So...Would You do D.O.?

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Would you ever choose DO?

  • Yes

    Votes: 283 66.6%

  • No

    Votes: 142 33.4%
  • Total voters
    425
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If there was no possible way that you could go to an MD program to become an allopathic (MD) physician, would you ever consider applying to DO programs?

I personally would. If the philosophy of the school was good and an opportunity for a desirable residency was available. But I see a lot of ppl in real life and on here who say they're going into medicine to "help people" and then bash DO applicants for even trying. So, would you consider DO if allopathic MD wasn't really a feasible option?
 
This will be closed fast
 
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In a heartbeat.

Depending on my cat results, DO might be my only hope....but either way, there are a few programs I'd apply to regardless. The DO docs I know couldn't be any happier (and again, in the end, its more about what you do individually as a student than where you go to school that determines your success).
 
Yup. I am applying outside of the Philadelphia area, too, but we REALLY want to stay here. If I get into PCOM and, say NYMC, PCOM is probably going to be where I go.
 
Hell naw. (easy for me to say)

Geekchick921 said:
Yup. I am applying outside of the Philadelphia area, too, but we REALLY want to stay here. If I get into PCOM and, say NYMC, PCOM is probably going to be where I go.
Click to expand...

both may be osteo soon anyway 😛
 
Marcus Brody said:
Hell naw. (easy for me to say)



both may be osteo soon anyway 😛
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Really? Well, you know what I mean. If I get into an MD school that would require us to move out of the Philadelphia area, and PCOM, I will probably choose PCOM.
 
Main reason I didn't apply osteo - I did not want to do amcas again. They need to link the two services.
 
It is shocking to me that anyone would vote no on this.

You would rather not become a doctor than go to a DO school?

Who are you people?
 
shiftingmirage said:
Main reason I didn't apply osteo - I did not want to do amcas again. They need to link the two services.
Click to expand...

Same reason I didn't apply MD. I applied to 12 DO schools, and planned on applying to a few MD as well. When I realized that the only MD school I had a shot at getting into was my instate MD school, I decided that doing the whole AMCAS thing for one school would not be much fun.
 
I would apply DO...
Hope it doesnt come to that though, but I suppose it coul
 
jason3278 said:
Same reason I didn't apply MD. I applied to 12 DO schools, and planned on applying to a few MD as well. When I realized that the only MD school I had a shot at getting into was my instate MD school, I decided that doing the whole AMCAS thing for one school would not be much fun.
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If you dont mind my asking, what were your stats?
 
I personally think the whole md vs. do debate it silly. In the end, the two letters that come after your name dont matter...the two letters that come before it do, DR.

ive worked with many md's and do's and there really isnt any difference. I havent met one do that really lived by the osteo philosophy. They all have the same jobs and make the same salary
 
I plan on applying to MSU's DO program along with MD schools, so yeah. One of the best in the country and it's right in my area, which is important to me.

With all the new MD schools opening (and the fact that DO schools are raising enrollment...) I'd be a bit concerned about future DO residency prospects in allo, though.
 
Corpsman Up said:
If you dont mind my asking, what were your stats?
Click to expand...

Undergrad 3.4
Post-Grad 4.0

MCAT 26

Quite a bit a volunteering, shadowing, healthcare related medical experience, some research, healthcare aid mission to Peru.
 
Geekchick921 said:
Yup. I am applying outside of the Philadelphia area, too, but we REALLY want to stay here. If I get into PCOM and, say NYMC, PCOM is probably going to be where I go.
Click to expand...

This was my exact issue. Had the chance to go elsewhere...but am going to PCOM bc I want to remain in Philly. PCOM is a great school and very well known and respected!
 
slowbutsteady said:
It is shocking to me that anyone would vote no on this.

You would rather not become a doctor than go to a DO school?

Who are you people?
Click to expand...

Exactly. I dont get it? Or people that would rather live in a 3rd world country for medical school just to get an MD. I had a few classmates like this in graduate school....and needless to say theyre still waiting for that "coveted" MD acceptance.
 
Prestige is a huge motivator for some people. I hate to say it but it's true. Give every pre-med a lie detector test and see what they say about why they're considering med school. I'm not saying it's the ONLY motivator, but for quite a few folks...it's a biggie. DO just doesn't carry the same Respectability Quotient as MD.

And while I try not to judge, I certainly wouldn't choose one of those people as my PCP.
 
It is shocking to me that anyone would vote no on this.

You would rather not become a doctor than go to a DO school?

Who are you people
Click to expand...
👍
I don't understand it either. It just doesn't make sense. Are those who vote no going into medicine for the right reasons?
 
It really is too bad that there isn't a douchebag test for medical school admissions.
 
I would apply to ostoepathic schools in a heartbeat and this is coming from an allopathic med student at a reputable US school.

The only reason I didn't apply DO is cost and convenience-- I didn't want to go through the application process again and my chances of MD were relatively decent; I was getting interviews right away. Also, geographic location was very important to me and so there was only one DO school that I was really interested in-- UNECOM. If I had gotten in there, I also would have been faced with having to put like $1,000 deposit down to secure my spot-- I just didn't have the money.

Like someone had mentioned before, if you can't get into an allopathic school it really comes down to whether or not you want to be a physician or not. You definitely want to take all the factors into consideration, but at the end of the day, a good osteopathic school will set your career up just fine as long as you do well.
 
This is ridiculous that 1/3 of the votes are no right now. In the beginning they were almost even.
 
For me, the separate app systems, along with different requirements (like an LOR from a DO), limited my interest in applying DO.

If they were part of the same system, I may have applied to some.

Also, DO is more widely known in certain parts of the country. Not so much in my state...and this surely has an influence on interest in DO.

I will add that I was a fairly strong applicant. I don't see DO as a "backup" plan, but I was also confident that I would get in somewhere MD, and, well, I did. But if I had not, I would be looking seriously at DO as a reapplicant.
 
There's nothing wrong with preferring two letters to follow your name. Making up excuses though ("I don't want to explain to every patient..." or "I might want to practice international medicine") just makes you look like a tool. Admit your true reasoning.
 
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I don't understand the validity of this thread and feel it deserves a solid locking.

Trolling.
 
J1515 said:
There's nothing wrong with preferring two letters to follow your name. Making up excuses though ("I don't want to explain to every patient..." or "I might want to practice international medicine") just makes you look like a tool. Admit your true reasoning.
Click to expand...


I don't understand why the DO can't be MDO or something. Medical doctor of osteopathy. Then they can get those MD letters and hopefully everyone will be happy.
 
I will never understand the pre-med obsession with this topic.
 
morning said:
I plan on applying to MSU's DO program along with MD schools, so yeah. One of the best in the country and it's right in my area, which is important to me.

With all the new MD schools opening (and the fact that DO schools are raising enrollment...) I'd be a bit concerned about future DO residency prospects in allo, though.
Click to expand...

MSUCOM just doubled their class size as well, so that should definitely help your chances! I know many students that attend MSUCOM and they love it.

I personally think it's distasteful when someone chooses DO just to become a doctor. That is not what DO is about. For instance, what is the point of a DO orthopaedic surgeon? DO is about a holistic approach to medicine. There's a reason only 20% of DO's use OMM. It's probably because 80% of DO's just wanted to become doctors and ended up in DO school rather than MD school. I know they teach almost exactly the same thing as MD schools in DO schools, but the reality is that DO was created to be different than MD. It's a shame that DO has just become another way to get more practicing physicians than to get physicians who take a holistic and alternative approach to medicine.

I would become a DO if I wanted to be a primary care physician because I enjoy the ideal of taking a "whole-body" approach and using alternative medicine. I don't think you need pills to fix everything. I just don't see myself being a primary care physician.
 
xanthomondo said:
If you could get out of Philly you should ruuuuunnnnnn
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Ha! Well, while a big part of me would love to live somewhere else for awhile, just about all of mine and my husband's friends and family are here, and I'd really like to stay near our support system. This also has to do with the fact that I'd HATE to take our daughter away from her grandmom and aunt.
 
oaklandguy said:
MSUCOM just doubled their class size as well, so that should definitely help your chances! I know many students that attend MSUCOM and they love it.

I personally think it's distasteful when someone chooses DO just to become a doctor. That is not what DO is about. For instance, what is the point of a DO orthopaedic surgeon? DO is about a holistic approach to medicine. There's a reason only 20% of DO's use OMM. It's probably because 80% of DO's just wanted to become doctors and ended up in DO school rather than MD school. I know they teach almost exactly the same thing as MD schools in DO schools, but the reality is that DO was created to be different than MD. It's a shame that DO has just become another way to get more practicing physicians than to get physicians who take a holistic and alternative approach to medicine.

I would become a DO if I wanted to be a primary care physician because I enjoy the ideal of taking a "whole-body" approach and using alternative medicine. I don't think you need pills to fix everything. I just don't see myself being a primary care physician.
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DO is holistic? I'll try to explain, 200 years ago drugs were usually made with toxic chemicals like mercury. Thus A.T Still decided that he needed to find something out that could save people from dieing from the drug itself. Now a days our pharmacudicals are safe...er.. Because of this the DO philosophy accepts it.
Thus at this point DO = MD. You'll learn the samething in both schools with the exception of OMM.
And whats the point of a MD orthopedic surgeon? Same reasons as a DO: money,prestige, and a interest in that field...

No reason to divide DO's and MD's really..

Btw when I get my chance. I'll apply to 3 DO schools (PCOM,PCOM-G, TCOM)
 
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I consider it all the time, but i don't know if i could actually pull the trigger and apply. I'd feel like I was giving up.
 
Personally Im applying MD, but there is quite a bit a admire about DO programs. I like working with my hands so I think learning the manual manipulation stuff would be pretty sweet. So yeah, If I couldn't do MD I would definitely go DO
 
anonymousername said:
If there was no possible way that you could go to an MD program to become an allopathic (MD) physician, would you ever consider applying to DO programs?

I personally would. If the philosophy of the school was good and an opportunity for a desirable residency was available. But I see a lot of ppl in real life and on here who say they're going into medicine to "help people" and then bash DO applicants for even trying. So, would you consider DO if allopathic MD wasn't really a feasible option?
Click to expand...

Sure. If that was the only option to a pathway to practicing medicine. Which renders your thread highly theoretical. And therefore very open to having the biases moving to the front of the discussion.

So here's mine.

Medical schools don't have philosophies. What they have is their actions. And a history of those actions. That's what you look at as an applicant. Anything else is just the smoke and mirrors which disguise the staged aspect of your impending rape.
 
This is actually a fairly decent convo about DO vs MD. I am actually impressed. I am sure it will spiral out of control soon sadly. I will put it right out there. Aside from the fact that I could care less what the initials after my name are, I applied mainly DO because my undergrad GPA sucked! While I seriously kicked ass in my masters and did well on the MCAT, I knew MD programs would put a lot of emphasis on classes I took when I was immature and had no idea what I wanted to do. DO programs focused really heavily on my masters and years of experience in my field.

There are plenty of DO schools I would NEVER attend though. I interviewed at one of the newer schools...and while it looked pretty on the surface....I never would go. People seem to forget that just like MD schools....DO schools have a range of "prestige" as well.
 
thesauce said:
I guess I'd be okay with it as long as they were board-certified in their specialty. Same with FMG's.
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I know I live in a very DO-friendly area, but I don't even see what there is to be "okay with" about it. I've worked with and been cared for by excellent DOs as well as MDs. I've had four surgeries in my life, 2 by DOs and 1 by an FMG (the other was my wisdom teeth, so that was a dentist). They were all perfectly capable physicians that did a fantastic job and took excellent care of me. Never once did I care about the letters after their name or where they went to school.

I like morning's suggestion, though I suggest they make it MDO and MDA, so that way the MD's can't whine that DOs have three letters. 😛
 
Nasrudin said:
Sure. If that was the only option to a pathway to practicing medicine. Which renders your thread highly theoretical. And therefore very open to having the biases moving to the front of the discussion.
Click to expand...
And makes me make an even bigger WTF face at the amount of people saying no. People are silly.

I hope this thread stays civil, but I'm not holding my breath.
 
serenade said:
DO is holistic? I'll try to explain, 200 years ago drugs were usually made with toxic chemicals like mercury. Thus A.T Still decided that he needed to find something out that could save people from dieing from the drug itself. Now a days our pharmacudicals are safe...er.. Because of this the DO philosophy accepts it.
Thus at this point DO = MD. You'll learn the samething in both schools with the exception of OMM.
And whats the point of a MD orthopedic surgeon? Same reasons as a DO: money,prestige, and a interest in that field...

No reason to divide DO's and MD's really..

Btw when I get my chance. I'll apply to 3 DO schools (PCOM,PCOM-G, TCOM)
Click to expand...

That is fair I guess. I just truly enjoy the ideal of a patient having the opportunity to be able to choose and decipher between physicians who are using a traditional approach and an alternative approach. I wish alternative and holistic medicine would be integrated more into patient treatments. For instance, acupuncture has been scientifically proven to have certain healing effects (i.e. breaking up the tissue clumps at the certain acupuncture points), yet it is not billable in the state I live in.

I think it's unfortunate that for many people DO becomes a backup plan or an opportunity to become a doctor with lower statistics. I feel bad for the 20% of DO students who want to use OMM and have to sit through classes with people who are ignorant to the nature of a DO and who just went to DO school because they could not get into MD school
 
Who are the *****ic snobs that voted no???
 
Who are the people voting no? Even if being a DO limits your chances at ROAD specialties, those are difficult to get as an MD applicant too. I'd rather be an Internal Medicine DO making $180,000 (if salary matters to you), then not be a doctor at all. I don't think some people now what a DO is, or what a DO can do.
 
oaklandguy said:
Probably the same ones that wouldn't become physicians if they only made a high 5 figure salary *gasp*.
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Lol if physicians made only high 5 fig's, i'd go get a PhD. There's no way to rationalize 50+ hours a week and get paid only around 90k. Hell I myself have trouble rationalizing why someone would go into medicine and make below 200k and deal with all that debt and all the years sacrificed.

Tell me I'm going into medicine for all the wrong reasons, but you know its true. 300k+ debt , up to 10 years of your life sacrificed and working 60 hours a week is masochistic.
 
serenade said:
Lol if physicians made only high 5 fig's, i'd go get a PhD. There's no way to rationalize 50+ hours a week and get paid only around 90k. Hell I myself have trouble rationalizing why someone would go into medicine and make below 200k and deal with all that debt and all the years sacrificed.

Tell me I'm going into medicine for all the wrong reasons, but you know its true. 300k+ debt , up to 10 years of your life sacrificed and working 60 hours a week is masochistic.
Click to expand...

I'd drop out of medical school right now if I found out I would be making anything less than 200K eventually. I'm not in it for the money - but I wouldn't do it if it weren't for the money 😉
 
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