http://www.nrmp.org/data/resultsanddata2012.pdf
Keep in mind, there are roughly 20k MD grads and 5k DO grads every year, about half of which go AOA, so 22500 grads needing placed yearly. Ish. I'm just pulling from what I remember last time this came up. This goes back 5 years from 2012 meaning there are over 100,000 graduates accounted for.
Of these
4 DOs matched derm
3 matched n.surg
16 matched ortho *over 5 years* (so ~3/year)
0 matched ophtho
1 matched plastics.
So fine, double my number, ish. From 10ish, to 20ish, but that is out of about 100,000 total grads in the match which is why I said previously "either go AOA or choose something else". By the time the OP gets there, the AOA match may have reduced programs of these types or have MD availability as well.
You can rationalize it away however you would like, but the argument that "because these specialties are a minority among MDs it doesn't matter if DOs don't match well" is completely insane. DOs are minority-er
, and the point is made to demonstrate the bias that exists. Also, the only thing stopping DOs from applying to the ACGME is cost of applying. That will still be there post "merger". They don't have to decide which to stay in until after the interview trail. If you get a ton of interviews you are more likely to stay in it. If not you are more likely to pull out to the AOA.
I've been fair in my statements all along the way stating that there are those who don't experience it at all, and there are those who do. I am not saying it is a metaphysical certainty that you will experience discrimination based on your degree. But (also in the post you quoted), if you were to familiarize yourself with the PD survey you would know that the PDs themselves cite "US Allopathic graduate" as factoring into their decision and in many cases it ranks well above things like didactic grades. The fact that a single DO matched mayo a few years back and that it is still being touted somehow as the sole example of how bias doesnt exist does more to prove the point than to disprove it. That guy was a rockstar. If you can say with 100% certainty that you will also be a rockstar then no, there will be no bias against you (except for those PDs who openly admit they will not rank DOs....).
I can tell you this, as an MD graduate, the OP will never face discrimination for being a DO
. It is as simple as that. The honest answer to the OPs question is that it exists, and sometimes it is a hassle for people, and the hassle increases as you try to get into more and more competitive fields. I just can't tell you how irritating it is to see countless pre and current students spin their neural hamster wheels trying to rationalize this thing away when the simplest and truest answer is "stop worrying about a slight decrease in chance to match in something you very well likely won't want to do with your life anyways"
Family docs make plenty to pay off their debt. So what if you can't do it as fast as the beverly hills plastic surgeon or Oprah's next pet project? If you aren't convinced that you can dramatically improve your app and get into the MD school next year or convinced that you would rather not do medicine at all if you can't go to the MD Anderson neurosurgery program (if the even have one....) then take the DO acceptance because even though the figure for matching as a % of grads produced is lower, the vast majority of them still find jobs without issue.
