state of DOs in 4 years

studentdoctorv · May 30, 2018

hey all, i would like to pick all of your brains a bit. most people are in agreement that anti-DO stigma is real, but slowly fading away. in your opinion, how do you think mentality about DOs will change in 4 years? 8? 12? will things change in the next few years for DO grads, students, residents, attendings, applicants? thanks in advance

SpartanWolverine · May 30, 2018

An interesting question. I think this will depend on the quality of new schools opening up and the quality of applicants/graduates. As long as DOs remain a competent bunch of physicians I only see the stigma fading away as more 'old school' MDs retire and our young MD colleagues -- having worked and trained with us -- becoming the majority.

4 years? Not much will change. 8 years? Maybe more. 10-12 years? Probably significantly. Again, this is assuming that DO schools retain some semblance of strict admissions standards and graduate high-caliber physicians with comparable board scores and quality clinical education...

Goro · May 30, 2018

studentdoctorv said:
hey all, i would like to pick all of your brains a bit. most people are in agreement that anti-DO stigma is real, but slowly fading away. in your opinion, how do you think mentality about DOs will change in 4 years? 8? 12? will things change in the next few years for DO grads, students, residents, attendings, applicants? thanks in advance

Good question! The stigma lies mostly in four populations:

ignorant pre-meds
elderly MDs
a couple of dumb-ass elitist residents.
PDs who don't trust the poor clinical training at a number of DO schools.

Only the last is justified., and it will be an issue as long as the AOA continues its inane "More DOs good!" mindset.

I've noticed over the years that at least at my school, our grads are matching into more and more ACGME residencies, and respectable ones at that. In addition, more are getting into residencies once thought untouchable by DOs. While the latter may still be rare, they also seem to be trending away from "anecdote" or "Lotto winner" and more to "uncommon", which is a saying a lot, considering what I used to see when I first started teaching (and when I first joined SDN as well).

Lawpy · May 30, 2018

Goro said:
Good question! The stigma lies mostly in four populations:

ignorant pre-meds

elderly MDs

a couple of dumb-ass elitist residents.

PDs who don't trust the poor clinical training at a number of DO schools.

On the plus side, some got banned for trolling or posting really stupid and inflammatory stuff.