[Nazfreak]

I've been looking into MD vs DO medicine and I really like the DO's philosophy better anyway. I tried to see if there was a huge disadvantage (like a significantly lower salary or something), but they seem pretty similar for the most part.

I don't get all the osteopathic hate.

[hefty]

Originally Posted by Nazfreak

I've been looking into MD vs DO medicine and I really like the DO's philosophy better anyway. I tried to see if there was a huge disadvantage (like a significantly lower salary or something), but they seem pretty similar for the most part.

I don't get all the osteopathic hate.

most patients whose docs are DOs don't realize they are DOs. (they wouldn't know what DO meant anyway).
most DOs don't use the DO after their name, instead it's written Dr. So-and-SO on their coats.
one of the biggest differences is osteopathic manipulation.. which is taught in school but hardly anyone ever uses it in their practice.

[Khairan]

Originally Posted by Nazfreak

I've been looking into MD vs DO medicine and I really like the DO's philosophy better anyway. I tried to see if there was a huge disadvantage (like a significantly lower salary or something), but they seem pretty similar for the most part.

I don't get all the osteopathic hate.

You face a huge disadvantage if you want to specialize -- nothing is impossible, but you'll have to work much harder and have little assurance that you'll be able to do anything outside of primary care with an osteopathic degree.

If that is not important to you and you love the do philosophy, then go for it.

[bravotwozero]

Originally Posted by Nazfreak

I've been looking into MD vs DO medicine and I really like the DO's philosophy better anyway. I tried to see if there was a huge disadvantage (like a significantly lower salary or something), but they seem pretty similar for the most part.

I don't get all the osteopathic hate.

1) Don't go to medschool. Go to dental school instead.

2) The 'holistic' DO philosophy is also practiced by plenty of MDs, and really doesn't translate into anything significant in terms of actual clinical practice.

3) The only 'osteopathic hate' you'll see is by ignorant pre-meds who don't know what they're talking about.

4) What hefty said.

If you're insane enough to apply to medschool, i'd suggest going to your local state medical school, be it DO or MD. They tend to favour applicants from their own state, and tuition tends to be the cheapest.

EDIT: Aside from the most competitive specialties (ortho, plastics, derm), I don't think you're necessarily at a 'huge' disadvantage if you don't want to go primary care. DOs have their own residency programs in non primary care areas, and because only graduates from osteopathic medical schools can enter them, you may face a smaller applicant pool if you want to apply to them.

[Khairan]

Originally Posted by bravotwozero

EDIT: Aside from the most competitive specialties (ortho, plastics, derm), I don't think you're necessarily at a 'huge' disadvantage if you don't want to go non-primary care. DOs have their own residency programs in non primary care areas, and because only graduates from osteopathic medical schools can enter them, you may face a smaller applicant pool if you want to apply to them.

I think the disadvantage comes in to play with respect to limitations on the number of programs you can apply to, not just the competitiveness.

I want to emphasize that simply being a do does not bar anyone from anything -- there are dos in all fields of medicine and I have even seen do program directors of competitive allopathic residencies.

The point is that in much of the country there is a culture which is resistant to accepting dos on equal footing with mds, and this culture by and large does not come from patients but from within the medical training community itself. In my experience, this is much less so in the northeast us than in some other parts of the country.

In short, if it's something you enjoy and you believe in, I don't want to discourage you from taking a do path. They are still doctors and as a do you will still practice medicine and your career will be based on your talent and your level of dedication to your patients. However, be aware that you will have more bumps along the road if you are a do interested in specializing -- that's okay, but it's a decision you should make consciously rather than one you never even thought about.

[hefty]

Originally Posted by Khairan

I think the disadvantage comes in to play with respect to limitations on the number of programs you can apply to, not just the competitiveness.

I want to emphasize that simply being a do does not bar anyone from anything -- there are dos in all fields of medicine and I have even seen do program directors of competitive allopathic residencies.

The point is that in much of the country there is a culture which is resistant to accepting dos on equal footing with mds, and this culture by and large does not come from patients but from within the medical training community itself. In my experience, this is much less so in the northeast us than in some other parts of the country.

In short, if it's something you enjoy and you believe in, I don't want to discourage you from taking a do path. They are still doctors and as a do you will still practice medicine and your career will be based on your talent and your level of dedication to your patients. However, be aware that you will have more bumps along the road if you are a do interested in specializing -- that's okay, but it's a decision you should make consciously rather than one you never even thought about.

from what i understood dos can apply to both allopathic (as long as they took the usmle) and osteopathic programs.
there were also some open spots left in opthalmology in the do match, a friend of mine was offered a spot in ophth and she didn't even apply for the match.

[Khairan]

Originally Posted by hefty

from what i understood dos can apply to both allopathic (as long as they took the usmle) and osteopathic programs.

Absolutely true, and it's also true that dos have their own residencies which mds are NOT eligible to apply for.

However, I can tell you for a fact that, at least at this point in time, there are a number of allopathic residencies that won't even consider do applicants.

Consider this akin to an md student going to Harvard versus going to podunk medical school. Both schools put out perfectly competent doctors, both schools have their share of geniuses and slackers, and both schools will have a certain number of people who do primary care and a certain number who specialize. However, simply having a "harvard" name behind you makes everything you do a bit easier to accomplish.

It's the same with md vs. do -- nothing is impossible and ultimately if you are good at what you do you will be successful, but you will have to do a bit more than your colleagues to "prove" yourself. I'm saying this based on what do attendings I train under tell me.

[hefty]

Originally Posted by Khairan

Absolutely true, and it's also true that dos have their own residencies which mds are NOT eligible to apply for.

However, I can tell you for a fact that, at least at this point in time, there are a number of allopathic residencies that won't even consider do applicants.

Consider this akin to an md student going to Harvard versus going to podunk medical school. Both schools put out perfectly competent doctors, both schools have their share of geniuses and slackers, and both schools will have a certain number of people who do primary care and a certain number who specialize. However, simply having a "harvard" name behind you makes everything you do a bit easier to accomplish.

It's the same with md vs. do -- nothing is impossible and ultimately if you are good at what you do you will be successful, but you will have to do a bit more than your colleagues to "prove" yourself. I'm saying this based on what do attendings I train under tell me.

agreed.



Moral of the story: Don't go to medical school.
haha jk.. but no for real you better do your research before applying to med school, definitely shadow some doctors, talk to CURRENT medical students to understand what their life is like, and how deep in debt they are (unless mashaAllah you can afford it), talk to residents to see what their life is like.. it's a long, hard-arse road, and if you are doing it for the money then forget it completely.
If you have a passion for medicine and want to "help people", forget it, you'll end up getting sued, or out of fear of getting sued you'll run a billion unecessary tests to cover ur arse, or you'll end up with hundreds of non-insured patients, who'll run you to bankruptcy. Go into research instead.
*sigh* i think i became more and more pessimistic as med school went on. honestly our healthcare system is going to he** and is in serious need of reform so that doctors can do what they were meant to do, and not deal with all the red tape. end rant.

[MossadConspiracy]

Originally Posted by hefty

agreed.



Moral of the story: Don't go to medical school.
haha jk.. but no for real you better do your research before applying to med school, definitely shadow some doctors, talk to CURRENT medical students to understand what their life is like, and how deep in debt they are (unless mashaAllah you can afford it), talk to residents to see what their life is like.. it's a long, hard-arse road, and if you are doing it for the money then forget it completely.
If you have a passion for medicine and want to "help people", forget it, you'll end up getting sued, or out of fear of getting sued you'll run a billion unecessary tests to cover ur arse, or you'll end up with hundreds of non-insured patients, who'll run you to bankruptcy. Go into research instead.
*sigh* i think i became more and more pessimistic as med school went on. honestly our healthcare system is going to he** and is in serious need of reform so that doctors can do what they were meant to do, and not deal with all the red tape. end rant.

despite all that, medicine is still a highly competitive profession with many more people seeking to enter it at all levels than the number of available positions, so there must be alot of very important attractions in the field.

We just like to complain alot, but its really a great profession

ws

[iliketofish]

I still have about 3 weeks until Step 1 and I'm definitely starting to freak out. USMLEWorld is still kicking my butt and I'm not really seeing that much of an improvement after review books (just finished BRS phys and Biochem, currently reading micro made simple). My scores on USMLEWorld hover around 55-60% and are slightly higher on Kaplan. What kind of percentage should I aim for on these qbanks and whats a good qbank score equivalent to get a 220 on the real deal? I tried using Kaplans score estimator and some 3rd party websites but I don't think theyre very accurate... any personal experiences?

[Bruinrab]

The medfriends predictor was accurate for me for step 1. Not so much for step 2, just because I didn't do any questions.

[MossadConspiracy]

Originally Posted by iliketofish

I still have about 3 weeks until Step 1 and I'm definitely starting to freak out. USMLEWorld is still kicking my butt and I'm not really seeing that much of an improvement after review books (just finished BRS phys and Biochem, currently reading micro made simple). My scores on USMLEWorld hover around 55-60% and are slightly higher on Kaplan. What kind of percentage should I aim for on these qbanks and whats a good qbank score equivalent to get a 220 on the real deal? I tried using Kaplans score estimator and some 3rd party websites but I don't think theyre very accurate... any personal experiences?

salam

sounds like you have nothing to worry about. I dont know about the different score predictors. I remember plugging in my various results in medfriends for step 1 and it gave me multiple predictions with a discrepancy between them of more than 30 points

I didnt do USMLE world but I did Kaplan and I think I was around the low to mid 60s throughout most of my study period. It jumped into the 70s in the last week or so. In any case, from my experience you should be ok with the percentages you mentioned...

[Jaysh]

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

And don't slack off. Just becuase you were smart in High School DOESN'T mean that you can get away without studying in College.

That's one reason I didn't even attempt to complete undergrad and just went off high school test scores. With undergrad, med schools really want to see consistency and work ethic, both of which I lack. Undergrad is the biggest weeder for med schools!

[salmanjafri]

I'll be getting my BS in a few weeks and I plan on taking one-two years off before I start med school, insha'Allah. What kind of activities, preferrably paid, can I and should I get involved in during this time to strengthen my application? Are there certain programs and experiences that people in my situation and who ultimately get an acceptance partake in? Did any of you med students/residents take time off after college?

Just so you know a little more about me: my GPA is decent (around 3.6), I'm currently preparing for the MCAT, I have a year of research experience in an immunology lab with a poster presentation and a publication, I've shadowed a neurologist a handful of times, and I have a decent amount of volunteer hours at several local hospitals.

Your help is valued and appreciated!