Surgery ROCKS!!!!!!

[Medication]

hi there everybody, i was wondering if anyone might be able to inform me on the idea that D.O.'s have a harder time landing Surgical residencies. I've heard this on many occasions and fear it's a valid statement. If so, is there a way to circumvent this pigeonhole, such as by totally rocking the board examinations; or would going into a D.O. program totally obligate me towards a family and/or non-surgical direction in terms of my medical career? Thanks in advance for any responses, and good luck to all....-Med-

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[travisco]

Rock on!!!!

 

[MSUCOM2003]

To the original poster:


It's tough to get into any surgery residency. If you didn't already know, DO's have their own surgery residencies that are only for DO graduates. Everything from Ortho to Cardio-thoracic to Neurosurgery. So, in answer to your original Q, no! going DO would not condemn you to a primary care career.

 

[surg]

Unfortunately, the world of medicine is "title" conscious. Choosing a DO school will close some doors. It is very difficult to land a surgical residency with a DO after your name. In general, most residencies would have to deplete their match list before resorting to a DO. Translation: they will take the worst MD over the best DO. This is also true of foreign grads.

Part of the problem is that program directors fear that having a DO or FMG will tarnish the programs reputation and I think it is a legitimate concern. If you interviewed @ 2 programs and one had all DO's and FMG's and the other was exclusively US MD's, what program would you rank higher?

I am not saying that this is right or that I agree with this discrimination, it's just the way the system works.

 

[UHS2002]

Just amazing ranking a program based on the number of FMGs and DOs vs. MDs... Although I am not trying in any way to discount what SURG said, I am sure he is right, it happens. The again, lots of stupid things happen in the world and a lot of people out there are basically "cuttig off their nose to spite their face".

When I worked at Washington U. School of Medicine, there were plenty of foreign trained researchers there (does Dr. Levi Montalcini ring any bells?!) and plenty of foreign born and trained MDs doing fellowships. There were even a couple of DOs doing fellowships. I met a brilliant FMG (and foreign born to top it off, oh the horror!) surgeon on a heart/lung transplant team. I guess Wash U. got to the bottom of their applicant pool, no MDs left, and had to resort to FMGs and DOs?! Then again, Wash U.'s reputation is so well estabilished that they just pick the best applicants, no matter where they went to school, rather than bothering with little things such as if they are FMGs or DOs. On the other hand, lesser programs really have to make up for their lack of greatness by thinking of themselves as "exclusive clubs". Pretty lame!

 

[MikeS 78]

ok yes one can find exceptions to the principle expressed earlier...however they are only noteworthy because they are exceptions......for every exceptional FMG in a prestigious place there are 40-50 or even more US educated MD's......for every exception to the rule you can surface I can come up with hundreds of examples of that rule.

 

[Mango]

If you're trying for a competitive residency like surgery, you're gonna need all the help you can get. Seriously. So if you have a choice (that's the catch) between MD and DO school, than why put yourself at a disadvantage by choosing DO? I'm not saying that DO's are less qualified (I've stated many times before that I have complete respect for DO's and their training), my point is that residency directors, for the most part, do not share my open-mindedness. They will *usually* pick an MD over a DO. This is not fair, and hopefully will one day no longer take place. But right now, if you want to give yourself the best possible chance at landing a tough residency, than MD is your best bet.

Caveat: If you truely love osteopathy and it's principals, that go DO all the way!

 

[pags]

Yea, surgery is competitive, but what about derm??? Even more so. I must agree with all of you, but MSUCOM said it best. There are osteopathic residencies for the dexterously inclined (including surgery). Thank God, too. There has to be someplace to put those few osteopaths with poor bedside manner and large egos, right? So what if you don't go to Hopkins for pediatric robotic cardiothoracic surgery. You'll still make a good living doing what you love to do even in you attend an osteopathic surgery residency. Suck it up.

If you wanted to be number 1 now, you should of studied harder back then.

And yes, that includes me.


[This message has been edited by pags (edited 09-02-2000).]