Why DO Interview Question

[xvndr]

Hello all! I'm preparing for DO interviews and wanted to use this example of why I like the principles of osteopathic medicine, but wanted some opinions. I'd start off by talking a little bit about the history, and then what I specifically really resonate with is viewing an individual as a whole. We are not all one homogenous species, and while we're 99.9% genetically similar, we have so many factors that distinguish us from one another and these all play a role in disease. For example, a patient presents to the clinic (i.e. DKA) and you bring them to baseline, but you wouldn't necessarily prescribe them a medication that doesn't fit with their SES because they'll be right back in the clinic 2 weeks later. Instead, we take an approach of looking at changes we can make to their lifestyle so that we don't see them in the clinic any time soon. And of course, this isn't to say that MDs don't take this approach, but I really resonate with the fact that DO schools emphasize things like this in their philosophy.

Sound okay? I'm in an SMP in a DO school so it's not like I don't know anything about osteopathy, but I'm trying to think about how to adequately explain why DO. I'd also mention in my answer that I'm not a DO nor a DO student, so I recognize that don't know everything there is to know about osteopathy, but this is my understanding from my research and from my time as a student at a DO school.

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[PhD_to_DO]

Hello all! I'm preparing for DO interviews and wanted to use this example of why I like the principals of osteopathic medicine, but wanted some opinions. I'd start off by talking a little bit about the history, and then what I specifically really resonate with is viewing an individual as a whole. We are not all one homogenous species, and while we're 99.9% genetically similar, we have so many factors that distinguish us from one another and these all play a role in disease. For example, a patient presents to the clinic (i.e. DKA) and you bring them to baseline, but you wouldn't necessarily prescribe them a medication that doesn't fit with their SES because they'll be right back in the clinic 2 weeks later. Instead, we take an approach of looking at changes we can make to their lifestyle so that we don't see them in the clinic any time soon. And of course, this isn't to say that MDs don't take this approach, but I really resonate with the fact that DO schools emphasize things like this in their philosophy.

Sound okay? I'm in an SMP in a DO school so it's not like I don't know anything about osteopathy, but I'm trying to think about how to adequately explain why DO. I'd also mention in my answer that I'm not a DO nor a DO student, so I recognize that don't know everything there is to know about osteopathy, but this is my understanding from my research and from my time as a student at a DO school.

In framing my answer, I focused on osteopathic medicine's history of social justice. I did some research and found out that Andrew Taylor Still was an early abolitionist and then I found out about several prominent African American DOs who were very active in the Civil Rights movement. Additionally, while many allopathic medical schools were late to the game when it came to accepting Black students, the DO schools, particularly Michigan State University, were more accepting of Black applicants. There were a few other things that I mentioned and I did discuss OMT and my shadowing experience, but mainly focused on how social justice is built into the DNA of osteopathic medicine from its earliest incarnation.

 

[unexpectedcomplications]

You should mention being able to offer your patients immediate relief of symptoms instead of having to rely on more invasive methods. There's a lot you can talk about from there.

 

[Sky138]

Personally I think you’ve trying too hard. If you answer that, I highly doubt your interviewer will find that memorable because everything you said, while true, has little to do with who you are. When I interviewed last year, I merged my why medicine with why do by discussing my path to medicine and tying that to what interested me about osteopathy.

 

[WannabeGP]

I agree with Sky that you appear to be trying too hard with an answer like that. Try to clearly and concisely answer why you personally are choosing osteopathic medicine; the example you use seems like fluff. If you have it, talk about your own experience with DOs and osteopathic medicine and how they inspired you to be a DO. Or maybe talk about family or friends' experience with physicians and medical care and how you did or didn't like how their physician handled it, relating it back to the tenets of osteopathic medicine. Personal experiences will be much stronger in showing your understanding and appreciation of osteopathic medicine.

Also, it's not necessary to add that disclaimer in there that MDs and DOs both emphasize holistic patient care. They're wondering why you're choosing osteopathic medicine; it's better to highlight the differences rather than similarities.

I talked about how I have been given unnecessary prescriptions by MDs, and how my DO physician actually listened to my concerns and desire to get off of a medication. I talked about the emphasis osteopathic medicine has in letting the body heal itself, which I very much agree with. I had family members who were on medications for years that they didn't even remember the reason for. I'm also interested in the financial aspect of medicine (i.e. fixing it) so I talked about my experience with that.

Congrats on your interview! Good luck with it.

 

[WAnative]

DO 4th year here, just keep it simple, this isnt a pivotal question for most of your interviewers, we just want to see if you know the difference. pick something simple you like about it and just keep it brief, if they ask more questions you can go into other details. you want to try to be memorable for other aspects of interview like having something unique about your interests, research, work experiences etc. ultimately most DOs never think about "why DO" beyond that interview question

 

[Osminog]

Like most interview questions, this one is best answered through an illustrative story. Briefly talk about a time when you personally discovered/experienced the "DO difference" (as a patient, shadower, grad student, etc.) and how it inspired you to choose this path.