What you wish you had known before DO

[cookiegrub]

The title is self explanatory. I am pretty set on going this route but I don't live in a DO known place to make the call too informly.

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[Blanky]

In my area DOs and MDs work in exactly the same positions and the same pay. Is that your question ?

 

[Hakuna Matata]

^ what they said. Please be more specific in what you are asking.


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[cookiegrub]

In my area DOs and MDs work in exactly the same positions and the same pay. Is that your question ?

^ what they said. Please be more specific in what you are asking.

I thought I would gather an opinion on whether a DO who is now working would choose this path again over waiting and applying MD. If they would rather have gone MD then my question is why. Basically like what reasons would prompt them to do so when the practice is the same.

I am worried that the area I am in is not very knowledgeable about DO philosophy. On top of it all though, DO programs are way more expensive than MD programs. Some people are also knowledgeable about certain OMM techniques but aren't well informed about it so they think that just because one technique (like cranial) is bad, the whole set of techniques is bad. It doesn't really help that a majority of schools still teach this controversial technique.

 

[Blanky]

This is something you can easily search for info about. Having said that many DO schools are private which explains higher cost of atendance. Cost is a factor in education especially at these magnitudes. MD are also capable of practicing in other countries but I have not researched the intricacies of how that would work. Also MD tends to match more competitive specialties. Although if you struggle to get into MD you may not be competitive for those specialties anyways. Lets be honest most people do not go into competitive specialties.

 

[cliquesh]

I'm a DO and a pgy4 in an ACGME anesthesiology program. I would always recommend going MD over DO mostly because your life will be easier, particularly when applying for residency. Certain residency programs won't take DOs and certain specialties (primarily the surgical subspec, derm, and rad/onc?) do not routinely take DOs at all. With that said, I don't regret being a DO. I applied to 60ish residency programs and got 40 something invites, and I matched at my #2. For fellowship I applied to 7 programs and got 7 invites, and I accepted a position at my first choice program. Additionally, I've been offered dozens of jobs. So for me, everything worked out fine, and I don't think being an MD would have changed much for me. However, I'm in a DO friendly speciality. I speculate if you attend a DO school and stick with a DO friendly speciality everything will work out reasonable well, assuming you put in the effort. On the other hand, if you want to do something DO unfriendly, like urology, for instance, you will likely regret attending a DO school. By the way, I like OMM, at least for personal use, hah. My wife, who is also a DO, did OMM on me the other night because I had back pain, and the pain instantly went away. I will admit that It's kind of BS, and I've never billed a patient for it, but it seems to make people feel better.

 

[hsmooth]

I'm a DO and a pgy4 in an ACGME anesthesiology program. I would always recommend going MD over DO mostly because your life will be easier, particularly when applying for residency. Certain residency programs won't take DOs and certain specialties (primarily the surgical subspec, derm, and rad/onc?) do not routinely take DOs at all. With that said, I don't regret being a DO. I applied to 60ish residency programs and got 40 something invites, and I matched at my #2. For fellowship I applied to 7 programs and got 7 invites, and I accepted a position at my first choice program. Additionally, I've been offered dozens of jobs. So for me, everything worked out fine, and I don't think being an MD would have changed much for me. However, I'm in a DO friendly speciality. I speculate if you attend a DO school and stick with a DO friendly speciality everything will work out reasonable well, assuming you put in the effort. On the other hand, if you want to do something DO unfriendly, like urology, for instance, you will likely regret attending a DO school. By the way, I like OMM, at least for personal use, hah. My wife, who is also a DO, did OMM on me the other night because I had back pain, and the pain instantly went away. I will admit that It's kind of BS, and I've never billed a patient for it, but it seems to make people feel better.

I'm DO in family medicine, 3 years out of residency. This post here is spot on.

Me personally, I had one gap year after college where I unsuccessfully applied to MD schools only. Knowing that my career goals would not be hindered by going DO route, I jumped on DO admission offers the next application cycle and have never looked back.