Dermatology- MD vs DO

[Cookie143]

Hi All,
I am sorry to bother you with your hectic schedules and all but I am a pre med very serious about pursuing dermatology. I am aware of the fact that dermatology is EXTREMELY competitive. I was wondering...if you had been accepted to both a DO and MD school...which would be the better choice to attend if you knew you wanted to pursue dermatology? I know both will be competitive...however my current stats- gpa and mcat...are very competitive for DO school and acceptable/slightly competitive for med school....all/any advice would truly be appreciated!!!!

Also- I have the option of applying to DO school this year...or waiting a year and applying both MD and DO (I am too late for the MD cycle this year) What would you do if you were me? Thanks

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[napoleondynamite]

Hi All,
I am sorry to bother you with your hectic schedules and all but I am a pre med very serious about pursuing dermatology. I am aware of the fact that dermatology is EXTREMELY competitive. I was wondering...if you had been accepted to both a DO and MD school...which would be the better choice to attend if you knew you wanted to pursue dermatology? I know both will be competitive...however my current stats- gpa and mcat...are very competitive for DO school and acceptable/slightly competitive for med school....all/any advice would truly be appreciated!!!!

Also- I have the option of applying to DO school this year...or waiting a year and applying both MD and DO (I am too late for the MD cycle this year) What would you do if you were me? Thanks

I'm not going into derm, but based on my observations as a 4th year medical student with several friends applying, you probably have about a 2% chance of getting in as a DO (assuming you are #1 in your class from a top DO school) versus a 50% chance as an MD. Either path is highly competetive, but DO is definitely not the preferred way in. If you lucky enough to know that you are set on a career path in Derm this early on, do everything you can to have the edge. MD from a US school is a MUST. I'm sure I'm opening myself up to criticisms from the PC trolls but I think what I'm telling you is the truth. Definitely wait a year and apply to allopathic schools, or apply to DO schools and pick something else. Good luck.

 

[(nicedream)]

I'm not going into derm, but based on my observations as a 4th year medical student with several friends applying, you probably have about a 2% chance of getting in as a DO (assuming you are #1 in your class from a top DO school) versus a 50% chance as an MD. Either path is highly competetive, but DO is definitely not the preferred way in. If you lucky enough to know that you are set on a career path in Derm this early on, do everything you can to have the edge. MD from a US school is a MUST. I'm sure I'm opening myself up to criticisms from the PC trolls but I think what I'm telling you is the truth. Definitely wait a year and apply to allopathic schools, or apply to DO schools and pick something else. Good luck.

Your theory doesn't really make sense. 2% chance vs. 50% chance? For one, there are around 20 PGY2 spots for derm in DO programs each year - for applicants to have a 2% chance there would have to be about 1,000 applicants. That's around 1/3 of total DO graduates, not to mention the fact that only AOA interns apply and not MS4s. When you consider these facts along with the high degree of self-selection among DO graduates (for primary care), I'm guessing the actual number of applicants is somewhere around 75-100 max. Your statistics are way off. In addition, you ignore the differences between the ability to succeed in MD vs DO curriculum, and the differences in emphasis the respective programs place on selection factors.

 

[(nicedream)]

I just realized that napolean might not have known there are DO residencies. If you're applying to derm as a DO, you will be going for these programs.

 

[napoleondynamite]

All I'm saying is that Derm is an uphill battle for ANYONE applying, but much more of an uphill battle as a DO. To deny that is simply telling this premed lies. So there are 20 DO spots for 3,000 DO graduates that would all love to have one. What I'm trying to say is this: Take two applicants for Derm residencies who look identical on paper (board scores, grades, etc). Have these applicants apply to every Derm program out there. Now one is a DO and the other an MD. Which one is going to have an easier time matching? This is a no-brainer and you know it, but I guess it's not PC of me to tell the truth on this issue

Maybe nicedream is right, or maybe he's trying to sell you a nice dream

 

[napoleondynamite]

Cookie143:

By the way, if you want to read about an example of a DO applicant who is wishing on every lucky star out there that he can get in, check out this thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=318925

Look, I'm not trying to be a DH here. But if I were in Cookie143's shoes, there is no way in HELL I'd take the DO route if I were set on Derm. You need to go into this with your eyes wide-open. Look at the advice on the thread I posted above. Do you really want to have to complete an entire residency in internal medicine (3 years) before even applying to derm? Do you want to take a residency spot WITHOUT PAY? Because those are some of the excellent options before you as a DO graduate. Entrance into an MD residency slot with the letters D.O. after your name is next to IMPOSSIBLE. I know it must be tempting to take the easy DO slot now, but if I were you, and you are serious about what you are saying, I'd take the year off and do everything you can to get into an allopathic school next year. Good luck!

 

[(nicedream)]

I've always been 100% honest and realistic on this board. If a student wants to go into ANY surgery, IM subspecialties, ophthalmology, radiation oncology, and several other fields, I would say go MD without a doubt. In fact, I would say you have more opportunites as an MD at anything - except possibly derm! The reason is that 20 slots is actually a pretty good number when it comes to DO residencies (compare with the slots in other fields - DO programs are strongly biased to FP/IM). More importantly, it is easier to stand out as a DO applicant than an MD one. Applying to MD derm as an MD, you are being compared to the absolute best of the best - even if you manage a 260, publish 10 articles, and are top of your class, your app won't raise eyebrows. Conversely, apply to DO programs with those stats, and you can bet that you will stand out when compared to your DO colleagues most of whom have no research experience and are shooting for FP/IM/EM.

 

[(nicedream)]

Cookie143:

By the way, if you want to read about an example of a DO applicant who is wishing on every lucky star out there that he can get in, check out this thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=318925

Look, I'm not trying to be a DH here. But if I were in Cookie143's shoes, there is no way in HELL I'd take the DO route if I were set on Derm. You need to go into this with your eyes wide-open. Look at the advice on the thread I posted above. Do you really want to have to complete an entire residency in internal medicine (3 years) before even applying to derm? Do you want to take a residency spot WITHOUT PAY? Because those are some of the excellent options before you as a DO graduate. Entrance into an MD residency slot with the letters D.O. after your name is next to IMPOSSIBLE. I know it must be tempting to take the easy DO slot now, but if I were you, and you are serious about what you are saying, I'd take the year off and do everything you can to get into an allopathic school next year. Good luck!

What was the point of linking to my thread? That it is hard to get into dermatology? Duh!!!

 

[Cookie143]

thanks i appreciate the input

 

[kalix]

Clarification:
There are actually ~20 AOA approved dermatology residency programs
and around 100 positions to be filled each year...
In sum, there are many AOA approved residency programs out there in all specialties of medicine...so if you want it, then go for it, you should have an equal chance to land the residency of your choice as a DO or MD if you work hard at it
Send me a message if you would like further information...I've done quite a bit of research on AOA approved residency positions since I'm an osteopathic medical student(OMS-II) interested in applying to an AOA approved residency upon graduation.

 

[ny skindoc]

Clarification:
There are actually ~20 AOA approved dermatology residency programs
and around 100 positions to be filled each year...
In sum, there are many AOA approved residency programs out there in all specialties of medicine...so if you want it, then go for it, you should have an equal chance to land the residency of your choice as a DO or MD if you work hard at it
Send me a message if you would like further information...I've done quite a bit of research on AOA approved residency positions since I'm an osteopathic medical student(OMS-II) interested in applying to an AOA approved residency upon graduation.

100 positions over a three year period not first year derm positions.In allopathic derm there are about 260 slots yearly for new entrants.
Its tight either way.

 

[(nicedream)]

Clarification:
There are actually ~20 AOA approved dermatology residency programs
and around 100 positions to be filled each year...
In sum, there are many AOA approved residency programs out there in all specialties of medicine...so if you want it, then go for it, you should have an equal chance to land the residency of your choice as a DO or MD if you work hard at it
Send me a message if you would like further information...I've done quite a bit of research on AOA approved residency positions since I'm an osteopathic medical student(OMS-II) interested in applying to an AOA approved residency upon graduation.

For someone that's done "quite a bit of research on AOA approved residency positions", you seem to not know much about it all. There are 18-21 pgy2 derm positions to be filled each year. You need to realize the numbers given are for total slots, not singular pgy slots.

 

[kalix]

I gotcha man...well whatever the case, maybe the best way is to just work hard and go for it and not get caught up in the probability and slots and this and that.... good luck

For someone that's done "quite a bit of research on AOA approved residency positions", you seem to not know much about it all. There are 18-21 pgy2 derm positions to be filled each year. You need to realize the numbers given are for total slots, not singular pgy slots.