What are the tradeoffs

[Christopher Bengson]

As I am interested in pursuing primary care, I was very much intrigued by the osteopathic philosophy. I have heard from many folks on this board the emphasis on additional training in manual manipulation. Given osteopathic medical programs are also four years, where do they find the time to incorporate the additional training? Is there a tradeoff that osteopathic medical students are making when they undergo this additional training? Are DO medical schools staffed only by DOs? Thanks in advance for the info.

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[drusso]

Quick answers to your questions...

---The manual medicine gets incorporated as 1 extra class and lab over 2 years. Totals approximately 300-500 extra hours of training. This is very do-able. It is my impression that the academic semesters at DO schools are about 3 weeks longer than most MD schools.

---DO's, MD's, PhD's, and MPH's all teach at DO schools.

---DO schools tend to be more primary care oriented so if you're a hard-core research type or know that you want to be a subspecialist you might be a little frustrated with the educational approach and philosophy (although this in no practical way limits you from pursuing specialist training).

 

[euhsa]

I have also noticed that my classmates from NYCOM put in a lot more hours behind the books than my peers from allopathic school. Take that for what it's worth...

 

[M00se]

I don't know about any specific med schools to compare too, but I feel we go to school a lot more per week too. I go to class and lab 36 hrs per week this semester and 34 last semester.

Jim
TUCOM class of 2004