To mention or not to mention osteopathic medicine in the Personal Statement?

[DarkHorizon]

Should I explain why I am drawn to osteopathic medicine in my PS or should I just stick to the question why medicine? Is it better to wait for the secondaries to explain the osteopathic part or should I do that in the PS? Also, should I explain bad grades as well or wait until secondaries/interviews to do that?

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[EEL08]

Should I explain why I am drawn to osteopathic medicine in my PS or should I just stick to the question why medicine? Is it better to wait for the secondaries to explain the osteopathic part or should I do that in the PS? Also, should I explain bad grades as well or wait until secondaries/interviews to do that?

Last year I didn't address it at first but after getting feedback from some people I chose to mention it briefly. Some schools, like DMU and Nova, don't have secondary essays so I didn't want to leave it out. As for your bad grades I think it depends on how many you have and what the circumstances were.

 

[Colbert]

Do you have a reason for the bad grades (family or personal issues)? Unless there are extenuating circumstances I don't see what you should mention.

 

[Jack Daniel]

Should I explain why I am drawn to osteopathic medicine in my PS or should I just stick to the question why medicine? Is it better to wait for the secondaries to explain the osteopathic part or should I do that in the PS? Also, should I explain bad grades as well or wait until secondaries/interviews to do that?

When I tackled my applications, I primarily focused on medicine in general, but did explain briefly that my goals would be completely met as an osteopathic physician.

To me, to focus on osteopathic medicine any more than I did would come across as pandering and saying only what I thought the committee wanted to read.

Unless I had a strong personal connection with the profession, or was really good at writing convincing nonsense, I'd focus on the primary reason why you're applying--which in my case was, I wanted to be a physician.

As for bad grades, it's probably worth addressing them if they are going to be the "elephant in your room". I would be careful to not make your application about your bad grades, but rather provide a succinct explanation and move on.

 

[zhousilai]

I would save that for secondaries so you have sth different to write about, in fact they will usually ask you that for secondaries

 

[udsoccer7]

Yes, you need to include this into your personal statement. You don't have to go into fine detail, but the adcoms do need to see your understanding of the profession. Multiple people, both current medical students and members of interview panels have told me that it is a MUST to have this in your personal statement.

 

[theserbatron]

i second the suggestion of keeping osteopathic out of your statement. i think your personal statement should talk about why you want to be a physician in the first place. WHY MEDICINE? is the big question they all ask.

every secondary will ask you about your experiences with osteopathic physicians and why you would want to be a DO. i would save those juicy nuggets for the secondaries; you don't want to spill all the beans in your personal statement and just reiterate the same stuff in your secondaries.

 

[Bacchus]

I have a letter from a DO and was able to answer all the questions on the primary that related to Osteopathic Medicine. I am not including it in my personal statement. My advisor never mentioned to include in my PS and neither have others that read the PS.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I wouldn't write anything about osteopathic medicine unless you really know what you're talking about. I mean really know. Because the people who will read this will likely have a better grasp of the concept than you. If you write something that sounds like you're paraphrasing the AOA website, you run the risk of them thinking you're an idiot.

Don't mention bad grades and then try to make excuses for them. Stay positive.

I mentioned mine, but only to show a contrast with my significant, sustained turnaround. And even then, I didn't dwell on it or make excuses. I just kind of said that the light came on and I'm here to stay.

 

[GreenShirt]

A lot of the secondary applications will ask you specifically "Why Osteopathic Medicine?" so you'll have a plenty of opportunity to talk about it in your application. I'd save the space in the PS for "Why medicine?" and other things that might not get mentioned elsewhere. Unless, of course, Osteopathic medicine is the cornerstone of why you have chosen medicine, in which case is should go into your PS.

As for bad grades, you can include an enclosure in with your secondary application explaining the circumstances if they are significant (ie. illness, family tragedy, etc.).

 

[phEight]

Don't mention bad grades and then try to make excuses for them. Stay positive.

I mentioned mine, but only to show a contrast with my significant, sustained turnaround. And even then, I didn't dwell on it or make excuses. I just kind of said that the light came on and I'm here to stay.

That's good to hear. I will have to mention my bad grades but I don't want to focus on explaining why, I would much rather emphasize my turn around.

 

[MichiganEMTInt]

Every admissions advisor I have talked with said it is essential to mention OM in your personal statement. You should demonstrate that you have at least some knowledge and/or interest in osteopathic medicine to the schools. IMO this might help give them a better "pre-secondary" impression of you. How would you fit into the student body of osteopathic medical school? Maybe tell about an experience you've had where you learned more about what osteopathic medicine is about and how it interested you.

 

[cliquesh]

I think you show mention it, at least briefly. If you like a Michigan State's website, they say something like, "its disrespectful not to mention osteopathic medicine in your personal statement." Then they go onto say, "why apply if you don't know anything about it?" But i think this differs from school to school. Apparently, Michigan is big on OMT, so they may be more hardcore osteopathic opposed to other schools.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

I think you show mention it, at least briefly. If you like a Michigan State's website, they say something like, "its disrespectful not to mention osteopathic medicine in your personal statement." Then they go onto say, "why apply if you don't know anything about it?" But i think this differs from school to school. Apparently, Michigan is big on OMT, so they may be more hardcore osteopathic opposed to other schools.

Oh really now? Any evidence?

Anyways, I would not mention "osteopathic medicine." I used the same personal statement that AMCAS required. Talk about yourself and your interests, what have you done to develop these interests, how do you know medicine MAY be right for you, etc.

I applied to both MD and DO programs b/c my instate programs were MD. It does not matter at all. If you want to go into "osteopathic medicine" hold your horses until you get that secondary or bring it up in an interview. In the secondary, as far as I could remember, it was mainly an excuse to collect another $50-70 by asking almost the same things so I gave them almost the same things. In my interview, I was never asked "why DO?" However, I do know of other classmates who were. If you are asked that question, then that is the time to have your thoughts collected and give something unique, not some run-of-the-mill "I like the holistic approach shpeel" b/c it'll make you sound like a quack who knows nothing about medicine, nonetheless Osteopathic Medicine. There is nothing unique b/w MD and DO outside of the OMT from my experience so far. Yes, maybe MDs in the past weren't too keen on patient care and touching the patient etc etc, but now even they are focusing a lot more on patient care and looking at the "whole person" when seeing them.

 

[OCHO]

I am applying only to DO schools and I mentioned wanting to become a Doctor of Osteopathy. In for a penny in for a pound as shrek says.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Ocho, for not applying to GA-PCOM, you are a huge douche.

 

[cliquesh]

Oh really now? Any evidence?

Anyways, I would not mention "osteopathic medicine." I used the same personal statement that AMCAS required. Talk about yourself and your interests, what have you done to develop these interests, how do you know medicine MAY be right for you, etc.

I applied to both MD and DO programs b/c my instate programs were MD. It does not matter at all. If you want to go into "osteopathic medicine" hold your horses until you get that secondary or bring it up in an interview. In the secondary, as far as I could remember, it was mainly an excuse to collect another $50-70 by asking almost the same things so I gave them almost the same things. In my interview, I was never asked "why DO?" However, I do know of other classmates who were. If you are asked that question, then that is the time to have your thoughts collected and give something unique, not some run-of-the-mill "I like the holistic approach shpeel" b/c it'll make you sound like a quack who knows nothing about medicine, nonetheless Osteopathic Medicine. There is nothing unique b/w MD and DO outside of the OMT from my experience so far. Yes, maybe MDs in the past weren't too keen on patient care and touching the patient etc etc, but now even they are focusing a lot more on patient care and looking at the "whole person" when seeing them.

My 'evidence' is just that Michigan, in the last few years, updated their OMT labs, and several books I have read descrbed the new labs as "amazing" and "beautiful." Additionally, Michagan employees full time OMT instructors, whereas most other schools have part-time instructors. So, yes, my assertion that Michigan is into osteopathy is just a guess, and I could be wrong.

By the way Doctor4life, do you enjoy being a pre-D.O.? From your writing, it seems like you would have preffered going the MD route, which is kind of the way I feel. But, nevertheless, are you satisfied with your current path?

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

My 'evidence' is just that Michigan, in the last few years, updated their OMT labs, and several books I have read descrbed the new labs as "amazing" and "beautiful." Additionally, Michagan employees full time OMT instructors, whereas most other schools have part-time instructors. So, yes, my assertion that Michigan is into osteopathy is just a guess, and I could be wrong.

By the way Doctor4life, do you enjoy being a pre-D.O.? From your writing, it seems like you would have preffered going the MD route, which is kind of the way I feel. But, nevertheless, are you satisfied with your current path?

I'm not sure how you deduced that -- anyways, I am perfectly content with being a DO student and a future DO. The only time I felt "put down" was by an MD student of the same year who also did not know what EOMI meant, so it made it all the better for me

The only reason I would have preferred MD was to be instate and not shell out double the tuition; however, I'm fine with the path I am pursuing. It's been better than I expected.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Ocho, for not applying to GA-PCOM, you are a huge douche.

I don't blame him.

 

[DragonWell]

I think you may be missing the point a bit. A personal statement is, well...personal. As you can probably tell from the diversity of responses you've gotten, there is no formula for what should or should not be included. What is vastly more important that whatever you write is genuine and comes from your experience. It's usually extremely easy to tell from a PS who is laying on the BS they think the adcom wants to hear and who is being honest.

 

[OCHO]

Ocho, for not applying to GA-PCOM, you are a huge douche.

Does PCOM count?