What is the advantage of usmle for DO students?

[SMC123]

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What is the advantage of taking the usmle for DO students? What specialities are hard to get by only taking the comlex?

If going into internal med, does usmle give you more fellowship options? I figured DO have a lot of spots themselves

 

[listentoadvice]

If you're planning on applying to ACGME residencies, the USMLE is required.

 

[aliDO]

It is not REQUIRED for most allopathic residencies but most people would recommend taking it. If you want osteopathic IM then don't worry about it. Location might be a deciding factor as it was for me since I want to stay in a specific geographical area where there are not many osteopathic residencies.

 

[Red Beard]

Not required, and ACGME program directors will tell you that COMLEX is sufficient. However, I was told straight up at multiple ACGME interviews that it was a positive factor that I had taken and performed well on USMLE.

 

[SMC123]

If i wanted to do a fellowship in something such as cardio, gi, endo, would the usmle increase my chances or shall i stick to just the comlex?

 

[katarina90]

(I haven't taken the exam yet or done the match so its just based on fellow classmates/faculty) but generally they're advising us to take both:

1. if you are set on a specific geographic area for residency, because you will probably end up applying for some/even mostly MD programs.
2. want to go into a specialty that is super-competitive, OR does not have a lot of DO residencies (ie psych only has a few DO residencies, most are MD)
3. if you're really not sure what you want to do yet, and think you might choose something that fits the above.