No. It’s about being a DO. I have 250s/260s steps and have been passed over for interviews by MDs with 220s.
@Ho0v-man and I both applied moderately competitive specialties. Both of us are very competitive applicants.
Anesthesia and Rads are easier yes. Ophtho no.
Anesthesiology and diagnostic rads yes. Optho no. But there is bias in every field. I’m applying DR. But my friends applying to every field have observed that programs would much rather take an MD that scores 20 points lower than a DO with the exception of fields like FM and psych that historically haven’t had the luxury of caring about stuff like that.
This is my personal opinion about dual applying.
The Program Director's guide tells you what PDs like:
Not important.
No opinion
If I had >7 first author derm pubs (real research, not case reports)then I’d be in the running. But literally the average scores are >80th percentile so even though I have high scores it’s not impressing anybody in derm. It’s just checking the box everyone else checked. As a DO with those scores and that level of research, expect less than 10 interviews and for half of them to be from auditions. IIRC, it’s the one field that has the most disproportionate representation of matriculants from top tier med schools.
I think Derm is very overrated so never had any interest. I probably would have been decently competitive for DO derm programs as is if I had done derm research instead of surgery research.
GPA at LECOM - Bradenton can be brutal because PBL is worth 90% of the semester's grade, but everyone is on the same boat so even a high B can still get you top 25% of the class. Minimal research but there are some, probably nothing you're interested in given the caliber you want/need. You do have a lot of free time though given PBL is only 2 hours every mon/wed/friday and you have OPP/CE for an hour or two every other tues or Thursday (covid schedule)
Yes. We are ranked by GPA from all 4 years. PBL ranges between 2 or 3 exams every semester, adding up to 90%, and an evaluation worth 10-15%.
Ive never taken an NBME exam, but i highly doubt it. Most questions are first order with some second-order questions. they can get pretty specific about a small sentence under a picture in one of the 46 chapters you read (though most are very fair). There are no PowerPoint or lectures for PBL. You meet in a group, go through cases, and pick chapters relevant to the cases and they add up to the eventual test.
One of my former students did, she starts in July. Don't know her stats, but recall her as a good student.
From reading on here, the answer is both. Obviously I can’t speak from a position of authority on the matter as I also think derm is overrated.
Hard work can cover up for a lot of sins. Being in the top 15% of a class of people trying for GPA repair is not the same as being tops in a class of successful DO applicants. I'm just saying not to underestimate your classmates. There are some really smart students in your class, to be sure. There always are. It looks like you are off to a great start. Keep up the hard work and play the match game well. Good luck and best wishes!
Both. Quantity is impressive because it is hard for medical students to produce at a high level, but quality will impress them more. The MD derm match we had last year, and the likely one we’ll have this year, both have first author derm publications in reputable derm journals.
- Top DO schools for me would be the state schools: TCOM, MSUCOM, OSUCOM, OUHCOM, Rowan, and WVSOM
LECOM I would only attend because it's super cheap and have lots of residency programs. Otherwise, I haven't heard great things about them.
Completely forgot about TCOM among the state schools, and ironically it's probably the best DO school out there (or close second to PCOM-PA). I will edit to include TCOM. I included WesternU based solely on their consistently good outcome in the match and board pass rates which are two things someone going into a DO school should worry about since being a DO is already a disadvantage.
I have often said fit is important and use my wife as an example. Me, on the other hand, taught in public schools, raised Catholic, so putting a tie on is no big deal. Mandatory attendance? It's like 18 months of on campus class time. Significantly reducing my cost of education? Very important to me! Lecom would fit those criteria for me. Their system appears to work from their board scores and match lists. If someone wants to pay 60k, or more, so they can stay in their Jammies all day and not attend classes, who am I to tell them they shouldn't? Life's full of choices.
Study your butt off then and find derm research early.
Feelin that rn
Charting outcomes 2020 showed 91.8% match rate for DR amongst graduating DO seniors. DR is doable now, in 4 yrs, anybody 's guess. It has become boiler room piece work at many places, so I don't believe it will become super popular during your schooling. Good luck and best wishes!
This is what startles me. Many people trash LECOM's PBL style but when it comes to their match list they are dominant for a DO school that offers students residency match placements into some of the most competitive specialties.
Preclinical education has very little impact on matching because at the end of the day it is on you as the medical student to learn the information and prepare for boards. Clinical rotations and opportunities matter a lot more
I just wanted to chime in on this comment.
Never looked at it from that side. So I guess maybe LECOM has solid Clinical Rotation sites.
Step scores are arguably the most important criteria for getting an interview, but no school is going to get you a good step score. It’s all on you
I think you just made @GAMING4FUNN s point. Lecom gets lots of heat and their board scores and match rate are good.
