on this topic for which you can search.
