All Branch Topic (ABT) What specialties are easier for DO's to match into in the milmatch?

[csx]

in a civilian match, PCP is abundant and from there, while its possible to match a competitve speciality, it is an uphill battle for DO's.

What specialities are actually easier to match for DO's in milmatch than if one were to go the civilian route?
also, any information/resources you guys might have on match statistics for each of the branches?

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[Kilgoretrout 65]

in a civilian match, PCP is abundant and from there, while its possible to match a competitve speciality, it is an uphill battle for DO's.

What specialities are actually easier to match for DO's in milmatch than if one were to go the civilian route?
also, any information/resources you guys might have on match statistics for each of the branches?

DO's are so prevalent in mil med that I have not seen much bias. Of course, I am only familiar with one specialty. If you are a good candidate you are competitive in mil med, with some
residencies harder to match than others (like Ortho, ER) regardless of whether MD or DO. I would imagine Derm is easier in the military as compared to civilian, for example.

 

[csx]

DO's are so prevalent in mil med that I have not seen much bias. Of course, I am only familiar with one specialty. If you are a good candidate you are competitive in mil med, with some
residencies harder to match than others (like Ortho, ER) regardless of whether MD or DO. I would imagine Derm is easier in the military as compared to civilian, for example.

I've always been told it's easier to match into a competitive speciality in milmed as a DO than through the civlian route...

 

[colbgw02]

I've always been told it's easier to match into a competitive speciality in milmed as a DO than through the civlian route...

That sounds right, but that's not quite the same thing as what you originally asked.

Overall, I'd say that all specialties are easier for DOs to match into in the military, but the relative difficult is still a function of the overall competitiveness of the specialty. That is, it will only be marginally more difficult to match into any specialty. If you're applying to family medicine, then that margin is functionally meaningless. If you're applying to derm, then that margin may mean the difference between matching or not. It's not as if there are certain specialties that are "hold outs" who conspire to exclude DOs. I guess you could make the case for neurosurgery, but that's so competitive it could still be explained by my above outlined theory.

 

[Snowdon48]

While on this topic, are there any stats on the number of DO's vs MD's currently in mil med?

 

[MaximusD]

... I will say that I am not aware of any from DO student CGOs that matched Anes in the AF.

 

[colbgw02]

Patently false for the AF unless you are willing to do a FS/GMO tour. Other branches, prob true.

Let me get this straight...you're asserting that, in the Air Force, it is equally difficult for a DO to match into a military residency as it is for a civilian DO to match into an allopathic civilian residency, unless that military DO has done a FS/GMO tour?

I mean, I'm not Air Force, and I certainly don't want to speak categorically about all specialties at all locations. However, I'm also staff at an Air Force program with DO trainees that weren't compelled to do a GMO tour to get into residency, so I think I'll stick to my theory that DO bias is significantly decreased to nonexistent in military medicine.

 

[MaximusD]

Let me get this straight...you're asserting that, in the Air Force, it is equally difficult for a DO to match into a military residency as it is for a civilian DO to match into an allopathic civilian residency, unless that military DO has done a FS/GMO tour?

I mean, I'm not Air Force, and I certainly don't want to speak categorically about all specialties at all locations. However, I'm also staff at an Air Force program with DO trainees that weren't compelled to do a GMO tour to get into residency, so I think I'll stick to my theory that DO bias is significantly decreased to nonexistent in military medicine.

I am asserting that in the AF it is at least as difficult for a DO to match CERTAIN competitive specialties than it is in civvie land. Yes, 100% will attest to that. I have seen that there are far more DO FS/GMOs than others and it is usually due to failure to match into competitive specialties. Perhaps my statement was too broad -- that is actually why I'd deleted it after consideration.

 

[MaximusD]

I will concede that it may be that DO applicants are more likely to have poor scores. But I absolutely take issue with it being EASIER to match competitive specialties in the AF. While anecdotal, that has not been the experience of many of my peers.

 

[csx]

I've spoken to a few people and they all said that the AF kind of just forces you into a specialty and you don't really have too much say as they have a mentality of "being in the AF is a privilege."

Can anyone confirm/deny/comment on this?

 

[deleted444089]

I'm the the Navy, but I would venture to say that the AF does not do this. You will only match into an AF residency training program if you have voluntarily applied for it. You may be forced into Flight Surgery if not picked up for training after internship, but it's not like you will be forced into the Residency in Aerospace Medicine program without you putting in the paperwork to get selected for it.

What I mention above is different, of course, than saying that the AF provides you the opportunity to train in what you want to do without a lot of hassle and perserverance when the selection board doesn't go your way.

I've spoken to a few people and they all said that the AF kind of just forces you into a specialty and you don't really have too much say as they have a mentality of "being in the AF is a privilege."

Can anyone confirm/deny/comment on this?

 

[HighPriest]

Yeah, I would be surprised if they were forcing people into surgery or what not. I can say that in the Army (and I am fairly certain, but not positive in the other brancehs as well) you are required to list at least five military residencies in your match list. If you happen to be applying for something that trains at fewer than 5 places, then your fifth choice has to be something else. That is stressful. That being said, you can always list transitional in the Army, and then plan on reapplying or becomming a GMO.

 

[MaximusD]

The af doesn't force you into a specialty. That is against their contract with you, however there is a policy paper that will shunt you into FS, or if ineligible, into a GMO tour.

Don't rank a type of internship if you don't want to do it. I did not rank surgical internships at all in the Milmatch/JSGMESB. (I wanted to actually learn about medicine and comorbidity...)

 

[Kilgoretrout 65]

I've spoken to a few people and they all said that the AF kind of just forces you into a specialty and you don't really have too much say as they have a mentality of "being in the AF is a privilege."

Can anyone confirm/deny/comment on this?

Doesn't happen in any of the services. Residency is hard enough, you can't be forced to be an ENT surgeon.

You can be forced to do a surgery internship or an internal medicine internship and then be a GMO or flight surgeon. You can be deferred to go into the civilian match ( Air Force does this more than others I think). The more competitive you are (GPA, USMLE scores, research, rotation performance) the more likely you will get what you ask for.