Re-Applicants... Have you Considered...

[MexicanDr]

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It seems that some re-applicants here would have a good chance of getting accepted into a DO school, but keep re-applying because of their necessity of the MD after their name.

If your love, passion and desire for medicine is such, why dont you just go ahead and apply DO? In no sense I am saying DO is worse than MD, simply that they do things different when it comes to applicants. They work with GPA differently and that can be a huge benefit.

Again, Many people seem to go to the Caribbean schools or any other International programs (UAG in MX) when they, in reality have a shot at DOs.

Again, if your passion is such, why not give DO a shot? DO and MDs do the same thing, except DOs have OMM training which many MDs are considering and using nowadays, so stop stressing so much and give DO a chance.

On the other hand, for those who have considered both and still not getting in, why not go and talk to the specific school Dean's so they can give you guys some light on the WHYs and WHATs of your rejection or no interview invites.

I am still a premed, done with my B.S., but taking my pre-reqs. I wish you guys the best of lucks..

Eddie

 

[womp]

I'm sure the reapplicants here have never considered any of your points. Could you be any less patronizing?

 

[VdoubleE]

Very interesting points i must say. I must ask are you refering to seo

 

[Pet of the Week]

Patronizing, perhaps, but there is a lot of truth in it. Some people seem so concerned with two letters that they will ship themselves off to a non-selective, for-profit institution on an island somewhere with a limited guarantee that they will make it through or even be able to find a residency or get a license to practice when they return (often depends on the state). I don't really understand those who would go Caribbean when they could go DO. I'm not saying the Caribbean doesn't produce good physicians. I just think it should be a last resort rather than an "at least I get an M and a D" option.

I do, however, understand someone wanting to go to an allopathic school rather than an osteopathic school because a specific school offers a better program for that individual..i.e. students being better prepared for a certain type of residency. If you can't stomach fp, then you won't likely benefit as much from a school that sends 90% of each class to fp residencies. This is the case with some (definitely not all) DO schools.

 

[AD28]

fyi, many schools in the caribbean have contracts with hospitals that require that hospital to take a certain number of its residents every year. they may not be the best, but if you go to a caribbean school (provided you dont bomb all your steps) you should definitely be able to land a residency. DO is great if you want to be a PCP, but many people don't have that particular aspiration so it's not really considered. plus, when patients find out you have a DO and don't know what that is, I would get pretty annoyed having to explain it.

if you think a passion for medicine automatically means you want to just be a doctor you are sadly mistaken. there is much more to consider than just whether or not you want to be a doctor.

people often don't think enough about what their daily routine will be like - the patient and case mix, will you actually enjoy the procedures you will be doing, work-life balance, and will it ultimately be fulfilling to you. you may have a passion for medicine but some specialties might kill that passion and some might fuel it. just because getting a MD in the caribbean isn't something you would consider doesn't mean it isn't exactly what someone else is looking for. try not to be so quick to judge.

 

[Pet of the Week]

My state is very picky when it comes to licensing IMG's. It's something you definitely need to consider before you go Caribbean.

Also, DO does not equal PCP. If you think that will be your only option, you are sadly mistaken. 😉

 

[dingyibvs]

Patronizing, perhaps, but there is a lot of truth in it. Some people seem so concerned with two letters that they will ship themselves off to a non-selective, for-profit institution on an island somewhere with a limited guarantee that they will make it through or even be able to find a residency or get a license to practice when they return (often depends on the state). I don't really understand those who would go Caribbean when they could go DO. I'm not saying the Caribbean doesn't produce good physicians. I just think it should be a last resort rather than an "at least I get an M and a D" option.

I do, however, understand someone wanting to go to an allopathic school rather than an osteopathic school because a specific school offers a better program for that individual..i.e. students being better prepared for a certain type of residency. If you can't stomach fp, then you won't likely benefit as much from a school that sends 90% of each class to fp residencies. This is the case with some (definitely not all) DO schools.

Don't underestimate the power of vanity and pride, millions have died for those things. Logical? Perhaps not. Is it logical to sacrifice your life for your country when you could conceivably surrender and live a nice life, or at least just live, period? Probably not, unless you take things like pride, dignity, and vanity into consideration.

When you look at it that way, it's not really that hard to comprehend why some would go after that MD no matter the drawbacks.

 

[244869]

Don't underestimate the power of vanity and pride, millions have died for those things. Logical? Perhaps not. Is it logical to sacrifice your life for your country when you could conceivably surrender and live a nice life, or at least just live, period? Probably not, unless you take things like pride, dignity, and vanity into consideration.

When you look at it that way, it's not really that hard to comprehend why some would go after that MD no matter the drawbacks.

I see what you mean about US MD but this should not be a reason for going to the carribean. Carribean MD does not equal US MD and I think a lot of people make this mistake. Maybe you can "trick" your patients into thinking you are just another MD who went to a US med school but once your peers know that you went the carribean route...they will never look at you the same way. Maybe they won't say this to your face but you can be rest assured that they will be talking down to your carribean MD behind your back. I know this because my brother has a US MD and this is his take on the carib. This is also what all his MD buddies think as well. What do they think of DO you ask?? "They are a heck of a lot better than carib. In terms of clinical knowledge it goes MD>DO>>>>carib."

So if it's pride, dignity, or the title of MD you want...you will not find it in the carib.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Patronizing, perhaps, but there is a lot of truth in it. Some people seem so concerned with two letters that they will ship themselves off to a non-selective, for-profit institution on an island somewhere with a limited guarantee that they will make it through or even be able to find a residency or get a license to practice when they return (often depends on the state). I don't really understand those who would go Caribbean when they could go DO. I'm not saying the Caribbean doesn't produce good physicians. I just think it should be a last resort rather than an "at least I get an M and a D" option.

I do, however, understand someone wanting to go to an allopathic school rather than an osteopathic school because a specific school offers a better program for that individual..i.e. students being better prepared for a certain type of residency. If you can't stomach fp, then you won't likely benefit as much from a school that sends 90% of each class to fp residencies. This is the case with some (definitely not all) DO schools.

that description is not limited to the Caribbean.

 

[dingyibvs]

I see what you mean about US MD but this should not be a reason for going to the carribean. Carribean MD does not equal US MD and I think a lot of people make this mistake. Maybe you can "trick" your patients into thinking you are just another MD who went to a US med school but once your peers know that you went the carribean route...they will never look at you the same way. Maybe they won't say this to your face but you can be rest assured that they will be talking down to your carribean MD behind your back. I know this because my brother has a US MD and this is his take on the carib. This is also what all his MD buddies think as well. What do they think of DO you ask?? "They are a heck of a lot better than carib. In terms of clinical knowledge it goes MD>DO>>>>carib."

So if it's pride, dignity, or the title of MD you want...you will not find it in the carib.

The pride and whatnot may be misguided(and it may not, a person may just wish to look good in front of the patients/family/friends etc. who don't know any better), but it's their choice and it's not terribly difficult to understand, even if you disagree.

 

[MexicanDr]

DO is great if you want to be a PCP, but many people don't have that particular aspiration so it's not really considered. plus, when patients find out you have a DO and don't know what that is, I would get pretty annoyed having to explain it.

There are many DOs who go into different specialties, who said DOs are just good for PCP?

I dont think many people really care if you are a DO or an MD, I mean, you are still a physician/doctor and thats the universal language. I mean, if you go to the ER, are you going to be concerned if a DO or an MD is treating you in a life/death situation? Or any other medical call? If you do, then something is wicked with you...

 

[faith2]

When I was applying I applied to MD and DO all I wanted was my foot in the door once I got accepted to both than I choose a MD school that was right for me. I think it is true some of us are so hung up on the letters that they do not consider DO. I can nt judge them because this is a grueling process and if that is what you want I see nothing wrong with. I personally was not interested in a carib school for various reasons but obviously there are people that go there and still come out ahead.

 

[AD28]

No one said that DOs are only good as PCPs. Please learn to read carefully. I said that DOs are great for PCP and that MD is better for specializing. Look at the numbers - many DO schools churn out PCPs whereas allopathic med schools have more physicians in specialty practice.

I am not disparaging DOs, but stating the reasoning why someone would go to the Caribbean to get a MD as opposed to a DO. My PCP is a DO and I think she is a fantastic physician - much better than my former PCP who was a MD.

 

[gouda]

There are many schools (university-based and some private) that don't let DO's rotate and there is usually more paperwork involved with rotating as a DO.

The purely osteopathic residencies are small number compared to allopathic. If you choose to go into a competitive specialty such as derm, you stand almost no chance statistically with the osteopathic programs and as a DO attempting to enter allopathic you will likely lose the battle. Many students think they know what kind of doctor they will be, but they wont know until rotations, so why would you potentially limit yourself by going DO?