thehopeful said:
People who interviewd at TCOM, please tell me what it was like and anything different they ask you since they are a DO school. I have a little idea of what is a DO philosophy, but could others please elaborate.
My TCOM interview was very enjoyable, actually. I really liked my first interviewer who asked more than just "why do you want to be a doctor" - I could see how this guy is so well-regarded by the students and staff, and he was extremely candid about the past/ future of osteopathic medicine.
The first question they ask is "tell me about yourself," and honestly that's probably the hardest one you'll get. Google "osteopathic medicine" and you'll get a good basis, and if you find some research reports on PubMed or a DO site (I found an interesting correlational one on how patients perceived DOs more considerate than MDs, and another about how effective DO treatment was during the 1918 flu epidemic), you're Golden just cuz you can talk about something other applicants don't.
You get scored on your motivation/ communication/ understanding of DO philosophy/ and answers to some hypothetical questions. The philo questions are not as scary as you think: just personalize it to your own experiences and don't give canned answers that other applicants might have (ie, if you're given an emergency situation, don't think "Oh crap, am I supposed to know which medical procedure to use here?!" - just show you would know how to ask for help).
DO philosophy is often termed "holistic." Basically, I'm impressed with the fact that it started out as a more empirical medical science (Andrew Still, MD, was disillusioned with how other allopaths were so fond of blood-letting/ cutting off limbs), but even my first interviewer admitted that it went too far left wing during the first part of the 20th century. Currently they train their students to be diagnosticians, look at medical/ family history, see how "somatic dysfunctions" in the bones/muscles can affect other parts of the body. TCOM students take all the same MD classes, but at least 2 times a week they get additional clinical training in OMT.
DO schools are very proud of the fact that their goal is to train generalists first, then specialists, and as such they have a history of not using numbers as the sole basis for acceptance (although I might get flamed for saying this, they use the MCAT for what it was intentionally meant to be used for: as an equalizer in which an applicant can show they are fit for med school by achieving a minimum score. Most other schools use it as a public relations tool - I'm kinda bitter on that because I had 3 years of dealing with MD reps at my undergrad ;-P).
The number of MD graduates who enter primary care (internal, family, peds, geri, etc) has been steadily going down over the years and DO schools are proud to be producing more docs to make up for some of the losses in those areas. Still, you don't need to bash MDs to impress TCOM.
Because the DO hospital saved my grandpa's life 20 years ago, and my student host diagnosed a chronic illness I had without any prompting from me, I have the utmost respect for TCOM, but yeah, many MDs still have a stigma for it. Still, as one interviewer put it: "When you're sitting at the fancy pharm dinner, everyone (MDs and DOs) is eating the same steak."
I got most of this from google/ TCOM's website/ students, and at the end of my interview they made it clear to me that it was enough. Good luck!
