What would it take for a DO to enter REI?

[femmegoblue]

Obviously no one knows what things will look like in 2020, but realistically what would it take for a DO grad to eventually do an REI fellowship? I know a lot depends on where you do your OB residency.

In 2017, there were 51 ACGME REI positions, and only 3 were filled by DO grads. As far as AOA REI fellowships, there are only two in the country (both at PCOM).

It seems like an extreme long-shot to me, but I wanted to get a clearer picture. Thanks!

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[AnatomyGrey12]

Does it show how many applied? Interested in the answer here as well as OB/gyn with a fellowship is on my list of things to check out. All I know is that gynonc and Urogyn are really competitive

 

[femmegoblue]

Does it show how many applied? Interested in the answer here as well as OB/gyn with a fellowship is on my list of things to check out. All I know is that gynonc and Urogyn are really competitive

I looked through this list and couldn't find # of DO applicants, only number of DO's matched. But I may have missed it, so give it a look and lmk if you find anything!

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Results-and-Data-SMS-2017.pdf

 

[femmegoblue]

Does it show how many applied? Interested in the answer here as well as OB/gyn with a fellowship is on my list of things to check out. All I know is that gynonc and Urogyn are really competitive

I figured out that there were 54 allopathic graduates and an additional 21 applicants that were either IMG, DO, or FMG. Of the 54 MD applicants, 40 matched to 51 eligible ACGME positions. Therefore the remaining 10 spots (one went unfilled) went to 21 IMG, DO, or FMG applicants: 3 went to DO, 2 went to IMG and 5 went to FMG. If we assume the 21 non-MD applicants were split evenly among DO, IMG and FMG, DO's matched 3 positions for 7 applicants. Which I guess isn't bad?

 

[Lexdiamondz]

Straight OB-GYN isn't unreasonable as a DO but REI is rather competitive, especially considering a relatively large %-age of REI fellows are MD-PhDs. Without research and strong connections it probably will be difficult. With that said, there are DOs in REI fellowships, and the PD of Drexel's program is actually a DO (as is their current fellow)

 

[femmegoblue]

Straight OB-GYN isn't unreasonable as a DO but REI is rather competitive, especially considering a relatively large %-age of REI fellows are MD-PhDs. Without research and strong connections it probably will be difficult. With that said, there are DOs in REI fellowships, and the PD of Drexel's program is actually a DO (as is their current fellow)

Thank you! It seems like this program is actually an AOA fellowship (according to their website) because it is a joint program with PCOM. It must be one of the two DO REI fellowships that exist.

 

[Lexdiamondz]

Thank you! It seems like this program is actually an AOA fellowship (according to their website) because it is a joint program with PCOM. It must be one of the two DO REI fellowships that exist.

Ahhh I hadn't realised that, especially considering Drexel has an allopathic medical school. Interesting

 

[astrostellar]

Following this thread... currently interested in REI as well. I know it's doable, but I haven't seen any numbers.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

@femmegoblue

Someone posted this in another thread and it has some great info:

Participating Fellowships - The Match, National Resident Matching Program

5 DOs matched GynOnc and 3 matched MFM and REI each. Unfortunately it doesn't break down how many applied to each specialty, only total applied to all fellowships (Excluding FPMRS which has its own category where 5/6 matched).

 

[femmegoblue]

@femmegoblue

Someone posted this in another thread and it has some great info:

Participating Fellowships - The Match, National Resident Matching Program

5 DOs matched GynOnc and 3 matched MFM and REI each. Unfortunately it doesn't break down how many applied to each specialty, only total applied to all fellowships (Excluding FPMRS which has its own category where 5/6 matched).

That is super useful, thank you. It's a little disheartening to see that over half of DO applicants to Ob/Gyn fellowships remained unmatched, whereas 30% of MD didn't match. I guess it looks like 50/50 odds as it stands?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

That is super useful, thank you. It's a little disheartening to see that over half of DO applicants to Ob/Gyn fellowships remained unmatched, whereas 30% of MD didn't match. I guess it looks like 50/50 odds as it stands?

Probably, but it's hard to interpret because we don't know if all these applicants were applying from ACGME programs or AOA programs, or university with research vs. community with research harder to come by. It also doesn't tell us which fellowships they were after

 

[femmegoblue]

Probably, but it's hard to interpret because we don't know if all these applicants were applying from ACGME programs or AOA programs, or university with research vs. community with research harder to come by. It also doesn't tell us which fellowships they were after

I know no one really knows the answer to this, but in your opinion do you think the once-AOA only fellowships with very few programs to begin with (like REI) are going to "squeeze" out DO's when MD's can also apply? Most of the ACGME REI fellowships are at top academic centers (Yale, Michigan, etc) and I could see less competitive applicants going for those former AOA spots.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I honestly have no idea.

 

[Lexdiamondz]

I know no one really knows the answer to this, but in your opinion do you think the once-AOA only fellowships with very few programs to begin with (like REI) are going to "squeeze" out DO's when MD's can also apply? Most of the ACGME REI fellowships are at top academic centers (Yale, Michigan, etc) and I could see less competitive applicants going for those former AOA spots.

It's certainly possible.

Certain fields like REI are still dominated by MD faculty, even at DO residencies/fellowships so it's highly dependent on the culture of each individual program. Places with high #s of DOs in admin positions are likely to retain significant favour towards DOs while others might consider MDs more highly. It's hard to say.

 

[femmegoblue]

It's certainly possible.

Certain fields like REI are still dominated by MD faculty, even at DO residencies/fellowships so it's highly dependent on the culture of each individual program. Places with high #s of DOs in admin positions are likely to retain significant favour towards DOs while others might consider MDs more highly. It's hard to say.

Hopefully since I am in Michigan which is super DO heavy, things lean toward DO's still.