Why DO on secondary?

[musiclink213]

I just got mauled with a whole bunch of secondary applications, all wanting to know why I want a DO degree. The truth for me is that I don't care MD or DO, I just want to practice medicine. I figure by applying to both, I'm increasing my odds of getting in somewhere. I don't want to only apply to 5 schools and pray that one of them likes me, so I'm applying to as many schools as possible, and hopefully be able to make a decision based on location, price, match list, etc. So is it OK on the DO secondaries to say that I just want to be a doctor, or should I say something about OMM or the philosophy or something? I do think the whole OMM is pretty cool, and even if I do end up at an MD school, it is something I would still like to learn eventually. Thoughts?

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[Fermata]

Just tell the truth and list why you would be happy going to a DO school if that's what it came down to.

I think that most DO schools, beyond hoping that you have an interest in DO philosophy, are looking for those who are sincere and will represent the DO community well.

 

[scpod]

So is it OK on the DO secondaries to say that I just want to be a doctor, or should I say something about OMM or the philosophy or something? QUOTE]
It's OK to say anyhting that you want. Now...will you get an interview saying "anything that you want." I don't know. Of course, if you happen to mention, during your DO interview, that you are only there because you want every chance to be a doctor are you likely to get accepted, will you get in? I don't know. I would be likely to NOT accept you if I were on the admissions committee, but I'm not. The irony is that you would probably have a better chance by lying.

Yet, I have to say that actually being a part of an osteopathic med school class changes you. From personal experience, I'd say that 95% of my classmates have been amazed by the things that we have learned in OMM. Yes, it's only been 5 weeks, but we have already been exposed to a lot of amazing things. You might be one of those people who thinks it's bull****. You might be one of those who falls in love with it. I can tell you from personal experinece, though, that this **** works sometimes.

Getting back to the original question...I just wanted to help people . I now have an opportunity to do that. Is that what you want? If it is , you'll find a way to make it happen.

 

[Dr JPH]

How about highlighting the reasons you applied to that particular school?

Questions regarding your desire to learn OMM or the "osteopathic philosophy" are very interviewer dependant. There are many times when these questions arent even touched upon in an interview.

 

[musiclink213]

How about highlighting the reasons you applied to that particular school?

Questions regarding your desire to learn OMM or the "osteopathic philosophy" are very interviewer dependant. There are many times when these questions arent even touched upon in an interview.

Well, I will do that also, but some schools ask specifically why a career in osteopathy and then also why that school, so I feel like I should touch upon something relating to osteopathy. I guess I would talk about OMM, because I do think it's pretty cool, and I've seen it work before. Only bad part about learning about it I guess is that I heard you have to practice on each other, and I am extremely ticklish. As soon as someone touches my ribs, my stomach, my knees, my neck, just about anywhere, I get really ticklish. But I could try to make myself less sensitive to being so ticklish, maybe hypnotherapy, lol.

 

[scpod]

Only bad part about learning about it I guess is that I heard you have to practice on each other.

It's really a little weird, but all courses have some similarities in med school. At first, there were a lot of people who very tentatively touched the cadavers, if at all.Five weeks later they are all "digging" in to the cadavers "up to their elbows", looking and feeling their way around with no inhibitions.

OMM was a lot like that in the beginning. People were almost afraid to touch each other, but a few weeks later you find yourself wandering around the OMM lab in search of anyone who will let you "feel" them. Having someone's hands "probe" you body is normal.

The strange thing to get used to is that you can actually "see" some structures beneath the skin that an allopathic physician couldn't see without a radiograph. That REALLY is an advantage in your practice.

Plus, you can never say enough about the skin-to-skin contact. It allows you to rely on your senses and really helps you understand the "art" of doctoring.

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

So is it OK on the DO secondaries to say that I just want to be a doctor, or should I say something about OMM or the philosophy or something?

I would definitely avoid the "I'm just trying to get in anywhere" approach, even if you're honestly on the fence about it.

Osteopathic schools are proud to be osteopathic schools and they want students who would be proud to be osteopathic physicians.

I would write about how your personal goals match with osteopathic goals, your interest in OMM (OPP) and how you can see the benefits of it, etc

Also, don't belittle allopathic students/physicians.

Good luck!

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

my mentor who is a DO said there is a push now among DO schools not to be letting in people who just think it's easier to get into instead of MD. she told me to make sure I want to do DO in particular and to convince the adcom of it. there was some kind of article on this topic in some DO publication last spring i think. I would discuss things like wholistic approach, natural/preventitive, OMM, etc. My DO mentor who is a pathologist said being able to palpate better than her MD coleagues (like one poster above discussed) is a big advantage and that they ask her to do the OMM on them on a weekly basis. So, even in an area like pathology, there are advantages to DO over MD. to you on those secondaries!

 

[NewNick]

I just got mauled with a whole bunch of secondary applications, all wanting to know why I want a DO degree. The truth for me is that I don't care MD or DO, I just want to practice medicine. I figure by applying to both, I'm increasing my odds of getting in somewhere. I don't want to only apply to 5 schools and pray that one of them likes me, so I'm applying to as many schools as possible, and hopefully be able to make a decision based on location, price, match list, etc. So is it OK on the DO secondaries to say that I just want to be a doctor, or should I say something about OMM or the philosophy or something? I do think the whole OMM is pretty cool, and even if I do end up at an MD school, it is something I would still like to learn eventually. Thoughts?

I suggest you to read something about Osteopathic principles to show that you know what you're doing (at least give the adcom that feeling).

 

[WantsThisBad]

you could answer it as if the question were, why medicine in general?

 

[theraball]

you could answer it as if the question were, why medicine in general?

Absolutely. In the long run it's about medicine, not the two letters after your name.

But, AOA is concerned about maintaining its distinct identity and wants students to not think of osteopathic school as a mere fallback to allopathic education.

At the very least, you should understand what OMM is; meet with a D.O. who practices OMM, try to experience it, and read up on it. There's a famous study in NEJM that compared the efficacy of OMM and drugs on long term lower back pain in a sizable cohort. (The results were about equal--in other words, OMM was about as effective as drugs.)

Here are some useful links:
osteohome, ostmed, and JAOA.

 

[musiclink213]

Absolutely. In the long run it's about medicine, not the two letters after your name.

But, AOA is concerned about maintaining its distinct identity and wants students to not think of osteopathic school as a mere fallback to allopathic education.

At the very least, you should understand what OMM is; meet with a D.O. who practices OMM, try to experience it, and read up on it. There's a famous study in NEJM that compared the efficacy of OMM and drugs on long term lower back pain in a sizable cohort. (The results were about equal--in other words, OMM was about as effective as drugs.)

Here are some useful links:
osteohome, ostmed, and JAOA.

Thanks for the links. I understand that osteopathic is not a fallback to allopathic, and can understand why AOA wants them to be distinct. I guess I'll write about OMM. I personally haven't ever experienced it, but my dad has and it's pretty neat stuff. Nothing else helped, and he happened to be doing a delivery to a DO, and the DO suggested OMM. After a short time, he was completely better. Thanks for the advice.

 

[ShyRem]

you could also focus on the DO philosophy of patient care, not symptom care. Cornerstone is the health of the entire patient - the ability to "find health" in a patient, not to find a disease and deal strictly with that aspect of the patient. If you don't know about the OMM stuff, don't try to snow it (but keep an open mind). Focus on other aspects of the DO medical philosophy that you find appealing. I knew very little about OMM itself (but a little more about various aspects of OMM), but was very interested in treating a PERSON, not just a disease.

 

[KifsterDDS]

Obviously, you should never apply to a program without knowing what exactly you are going to get from it. Your education from a D.O. program is going to be slightly different than that from an M.D. program. You'd better know how.

I can tell you this (and I can tell you this having worked as a resident in a hospital prior to applying to medical school): functionally, there is little difference between the two.

If you look on the web, you will see comments like, "D.O.'s treat the whole patient." That's bull****. D.O.'s practice medicine just like M.D.'s. They work in precisely the same conditions and with the same time constraints, and thus are going to practice the same. When in the operating room, some of the resident anesthesiologists were D.O.'s and I never saw them check the patellar reflex of our patients prior to intubation and induction. Elsewhere in the hospital, it was the same. With the exception of the letters after their names, they were 100% indistinguishable from the allopaths.

So why a D.O. rather than an M.D.? I'm no admissions officer, but I think it's safe to say that you'll have little success from a D.O. program if in your interview you insinuate that their program is an alternative door into medicine should you not secure a position in an M.D. program.

Personally, I do believe that there are some difference in emphasis between osteopathic and allopathic schools, with osteopathic schools placing more on primary care. How so? I don't know. I haven't looked into it. But it is plausible for them to do so. They also, as I understand it, learn a bit more about the interaction between the various components of the body, especially the musculoskeletal system and its role on general health. Basically, you will learn some chiropractic-related stuff, yet most D.O.'s with whom I've spoken stated that they never use it. Remember, D.O.'s are licensed to prescribe medicines and perform surgery, hence they have to know exactly what M.D.'s know and adhere to the same standards of care.

Do a little research, but be careful about what you read (especially on the web). Most of the people making comments about the topic are charlatans pure and simple!

 

[musiclink213]

So why a D.O. rather than an M.D.? I'm no admissions officer, but I think it's safe to say that you'll have little success from a D.O. program if in your interview you insinuate that their program is an alternative door into medicine should you not secure a position in an M.D. program.

Personally, I do believe that there are some difference in emphasis between osteopathic and allopathic schools, with osteopathic schools placing more on primary care. How so? I don't know. I haven't looked into it. But it is plausible for them to do so. They also, as I understand it, learn a bit more about the interaction between the various components of the body, especially the musculoskeletal system and its role on general health. Basically, you will learn some chiropractic-related stuff, yet most D.O.'s with whom I've spoken stated that they never use it. Remember, D.O.'s are licensed to prescribe medicines and perform surgery, hence they have to know exactly what M.D.'s know and adhere to the same standards of care.

Well, obviously I'm not going to say I'm going to go to a DO school if I don't get into an MD school, because fact is, a large part of my decision is very likely going to come from location and money. For instance, say I get into PCOM and an MD school in the middle of nowhere. In all honesty, I would probably go to PCOM just because it's in Philly. I'm the type of person who either needs to be in a city or close to it. If the only school I got into was in the middle of nowhere, then I'd go and be grateful I have the chance to go to a med school. But I think we're all allowed to have preferences.

I'm also interested in primary care at this point, so teh whole DO's focus more on primary care doesn't bother me. I've actually got something down for the why DO question, now I just need to work on putting it in proper english. I hope what I wrote was OK.