Geriatrics and Osteopathic Medicine

[Mike Tracy]

I am applying to DO schools and still have two interviews pending. I am a gerontologist currently working in an assisted living facility in Colorado. Osteopathic medicine and geriatrics seem to make a lot of sense to me, but very few schools have geriatric training included in their third and fourth years. The one school that I did interview at with geriatric training was NSU, but I got the small envelope from them about two weeks ago. I wonder if I was too focused on what could be considered a specialty...even though I plan on practicing? Any input or suggestions for the upcoming interviews at AZCOM and COMP?

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[justwannabadoc]

The biggest problem is that there are very few gerontology programs out there period. I wouldn't worry about finding a school or rotation site that has a gerontology program. You are going to get limited exposure to that field anyway during the third and fourth years. It is important that if you indeed want to go into geriatrics, do the obvious; enter a geriatric residency. Geriatrics is a specialty and an important one as our population continues to age. However, my feeling is that you should spend your third and fourth years learning about as many areas of medicine that interest you and THEN focus on geriatric during your residency.

 

[Gregory Gulick]

Mike, it is always good to hear from another gerontologist. I'm a graduate student at the University of South Florida and will be receiving my M.A. in gerontology in August. I also minored in gerontology while I was an undergrad, founded the Stetson Gerontological Society, and was the campus representative for the Gerontological Society of America. Basically, gerontology is my life! And it is so good to hear from someone else who has made the healthy link between gerontology and osteopathic medicine.

You asked if we thought you might have pushed a specialty too hard in your application process. In my opinion, you haven't. All I did throughout my entire process was push gerontology and geriatric medicine because there is a tremendous shortage of these types of practitioners. I did not hesitate to write about my desire to "provide primary care to America's aging population." I managed to receive seven interview offers of which I attended three and was accepted at each. At each interview, I pushed geriatrics hard and the panels seemed to be impressed.

So keep trying. I'm sorry to hear that you got the thin envelope from NSU because it is one of the better schools for geriatric education. They are one of the few schools with a mandatory geriatric rotation. Other schools good for geriatrics are UNT and UMDNJ (and maybe OUCOM, although I'm not real familiar with this school). UNT and UMDNJ are, unfortunately, state schools and very difficult for us out-of-staters to get accepted into.

Well, if you have any more questions please do not hesitate to contact me personally at [email protected] . Good luck!

 

[DO 2 be]

KCOM just bought some land to be used for senior housing and a Geriatrics Research Center. Won't happen for probably another 2-3 years.