Its true though.
A lot of people on the MD side end up going inactive because they match in the milmatch or SF match. They aren't going inactive because they're going unmatched.
Sometimes there is hubris involved as well- people skipping AOA because they are unaware of how uncompetitive their application is for the specialty they are interested in on the AOA side, or people that don't apply broadly enough. One big problem with DO schools versus MD schools is that our GME placement advice is not nearly as good as many MD schools since we don't have teaching hospitals that provide inside information on the match and how to play things. What programs we do have are often less competitive and AOA, so their advice is limited when applied to the more competitive ACGME side of things.
If you built your entire app around ortho but you've got stats for FM, you might very well not match if it's clear your backup specialties are backups. No one wants a resident that obviously doesn't want to be there.
Ah, they're in a different boat though- a lot of them are looking to do second residencies and no longer have full Medicare funding. It's a miracle even 50% of them match- limping them in with current MDs isn't really a great thing to do. Yeah, we don't separate prior DO grads, but realistically there probably aren't a whole hell of a lot of them.
I mean that you guys have PDs that can more reliably tell you what PDs are looking for, how one should structure their application, what one's chances realistically look like, and where one should apply. PDs talk to each other about what they're looking for, in addition to knowing what they select for in candidates personally. AOA PDs often just don't have that level of information and can't provide that level of guidance, and typically are in primary care fields to begin with so their advice is of little utility to those looking to specialize.
A lot of people aren't nearly as smart as they need to be with how they structure their applications. I have classmates that don't even know the most basic things about the Match and how it works. Not everyone is a high information applicant, nor is everyone realistic about their chances to get into certain specialties. Hell, we've got a surgical club comprised of about a quarter of the class to stand as testament to that.
I know of a few people that didn't match in the past from various schools. Big red flags were present on all accounts. And I know plenty of people that didn't match and had to scramble, but they had the AOA buffer so were fine- in the future that won't exist. Like, as of next year. That's a big deal in looking forward. This coming match is the last one that DOs will have a safety net, and applying past trends to future matches has about as much folly as people saying it's fine to go to Caribbean medical schools because they know this guy that matched ten years ago- it was a different world, and we're entering a new and uncharted period in DO GME.
DO schools will still be creating and maintaining OPTIs in order to mitigate this, I imagine?
The whole point of OPTIs was to grow osteopathic GME. Given that osteopathic GME functionally no longer exists, the incentive to expand OPTIs is sort of null and void. Some schools will likely continue to pursue OPTI growth, but it's likely that many of the newer schools will just say **** it.
The incentive, I guess, would be to maintain placement rate at 95% as the AOA currently requires.
And yet those within the OPTI are not required to match students from the school in question, nor to even match DOs.
Your faculty doesn't mentor you in any way or help you through the process? Pretty sad, given the amount of resources you guys have.
No, they aren't. Just like any other ACGME program. That affiliation can still be beneficial.
So you think that the merger is good, from what I gather. If you believe OPTIs will not serve schools any longer, isn't this a huge down side? Sorry, just trying to understand your stance. You think DO schools will be the future carribean schools?
This.
Is there any word on when the AOA opens their GME programs to MD students? Combining of match timeline? What is the latest info out there?
As soon as most of the programs get approved for initial accred, they are allowed to enter the NRMP match and take MD students. Most programs are foregoing osteopathic recognition, so they will be taking MDs starting in the next year or two with no additional requirements.
It's good for DOs that don't want to go into competitive fields because we will get to keep our fellowship options open, and all of our programs will have been raised to ACGME standards. Yes, the merger will make it harder for lower ranked and bottom of the class DOs, but I think that is a price worth paying so that the majority can move forward in a stronger position.
Whelp. See ya later surgical sub specialties.
All surgical subspecialties are required to at least enter pre-accred as of this match, so yeah, they're getting tougher to get into. We did have a couple ortho matches this year on the ACGME side of things, so it's not impossible, just really, really ridiculously hard.
I'm sure they raped and pillaged the step though. I'm worried that the days of landing surgery with just a comlex are gone. I'll guess we will see.
Those days are pretty damn close to resting in peace outside of programs that remain in OPTIs.
Meh. No doubt about it...
True, with the right connections, you can get to higher places.
I googled OPTI but can you elaborate?
Already responded to this line of criticism before. Refer to the last post by Giovanotto for a good response on it. Engineers don't have residencies. Once we go out after residency, we'll all be in direct competition. The government already prioritizes American students. All public universities prioritize american high school graduates, particularly those in-state for those institutions.
Either way, they get a doctor out of the process. Not only that, but many FMGs are required to work in underserved areas for a period of several years, AND they tend to have higher scores and more research than many of their less competitive US counterparts. US taxpayers get the best possible physician working in the most needed areas under the current system, which is winning all around compared to a US first match.
