Someone with allopathic credentials choosing DO?

[12ongo]

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I hear that DO schools are generally known as a "back up" for a lot of pre-med students who are trying to go to an MD school. Although, I was wondering how weird it would be and if it would necessarily be "less-beneficial" for someone who opted to go to DO over MD. If so, would they lessen their chances of specializing? Would they have a harder time finding a job after residency? Would they have a harder time volunteering over-seas for programs such as doctors without borders? Thanks!

 

[Anicetus]

I hear that DO schools are generally known as a "back up" for a lot of pre-med students who are trying to go to an MD school. Although, I was wondering how weird it would be and if it would necessarily be "less-beneficial" for someone who opted to go to DO over MD. If so, would they lessen their chances of specializing? Would they have a harder time finding a job after residency? Would they have a harder time volunteering over-seas for programs such as doctors without borders? Thanks!

would they lessen their chances of specializing? a little bit

Would they have a harder time finding a job after residency? Depends on the city/area

Would they have a harder time volunteering over-seas for programs such as doctors without borders? Not from what I read on here

 

[DrEnderW]

I hear that DO schools are generally known as a "back up" for a lot of pre-med students who are trying to go to an MD school. Although, I was wondering how weird it would be and if it would necessarily be "less-beneficial" for someone who opted to go to DO over MD. If so, would they lessen their chances of specializing? Would they have a harder time finding a job after residency? Would they have a harder time volunteering over-seas for programs such as doctors without borders? Thanks!

You're going to find people in every class that do this. For example, student could be in a committed relationship and tied to a geographic area with highly competitive MD schools - think NYC or CA for example. Some people will choose an ideal DO location over a brutal MD location, for whatever personal reason. Some people just really like a specific school or the philosophy. I've meet students that have generations of DOs in their family and follow suit. There could be a ton of reasons, especially for non-trad students. Furthermore, though hard to believe on SDN, some students want to do primary care and DO isn't disadvantageous.

 

[Goro]

True for many, but irrelevant

I hear that DO schools are generally known as a "back up" for a lot of pre-med students who are trying to go to an MD school.


NOT weird and NOT detrimental. No residency director in his/her right mind would think "gee, this kid could have gotten into UCSF and went to AT Still instead? I wonder what's wrong with him?"


Although, I was wondering how weird it would be and if it would necessarily be "less-beneficial" for someone who opted to go to DO over MD.

No, no and no. I actually have plenty of students who, on stats alone, are competetive for allopathic schools. The avgs of several DO schools for GPA and MCAT are > than some MD schools. What it boils down to is that some people like the osteopathic philosophy and deliberately do not apply to MD schools, even when they're competitive.



If so, would they lessen their chances of specializing? Would they have a harder time finding a job after residency? Would they have a harder time volunteering over-seas for programs such as doctors without borders? Thanks![/QUOTE]

 

[Doctor Bob]

I hear that DO schools are generally known as a "back up" for a lot of pre-med students who are trying to go to an MD school. Although, I was wondering how weird it would be and if it would necessarily be "less-beneficial" for someone who opted to go to DO over MD. If so, would they lessen their chances of specializing? Would they have a harder time finding a job after residency? Would they have a harder time volunteering over-seas for programs such as doctors without borders? Thanks!

I chose to go to a DO school despite offers from allopathic programs, because after interviewing I thought I would get a better education and do better at the osteopathic school. I prefered their physical plant and the structure of their curriculum.

I never bought into the osteopathic philosophy as a "better way of practicing medicine" and I'm not a big fan of OMM. I just felt that the school I chose would prepare me to be a doctor better than the other places.

I'm in a field of medicine now where the letters after my name are irrelevant. I had no difficulties getting an ACGME residency, or a job at my top choice of work location. I've also done medical mission trips without any issue.

 

[medickdb]

I chose to go to a DO school despite offers from allopathic programs, because after interviewing I thought I would get a better education and do better at the osteopathic school. I prefered their physical plant and the structure of their curriculum.

I never bought into the osteopathic philosophy as a "better way of practicing medicine" and I'm not a big fan of OMM. I just felt that the school I chose would prepare me to be a doctor better than the other places.

That's exactly why I chose to apply to certain DO schools. In the end, it was a personal decision based off of where I would be happy as well as which school would support the education and experiences I would ultimately want in later practice.

To me, it isn't about 'subscribing to the DO philosophy' as much as it is following my own philosophy. There is no one, perfect way to approach the practice of medicine. However, for me personally, the DO philosophy is a better fit for my vision. I understand that everyone's approach is different and mine is in no way superior in every or any respect. But, it is the best for me.

 

[cliquesh]

I didn't apply to any MD schools, but if I did it again I'd probably go to any USMD school over a DO school. I actually liked my DO school and I'm happy where I'm for residency, but being a DO causes an unnecessary headache. If, however, my only choice was a DO school, I'd attend the school happily.

 

[TreadLightly]

I didn't apply to any MD schools, but if I did it again I'd probably go to any USMD school over a DO school. I actually liked my DO school and I'm happy where I'm for residency, but being a DO causes an unnecessary headache. If, however, my only choice was a DO school, I'd attend the school happily.

As someone who's applying to both and will go where I get in, can you elaborate on what the "headache" is? Is it the fact that it's slightly harder to specialize/get into competitive residencies?

The last thing I want is for med school to be more stressful and difficult because of BS technical reasons/politics.

 

[costales]

I was accepted at an MD school but opted for TCOM, which gave me an excellent education. In the working world, very few people care about the MD/DO distinction.

 

[Instatewaiter]

True for many, but irrelevant

NOT weird and NOT detrimental. No residency director in his/her right mind would think "gee, this kid could have gotten into UCSF and went to AT Still instead? I wonder what's wrong with him?"

No, no and no. I actually have plenty of students who, on stats alone, are competetive for allopathic schools. The avgs of several DO schools for GPA and MCAT are > than some MD schools. What it boils down to is that some people like the osteopathic philosophy and deliberately do not apply to MD schools, even when they're competitive.

Residency directors care about whether you are a DO or not, sorry.

There are headaches associated with having to take (and spend money on) two sets of board exams to be competitive for ACGME residencies, difficulties with getting residencies that you would otherwise be competitive for and a whole host of other issues, especially now with ACGME fellowships being open only to those who do ACGME residencies. The AOA has very few fellowships, especially those with enough volume to give you good training. There is a reason half of osteopathic grads jettison AOA training when they can.

Now for military it matters less. As a DO you are basically on equal footing as your MD counterparts. So if you are planning on going through the military match it doesn't matter as much.

Now, I imagine someone will post the single DO at some well known program to disprove the above. In pre-emptive response: Can you acheive a whole heck of a lot as a DO- yes but being a DO makes it harder. Do you really want to fight an uphill battle?

 

[kmich10]

DO schools being mostly private are, generally speaking, much much more expensive than most MD schools. In-state tuition for MSUCOM, TCOM, Ohio COM are a couple of exceptions off of the top of my head. Unless you're gung-ho about OMM, choosing by location/family, or received a big scholarship, MD is almost always the cheaper (i.e. better) option. Paying twice as much to learn medicine is pointless when the end game is the same (if not better in some cases).

 

[cliquesh]

As someone who's applying to both and will go where I get in, can you elaborate on what the "headache" is? Is it the fact that it's slightly harder to specialize/get into competitive residencies?

The last thing I want is for med school to be more stressful and difficult because of BS technical reasons/politics.

Yea, pretty much. When you apply for residency, even if its a DO friendly field, youll have to apply to twice as many acgme programs as a USMD applicant with similar scores to get the same number of interviews. Additionally, some programs, typically the better ones, will throw your application in the trash immediately because you're a DO. The same thing happens when you apply for fellowship, but to a lesser degree.

Also if you want to do something competitive in the AOA world, like orthopedics, you'll only get interview invites at places you rotated at. Realistically, you'll only be able to rotate at 6 programs, so at most you'll get 6 interviews, which is very stressful. I had around 40 anesthesia invites.

 

[WillburCobb]

DO schools being mostly private are, generally speaking, much much more expensive than most MD schools. In-state tuition for MSUCOM, TCOM, Ohio COM are a couple of exceptions off of the top of my head. Unless you're gung-ho about OMM, choosing by location/family, or received a big scholarship, MD is almost always the cheaper (i.e. better) option. Paying twice as much to learn medicine is pointless when the end game is the same (if not better in some cases).

Not exactly. I applied to 7 MD programs and 6 DO programs this cycle and have closely researched tuition, other fees, and cost of living for every program, to the point I'm at least 90% sure of what I would be taking out in loans for each school. If I were to rank my school list solely on tuition, my state school (MD) would be #1, #2-4 would be DO programs, and after that it becomes a wash (maybe a difference of 1K tops). So MD is really only cheaper if you're IS. Also, not everyone has the same advantage of being able to apply IS, let alone being able to apply to multiple schools IS.

 

[DrEnderW]

MD is almost always the cheaper (i.e. better) option.

You cannot compare apples to oranges. People always do that on this forum.

Don't compare a state MD school to a private DO school, that makes zero sense. Likewise, don't compare TCOM to to Tufts and say DO schools are cheaper. If you compare private DO to private MD, there is not usually a meaningful price difference. My private DO school is less expensive than the private MD schools that were high on my list. I can understand where you are coming from though, there are outrageously expensive schools like CCOM. However, they have their MD counterparts as well.

 

[TreadLightly]

Not exactly. I applied to 7 MD programs and 6 DO programs this cycle and have closely researched tuition, other fees, and cost of living for every program, to the point I'm at least 90% sure of what I would be taking out in loans for each school. If I were to rank my school list solely on tuition, my state school (MD) would be #1, #2-4 would be DO programs, and after that it becomes a wash (maybe a difference of 1K tops). So MD is really only cheaper if you're IS. Also, not everyone has the same advantage of being able to apply IS, let alone being able to apply to multiple schools IS.

To me, the cost factor is more or less out of my control. My stats are such that, as a CA resident, I have virtually zero chance at any of the CA MD schools. CA schools are either highly competitive, or the mid-tier ones don't give in-state preference.

The schools that are in my range are mostly OOS private schools anyways. So in this case, getting into a DO school like LECOM ($30k) would work heavily in my favor, financially speaking.