What a Dean of Admiss at an Allo School had to say about DO schools

[PlasticMan]

So recently I met with a dean of admissions at an allopathic medical school. My stats weren't enough to get admission there this cycle; however, he asked me if I had looked into DO schools! I then decided this would be a good time for me to feel him out and get his view on Osteopaths. He responded by saying "MD, DO it's all the same; doesn't matter to me. They're both physicians...They've come along way in the past 10 years; 10 years from now the divide between MD and DO will almost be invisible." I sat there dumbfounded as a dean of admissions promoted DO schools to me and highlighted which schools he recommend I apply to.

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[nrddct]

which schools did he recommend?

 

[FrogE7]

I agree, I think the line is fast fading. Therefore, I feel as if we are jumping on the bandwagon at the best time possible. I think admissions into DO school in the future might get a lot more competative as Osteopathic physicians start to make their mark and define their roles in the medical realm. People will realize that there is no difference, and more people will start to apply.

 

[PlasticMan]

Well I am in the Northeast, so NYCOM, PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM.

 

[Hernandez]

It seems to be my experience that the ones who hold the biases are the older docs, and don't let that 10 years comment fool ya, if osteopaths have come a long way, it's not in the educational but more in the acceptance. the AMA did a study in headed up by John Cline (the then AMA president) that found there was no significant differences between allo/osteo educational programs and this was way back in 1953

 

[jonb12997]

Well I am in the Northeast, so NYCOM, PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM.

hey... show UNECOM some love!

 

[FrkyBgStok]

why would you sit there dumbfunded. did you expect him to say DO suck ass and anyone who goes is a freakin *****? if both can be licensed to do the same thing then, guess what, they are the same, and i really think the only people that care are premeds.

 

[OSUdoc08]

why would you sit there dumbfunded. did you expect him to say DO suck ass and anyone who goes is a freakin *****? if both can be licensed to do the same thing then, guess what, they are the same, and i really think the only people that care are premeds.

 

[MikeyLu2010]

i think the patients care too..which is very sad..there was an article in the osteo forum..saying that some old lady adamantly required a MD to be her doctor...im afraid there are millions of these kinds of uneducated, ignorant people. Hopefully we wont be stigmatized by the patient population =/

 

[OSUdoc08]

i think the patients care too..which is very sad..there was an article in the osteo forum..saying that some old lady adamantly required a MD to be her doctor...im afraid there are millions of these kinds of uneducated, ignorant people. Hopefully we wont be stigmatized by the patient population =/

Although this is true, I find that after patients are treated by DO's, they specifically request DO's from then on.

 

[Jack Daniel]

Well I am in the Northeast, so NYCOM, PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM.

The admissions dean missed one, in my opinion.

 

[dr.z]

i think the patients care too..which is very sad..there was an article in the osteo forum..saying that some old lady adamantly required a MD to be her doctor...im afraid there are millions of these kinds of uneducated, ignorant people. Hopefully we wont be stigmatized by the patient population =/

I know people that prefer to be treated by DOs.

 

[ragda26]

UMDNJ-SOM....great(est) school (in my opinion)

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I prefer to be treated by DO's. But that's just my opinion.

 

[USArmyDoc]

So recently I met with a dean of admissions at an allopathic medical school. My stats weren't enough to get admission there this cycle; however, he asked me if I had looked into DO schools! I then decided this would be a good time for me to feel him out and get his view on Osteopaths. He responded by saying "MD, DO it's all the same; doesn't matter to me. They're both physicians...They've come along way in the past 10 years; 10 years from now the divide between MD and DO will almost be invisible." I sat there dumbfounded as a dean of admissions promoted DO schools to me and highlighted which schools he recommend I apply to.

Where are you from exactly?

 

[PlasticMan]

why would you sit there dumbfunded. did you expect him to say DO suck ass and anyone who goes is a freakin *****? if both can be licensed to do the same thing then, guess what, they are the same, and i really think the only people that care are premeds.

I did not expect him to bash on DO's; however it did suprise me a little that he brought it up out of thin air and actually recommended me to apply to a DO school. I didn't expect an adcom to recommend another school, let alone a DO school.

 

[PlasticMan]

Where are you from exactly?

North Jersey, a couple minutes outside the city.

 

[USArmyDoc]

What school is he an adcom at? I have been told similiar things by physicians. However, they were not on the adcom.

 

[Hibby417]

I recently interviewed at Penn State (Hershey), and heard similar praises of DO's. My second interviewer was a retired EM doc, and he asked me where I had been accepted (only PCOM at the time). Upon hearing that, he told me that if I were accepted at Penn State I'd have a tough decision to make and that osteopaths had come a long way since he started medicine (he's a former secretary of health of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well). Essentially, he stated that MD's and DO's are the same and each commands equal respect in the world of healthcare. It made an impression on me mostly because he was retired, and if there's any left-over attitude against DO's it would be in his generation of MD's. Anyway, my two cents...

 

[PlasticMan]

What school is he an adcom at? I have been told similiar things by physicians. However, they were not on the adcom.

I'd rather not say.

 

[strawberryfield]

“That patient has only three neurons. One’s infected, one’s infarcted, and the other one is inhibitory.”

ha ha... that's hilarious!


Sorry... not much significant depth to add to this thread. I have already gotten over the stigma and am moving on to be a physician, with whatever letters behind my name that end up there...

 

[strawberryfield]

I agree, I think the line is fast fading. Therefore, I feel as if we are jumping on the bandwagon at the best time possible. I think admissions into DO school in the future might get a lot more competative as Osteopathic physicians start to make their mark and define their roles in the medical realm. People will realize that there is no difference, and more people will start to apply.

I think there already is more competetion in both DO and MD schools, the stats are climbing, and have been, at least since the last time I checked MCAT stats on the AAMC website. I don't know if we're getting any smarter, so it must be that the way we're being graded is changing.
Although the MCAT average had been hovering steadily at about 24-25 for the past couple yrs., GPA's have gone up it seems.

 

[novacek88]

The only time I ever hear any anti-DO sentiment is from pre-meds who don't know any better.

If any of you actually work with M.D.'s and I don't mean your 60 old grandfather, but M.D.s below the age of 50 will tell you there is no distinction between the two.

Everything changes in residency and rotations when M.D.'s have a chance to work alongside D.O.'s which is when they realize their preconceived notions about them were wrong.

 

[novacek88]

i think the patients care too..which is very sad..there was an article in the osteo forum..saying that some old lady adamantly required a MD to be her doctor...im afraid there are millions of these kinds of uneducated, ignorant people. Hopefully we wont be stigmatized by the patient population =/

There are millions that would prefer to see DO's as well. And unlike everyone in in this thread, I actually have first hand experience because I'm an intern at a well known allopathic university based program in which my initials are there for everyone to see. So my accounts are not based on conjecture or the grapevine.

I have never been discrimated against by a patient. That doesn't mean that DO's are not discriminated against. I never experienced it first hand myself. However the opposite occurs quite frequently. I have had patients request to see me over my M.D. colleague because they wanted OMM. And I have had at least a 100 patients, (yes a 100 patients) request to see me because I was a DO. I live in a city where there a lot of elderly retirees. Many of these people moved from small towns in the midwest in which their doctor was a DO. And they only preferred to see a DO. I have also had patients say: "Oh, you're a DO. We love DO's. You guys are so much more approachable than many M.D.'s."

I do get the "what's a DO" on occassion but once they know I'm a physician and they could get their meds out of me, they could care less what my initials are.

I was like all of you when I was a pre-med. I heard that DO's undergo all this prejudice etc. What shocked the hell out of me was to see the exact opposite happen.

 

[FrogE7]

There are millions that would prefer to see DO's as well. And unlike everyone in in this thread, I actually have first hand experience because I'm an intern at a well known allopathic university based program in which my initials are there for everyone to see. So my accounts are not based on conjecture or the grapevine.

I have never been discrimated against by a patient. That doesn't mean that DO's are not discriminated against. I never experienced it first hand myself. However the opposite occurs quite frequently. I have had patients request to see me over my M.D. colleague because they wanted OMM. And I have had at least a 100 patients, (yes a 100 patients) request to see me because I was a DO. I live in a city where there a lot of elderly retirees. Many of these people moved from small towns in the midwest in which their doctor was a DO. And they only preferred to see a DO. I have also had patients say: "Oh, you're a DO. We love DO's. You guys are so much more approachable than many M.D.'s."

I do get the "what's a DO" on occassion but once they know I'm a physician and they could get their meds out of me, they could care less what my initials are.

I was like all of you when I was a pre-med. I heard that DO's undergo all this prejudice etc. What shocked the hell out of me was to see the exact opposite happen.

That is nice to hear first hand. I know many third year MD students who are working with DO's right now. Their stereotypes are dwindling too.

I just realized that if I am asked about what a DO is, I can say, well I am a physician, just like your regular MD, but with some ADDITIONAL training in OMM Every one likes their docs to have additional any thing! So not only can I give the same treatment as an MD, and prescribe the same medications as an MD, but I can go beyond to provide extra healing methods (okay I will stop with the faces now)

 

[SOUNDMAN]

It's funny because last year, I had a similar thing happen when I discussed my application with the admissions coordiator of my state school. She recommended DO schools as well.

 

[Pharos]

So just curious PlasticMan.... are you going to take their advice?

 

[PlasticMan]

So just curious PlasticMan.... are you going to take their advice?

Yes, I had already submitted my AACOMAS application before I met with him It was actually mailed out to the schools just this week. Hoping to get in. The DO route looks great; I like their philosphy and their approach to medicine from what I have researched on them. The only thing is I am set on becoming a cosmetic plastic surgeon and may have a harder time obtaining residency. This won't discourage me though, if I want it bad enough, I can get it. If I go the DO route and do become a cosmetic plastic surgeon, I would be proud to display the DO after my name as osteopathic cosmetic plastic surgeons are pretty rare in my opinion

 

[Pharos]

Yes, I had already submitted my AACOMAS application before I met with him It was actually mailed out to the schools just this week. Hoping to get in. The DO route looks great; I like their philosphy and their approach to medicine from what I have researched on them. The only thing is I am set on becoming a cosmetic plastic surgeon and may have a harder time obtaining residency. This won't discourage me though, if I want it bad enough, I can get it. If I go the DO route and do become a cosmetic plastic surgeon, I would be proud to display the DO after my name as osteopathic cosmetic plastic surgeons are pretty rare in my opinion

That's cool..... It sounds like it may be slightly more difficult to secure your targeted residency taking the DO approach - but I agree with you whole heartedly that it is certainly possible and most-likely proprotional to the amount of effort you are willing to put into it (as many of these often talked about specialities are apparently hard to get into either way, whether MD or DO). Also, on sort of a side note...you never know, from what I hear (only a pre-med myself - applying both MD and DO) it sounds like many people change their minds about what kind of medicine they want to practice while in med school, and end up with something totally different than what they had originally intended. So I don't think specialty plans should be a big determining factor on where you apply anyway (just my opinion of course, could be wrong). Good Luck to you!!!

 

[kelaskov]

with all those acronyms, I'm sure UNECOM was in there somewhere!!

Well I am in the Northeast, so NYCOM, PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM.