why allopathic over osteopathic (interview question)

[DatInterviewDood]

Is this a valid interview question for M.D. applicants? I ask this with respect and do not mean to start any fights. If I had to answer:

1. I received primary care from an M.D. growing up, so that's what I am familiar with.

2. My shadowing experiences are with M.D.s, though my experiences are in primary care so I likely witnessed the same type of care that I may have seen with a D.O.

3. I believe that the closest medical school to me is a great fit (allopathic school).

4. I am interested in research opportunities that allopathic school X offers.

Open to all thoughts and opinions

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[Brorthopedic]

Would schools even ask this? Just say that although you respect the philosophy (lol), you choose to pursue a more traditional route.

 

[GrumpyGus]

Lol this will never be asked ever

 

[zurc2014]

Lol this will never be asked ever

This./thread

 

[Mad Jack]

This would be a ridiculous question. Just no.

 

[Dr. Jan Itor]

They may ask why physician over nurse/PA/etc., but they aren't going to ask why MD instead of DO.


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[candbgirl]

Would schools even ask this? Just say that although you respect the philosophy (lol), you choose to pursue a more traditional route.

DO isn't traditional? Interesting. But OP why on earth would an allopathic school ever ask that question?


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[----x----]

If you're asked this, I wouldn't say your first answer "it's what I'm familiar with" sounds a bit like "I didn't really look into anything else".

If I were asked this I'd maybe speak about keeping my options as open as possible (international medicine for example).

 

[Sardinia]

Just tell them that you want a competitive specialty and you know about the merger.

You don't care if you drive a Ferrari or a Honda, they're both cars that get you to the same location. But residency programs will distinguish between which degree you have because they have several qualified applicants and you want to be in a program that simply will give you the greatest return on your personal investment. 4 years is a lot of time to put into a medical education, I would like to think that you should at least be satisfied with the sticker before you begin the sweat and blood process of putting in every effort to turn that sticker into the medical career that you imagine yourself in for life. A DO puts a damper on some very narrow options, but it's still a damper nonetheless. Granted there are phenomenal DOs that land into the most competitive specialties, however you are not a gambler and didn't get here by rolling the dice. If you can get an interview into an MD school then they have an interest in you. Let them know that you understand that you are also specifically interested in them not as another MD institution, but as their own medical school.

That's what I'd convey.

 

[Frogger27]

Say you're egotistic and care about the letters behind your name

 

[Lawpy]

DO isn't traditional?

It's not because historically, osteopathic medicine broke away from mainstream (or "allopathic") medicine. The DO degree only recently reunited with mainstream medicine (50+ years ago), and now the modern DO physicians pretty much abandoned the obsolete, unscientific, radical policies of the founder AT Still. In the future, the DO degree will be reabsorbed into MD, and the degree will become historical/outdated.

In regards to the thread topic, I think it's a pointless question to ask given that both MD and DO physicians have equal practice rights. There is no differing philosophy in medical care. And whatever "philosophy" unique to DO schools isn't exclusive to DO; nothing stops MD schools and physicians from adopting and using it.

 

[Ho0v-man]

Say tuition is cheaper for an MD. It probably is so it's not even a lie.

In all seriousness, this will never be asked.


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[Dr. Janitor]

Is this a valid interview question for M.D. applicants? I ask this with respect and do not mean to start any fights. If I had to answer:

1. I received primary care from an M.D. growing up, so that's what I am familiar with.

2. My shadowing experiences are with M.D.s, though my experiences are in primary care so I likely witnessed the same type of care that I may have seen with a D.O.

3. I believe that the closest medical school to me is a great fit (allopathic school).

4. I am interested in research opportunities that allopathic school X offers.

Open to all thoughts and opinions

Contrary to what everyone else said, I was actually asked this question during my interview. Here's how the convo went...

MD Interviewer: "Have you had other interviews? If so, where at and how'd they go?"
Me: "Yes, I've had 3 other interviews." (Named the 3 DO schools I interviewed at and told him they went well)
MD Interviewer: "So this is your first real medical school interview then, correct?"
Me: "No, I've had 3 other interviews."
MD Interviewer: "I think DO's are better at the people aspect of medicine and MD's are better at critical thinking. From our interaction you kind of fit in better at a DO school anyways...." (He then went on for ~5 minutes about why MD's are better than DO's in his opinion)
Me: (Interrupting) "...Look, no offense but I really don't care what initials you guys give me at the end of 4 years as long as I'm a physician. I'm not doing this for that reason."
MD Interviewer: "So then why do you want to come here vs an Osteopathic school?"
Me: "I don't want to come here because you're Allopathic, I want to come here because this is my top choice for medical school for many reasons outside of initials. #1 I'm an alumni of this institution, #2 it's close to my family, #3 I believe in its mission statement and I believe I will be able to accomplish all my medical school goals in this curriculum and environment. I'm sure the other schools that I've already gotten into would prepare me just fine but here am I today because I want to go to your school. This school could be a DO school and it would still be my top choice regardless."
MD Interviewer: "So we're your top choice?"
Me: "Without a doubt"
MD Interviewer: Writes down on his notes "#1 CHOICE" and circles it before changing subject to something else entirely

RESULT: ACCEPTED

 

[Dr. Janitor]

DELETED: DOUBLE POST

 

[Lawpy]

Contrary to what everyone else said, I was actually asked this question during my interview. Here's how the convo went...

MD Interviewer: "Have you had other interviews? If so, where at and how'd they go?"
Me: "Yes, I've had 3 other interviews." (Named the 3 DO schools I interviewed at and told him they went well)

He asked this because you had mentioned your DO interviews.

 

[787593]

They may ask why physician over nurse/PA/etc., but they aren't going to ask why MD instead of DO.


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I was asked this question!

 

[Sardinia]

I was asked this question!

How did you respond?

 

[787593]

How did you respond?

I'll message you

 

[Petrichor1]

This question may (and I mean by rarest of chances) come by if you happen to boast a lot abt you applying do. Honestly if they ask abt schools you've applied you don't have to tell them specifics. Everything is up in the air, so few get acceptances why ask?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Sometimes the threads that are created astound me....

 

[Ayy_MadScientist]

I was asked this question!

+1 - I was asked this question just two weeks ago (My question was why MD vs. DO, Nursing, & PA) & I didn't mention anything about applying DO.

 

[JB50]

I think I would just say "WTF is a DO?"





Not serious.

 

[Whyamionhere]

What the hell...I didn't think I would ever get asked this but it looks like people have without mentioning a peep of applying DO (which I'm not, so I wasn't prepared for the possibility of this question). How do you answer it without sounding like you are putting down the DO degree? That wouldn't be my intention at all but the honest reasons like having the most opportunities for residencies sounds like a dig at DOs, and I'm certainly not trying to say that DOs aren't competitive, because that's just completely false (before someone gets pissed at me or starts a flame war).

What would be the best way to approach this?

 

[Lawpy]

What the hell...I didn't think I would ever get asked this but it looks like people have without mentioning a peep of applying DO (which I'm not, so I wasn't prepared for the possibility of this question). How do you answer it without sounding like you are putting down the DO degree? That wouldn't be my intention at all but the honest reasons like having the most opportunities for residencies sounds like a dig at DOs, and I'm certainly not trying to say that DOs aren't competitive, because that's just completely false (before someone gets pissed at me or starts a flame war).

What would be the best way to approach this?

I really don't know who would ask this, and I don't know the context of the prior two posts that said they were asked that question.

But if an interviewer asked me why I picked MD over DO for whatever reason, I would reply: "While the two degrees have equal practice rights in the end, I feel that the MD schools will provide me more resources and research opportunities that will help me in my long-term medical career".

 

[Whyamionhere]

I really don't know who would ask this, and I don't know the context of the prior two posts that said they were asked that question.

But if an interviewer asked me why I picked MD over DO for whatever reason, I would reply: "While the two degrees have equal practice rights in the end, I feel that the MD schools will provide me more resources and research opportunities that will help me in my long-term medical career".

Yeah I'm confused by it being asked as well, but that sounds great and is probably right along the lines of what I would have said. Hopefully my preparation for this question isn't necessary though...weird question.

 

[Dr. Janitor]

What the hell...I didn't think I would ever get asked this but it looks like people have without mentioning a peep of applying DO (which I'm not, so I wasn't prepared for the possibility of this question). How do you answer it without sounding like you are putting down the DO degree? That wouldn't be my intention at all but the honest reasons like having the most opportunities for residencies sounds like a dig at DOs, and I'm certainly not trying to say that DOs aren't competitive, because that's just completely false (before someone gets pissed at me or starts a flame war).

What would be the best way to approach this?

Refer to my post earlier in this thread.

1) State that you have nothing against DO
2) State your reasons for why you want to be at THEIR school...not why MD but the school specifically
​

Life is about more than your initials. DO or MD won't really change how you practice medicine as an individual will it? No. So don't get sucked into a conversation you don't want to be in and just tell them why you like their school regardless of initials.

As for other healthcare professions, that's an individual response. I'd say something along the lines of "Well, nothing against those careers, but given my professional aspirations I would be most effective as a physician and this profession would allow me to achieve my goals.....*insert your professional aspirations, community interests, etc.*"

- By doing this, you:

• Successfully redirect the conversation away from a touchy/awkward subject while still answering the question
• Get to talk about your strong points, aspirations, etc --> Giving the interviewer a more holistic view of who you are and who you'll be as a physician
• Don't come off as a pretentious know it all about the healthcare industry --> Shows inter-professional respect

It's important to know who you're talking to. As you might be sitting across from a MD/DO, Phd, PharmD, NP, or some other type of administration member and you don't want to rub them the wrong way.

​

 

[Ayy_MadScientist]

Refer to my post earlier in this thread.

1) State that you have nothing against DO
2) State your reasons for why you want to be at THEIR school...not why MD but the school specifically
​

Life is about more than your initials. DO or MD won't really change how you practice medicine as an individual will it? No. So don't get sucked into a conversation you don't want to be in and just tell them why you like their school regardless of initials.

As for other healthcare professions, that's an individual response. I'd say something along the lines of "Well, nothing against those careers, but given my professional aspirations I would be most effective as a physician and this profession would allow me to achieve my goals.....*insert your professional aspirations, community interests, etc.*"

- By doing this, you:

• Successfully redirect the conversation away from a touchy/awkward subject while still answering the question
• Get to talk about your strong points, aspirations, etc --> Giving the interviewer a more holistic view of who you are and who you'll be as a physician
• Don't come off as a pretentious know it all about the healthcare industry --> Shows inter-professional respect

It's important to know who you're talking to. As you might be sitting across from a MD/DO, Phd, PharmD, NP, or some other type of administration member and you don't want to rub them the wrong way.

​

+1 - this is basically how I answered for the DO part of my question. I didn't talk about allopathic vs. osteopathic - I applied to schools that could help me achieve both my professional and personal goals as a physician based on their mission. I still think this question was unnecessarily asked tho!