What made you choose/apply to DO schools?

[adennis]

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I'm interested to hear what others' criteria are/have been for choosing to apply to DO schools.

I know some have always loved the idea of DO; others chose it because they were close by...some again might have chosen it because of a physician they knew... and then down through the line to some who chose it as a backup to MD.

I still haven't made up my mind which schools to apply to (or based on any specific criteria), and I'm trying to get a basic idea across the board.

TIA
Andrea

 

[kristabel]

At first I decided to apply to DO schools because I really wanted to be a doctor and MD vs DO didn't really matter to me. But then when I shadowed a DO (who happened to be my parents' doc), I was really impressed by her and her approach to medicine. I know that some of the advice she gave me will stick with me through my medical education. Although I never saw her use OMM with a patient, she seemed like different kind of doctor than most of the others I had worked with in the depth of her interaction with patients. I realized that her approach to medicine was consistent with my own goals for becoming a physician, so I got more serious about DO schools. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there aren't equally as attentive and empathetic MD's - I think you can be the kind of doc you want to be with either educational background. But for me, the general priniciples behind osteopathic medicine really matched up with my motivations for becoming a physician. So, my best advice is to shadow a DO and see what you think. Good luck!

kristabel

 

[DORoe]

I chose to apply to DO school because I wanted to be a doc. I have grown up in an area that is heavily saturated with DO's and have went to them my entire life. When I applied I knew that the MD and DO had to have some differences, but I was unsure as to what the differences were. As I started doing more research and shadowed a DO I began to like the philosophy behind Osteopathy more and more. I don't know any DO's that use OMM so I haven't had much exposure to it, but the opportunity to learn it contributed to my decision to want to be a DO. I also chose to apply because there are 5 DO schools within 4 hours of my home (LECOM, OUCOM, PCSOM, PCOM, and WVSOM). I really went into the application process wanting to attend OUCOM because I have known some very good doc's that have graduated from there. So in short my previous experience, location of schools, and interest in learning OMM caused me to apply/choose to attend a DO school.

 

[Runtita]

I have worked at a DO school for the past few years and have the utmost respect for the way in which our DOs practice. I have had the opportunity to see the direction of osteopathic research and I am very excited about the future of osteopathy. I never even considered going to med school until I came to work here, and now I have been "assimilated". 😉

 

[gr8n]

I chose to go DO for the simple fact that DOs practice the prevention of disease through education while MDs treat illness episodically.

MDs would treat your stomach ache, however, DOs will treat YOU as the PERSON with the stomach ache.

There is bias against DOs from "some" MDs, but that is slowly dying, and some patients don't know what a DO is... they'll ask, "what is a DO and how do they differ from MDs?"

My answer to that is simply:

M.D. stands for MANIPULATION DEFICIENT! , other than that, we are alike.... (pay check wise and all).

At the end of the day, go with your heart.

gr8n
LECOM-Bradenton
c/o 2008

 

[Adapt]

I chose because I wanted to become a doctor. Before I found out about DOs, I thought I wasn't ever going to become a doctor because I thought my MCAT was going to suck based on my practice tests. I was getting in the low 20s and I knew that if I got that on the real thing I wasn't going to make MD or it was going to be an uphill battle.

Then, when I discovered DO schools and how their average stats were a bit lower to get in, I was excited and knew I still stood a chance to become a doctor. It is worth noting I didn't want to go to a caribbean school. Anyways, so it is through discovering DOs that my motivation to want to succeed propelled me to do well in my classes and MCAT.

Now I sit with both MD and DO acceptances and I will probably go the DO route. I can't help think that one of the reasons why I am in such a fortunate position is simply due to my discovery of DOs. For that I am thankful.

 

[Robz]

Here is my call.

I shadowed multiple MD's and DO's trying to understand what the professon was about. What I found out is that there really wasn't a whole lot of difference. There IS an ideal of structure equaling function and the body having a ability to heal itself and those are great ideals to have. They fit with what I believe. This by no means says that DOs only and no MDs believe in this. I found out through shadowing there really isn't a difference in practice.

I applied to both allopathic and osteopathic and got to see a wide range of schools. I felt it was important to find the school that fits with you. You going to hear a lot of different arguments for and against things. Especially on these boards.

In the end I actually ranked the schools I wanted to go to. NSUCOM was tied for 2nd on my list. This was for multiple factors. My number one choice was UT-memphis cause of tuition bills and clinical rotations but I was placed on the alternate list. To me it wasn't a simple DO vs MD thing. (which has been discussed to death around here) It was more of a where do I feel welcome, where are the faculity happy, where are the students happy, am I going to like the clinicals?, is there culture around the area, is there an airport around thats fairly cheap, where is my closest family/friends support, and would I be happy living in that area for 4 years. Lots of things play through your mind.

I applied to 23 schools in total. Why? cause I didn't want to have to go through this process again. Its tough and it blows monkey chunks. My original goal was to get 10 interview invites and a couple of acceptances. I was suprised on how many interviews I recieved and so on. I feel its important not to discount your opportunities by applying to one and not the other. Unless of course your dead set on which initials you want after you name. Which some people are very picky about having a DO or an MD as their initials. Me? I just want to be a great physician.

 

[gr8n]

Robz,

You are going to make a GREAT PHYSICIAN! Good luck!

gr8n
LECOM-Bradenton
c/o 2008

 

[kaikai128]

Throughout my life the only "doctors" that I had ever been exposed to were MD's and thus I was set on becoming an MD for a long period of time...partially because of the fact that I was intrigued with medicine while dissatisfied with the doctor patient relationships that I had come acrossed. It was first my counselor in college who asked me why I chose MD over DO. At that piont in time I did some research and have since decided to only apply to DO. Most DO's that I have encountered seem to be more compassionate, have a better relationship with their patients, and most patients seem to be happier with their doctor and the decisions that they make together regarding overall health.

 

[asdasd12345]

robz you said that some of the colleges you interviewed with cared about your poor undergrad performance and some just concentrated on recent grades, which ones concentrated on recent grades?

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

The way I understand it, all DO schools consider the most recent grade, which is good because rather than my science gpa being a 3.35, its a 3.55 by DO standards. 👍

 

[(nicedream)]

The way I understand it, all DO schools consider the most recent grade, which is good because rather than my science gpa being a 3.35, its a 3.55 by DO standards. 👍

He meant concentrate on recent grades as in concentrating on junior year rather than freshman year.

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

He meant concentrate on recent grades as in concentrating on junior year rather than freshman year.

OH, dont mind me 👎