DO Student Applying Ortho vs. PM&R with Average Step Score

[peaches34]

Hi everyone, I'm a 3rd year DO student in the US. I'm stuck about what to do because I came into med school knowing that I wanted ortho after working as an ortho scribe for 2 years, but my stats are not competitive enough (Step 1 mid 230s, Level 1 510s, 1 ortho case report + 2 poster presentations, and so far 1 general LOR).

Another field that has been in the back of my mind is PM&R, which I scribed in for 8 months before school. I can see myself being happy in PM&R since it still has the MSK and procedures that I like with a predictable patient load in outpatient and would give me more opportunity to do OMM.

My questions:

• Should I still apply for a fall full of ortho Sub I's like I initially planned or is this not realistic for me at this point?
• If I decide to apply for PM&R instead, would it be frowned upon that I had no PM&R experiences prior to 4th year except my scribing experience?

Any advice or insight would be appreciated, especially from anyone who has applied ortho with lower scores. I know ortho would be a stretch for me, especially as a DO student, but just want to know if there's still any hope or if I should go all out with PM&R.

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[Peaches44]

Are you trolling me or is this a super weird coincidence with our names?

Im also debating Ortho vs PMR lmaooo.

 

[Moose A Moose]

Pick one and go full throttle. Audition rotations for ortho are paramount. Find DO friendly programs. Good luck.

 

[kelminak]

Your board scores do not make you competitive for ortho, I'm sorry. Charting outcomes with that Step 1 put you at a 66% chance of matching from a very small sample size. I would not take that risk.

You will match somewhere for PM&R with that score. That's higher than average for that specialty.

https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2020_DO-Senior_final.pdf

 

[ontiquicuo]

Any DO considering ortho should read through

D.O. Student Orthopedic Surgery Matched-AMA

I matched into orthopedic surgery! Please feel free to DM me and I can answer any questions you may have! I just wanted to share the knowledge that I gained throughout the ortho process. Applying to ortho as a DO student can be confusing as there isn't much information out there. Throughout the...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[FutureDoctor5000]

Ortho chances are at 66% like said above with those scores, and a 510 level one doesn't help either. I would try to get a 250+ on step 2 and audition at former AOA programs and 1-2 MD programs that have taken DO's/Will consider DO's and get letters from them. I would also plan to apply to PM&R as a backup. Try to do a PM&R elective in your third year if you can to get a letter or do one in your 4th year. Not impossible but you will have to hustle in your audtions, scores matter less to former AOA programs.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Ortho chances are at 66% like said above with those scores, and a 510 level one doesn't help either. I would try to get a 250+ on step 2 and audition at former AOA programs and 1-2 MD programs that have taken DO's/Will consider DO's and get letters from them. I would also plan to apply to PM&R as a backup. Try to do a PM&R elective in your third year if you can to get a letter or do one in your 4th year. Not impossible but you will have to hustle in your audtions, scores matter less to former AOA programs.

Unfortunately chances for ortho are much lower than 66%. Most applicants with 230s Step scores have 600+ COMLEX scores, which is where the 66% comes from. No applicant in last charting outcomes matched with below a 500 COMLEX and 7/14 matched in the 500-550 bin. A 510 puts OP squarely in the bottom 5% of all DO ortho applicants, and it will hurt quite a bit unless they have a home program they’ve been networking with for the last 3 years. This is for DO programs. Chances for MD ortho with a 230s Step are functionally 0% given the rest of the app as it’s presented here. Rotating at MD programs is a waste of precious audition time and poor advice in this instance.

OP I will never tell someone to not apply to a specialty they love, but you should dual apply and fully expect to end up in PMR.

 

[DNC127]

Dual apply, apply to all DO and regional MD ortho, do 5-6 DO ortho auditions and apply to all PMR programs.

Programs I recommend with your scores

Valley health or whatever its called in vegas
Corvalis
Henry ford Maccomb
Any of the less "sexy" michigan/ohio programs
ETSU in tennessee
Largo

If you are an elite rotator your odds of matching DO ortho would be the same as someone with a 710 if you pick your auditions right... problem is hardly anyone is an elite rotator. We had almost 40 auditioners for 2 spots this year and only 2 fit this bill. Wouldn't have mattered what their scores are we would want them.

Make sure you get good PMR AND ortho letters before 4th year. Going to have to work hard on this.

 

[MatchGod]

Why can’t you apply to both? I have IV in PM&R with failures, so you should be fine.

 

[dj-Roomba]

Dual apply, apply to all DO and regional MD ortho, do 5-6 DO ortho auditions and apply to all PMR programs.

Programs I recommend with your scores

Valley health or whatever its called in vegas
Corvalis
Henry ford Maccomb
Any of the less "sexy" michigan/ohio programs
ETSU in tennessee
Largo

If you are an elite rotator your odds of matching DO ortho would be the same as someone with a 710 if you pick your auditions right... problem is hardly anyone is an elite rotator. We had almost 40 auditioners for 2 spots this year and only 2 fit this bill. Wouldn't have mattered what their scores are we would want them.

Make sure you get good PMR AND ortho letters before 4th year. Going to have to work hard on this.

What did those 2 people do that made them an elite rotator?

 

[DNC127]

What did those 2 people do that made them an elite rotator?

On time
Knew their place
Read the room well
Hung out
Passed the "get up and go test" (when you get up to do a task do you want the student to follow you or not)
Knew a reasonable amount of orthopaedic questions
Cool / interesting


Seems simple. Hardly anyone can really pull it off for a month though.