<p>Are these programs worth it?</p>
<p>Forgetting the degree for one second, they’re only worth it if you are absolutely positively sure that you want to be a Doctor. That should be the most important thing. </p>
<p>But of course, I’m more than sure that you’re curious about the kind of degree that you will receive after your training. There really isn’t a difference when it comes to an M.D. and a D.O. degree, because both designate the holder as a Physician capable of prescribing drugs, performing surgeries, and doing procedures that only physicians can do. So yes, they are worth it in the sense that you’ll definitely be a doctor and you’ll do it in less time depending on the program (The NYCOM program I live near takes 7 years to complete). However, if you’re not so crazy about limiting your options (as with any combined medical program) and want to enjoy the “real” college experience, then the accelerated programs wouldn’t be worth it.</p>
<p>Just curious, why have you already decided on the D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy) degree from the onset, as a senior in high school, initially getting your feet wet in premedicine/medicine?</p>
<p>The. D.O. degree will limit you with respect to certain competitive specialties that are available in allopathic residencies, although there may be the equivalent of those specialties in osteopathic residencies. You’ll have to check what specialties are available in osteopathic residencies. XelbMS is correct with the actual responsibilities. They are the same for the M.D. and D.O.</p>
<p>Theoretically, getting into D.O. school is easier (look at average MCAT and GPA) than an M.D. school, in the normal 4+4 route, although the curriculum is largely the same. So for many, it does end up being another route to get into medical school. D.O. schools take the COMLEX which has an Osteopathic manipulation component vs. M.D. schools which take the USMLE. There are D.O. students who have to take the COMLEX and USMLE in order to apply for competitive residencies.</p>
<p>I have a very good BS/DO program at a pretty good (state) school here in state. I feel I have a great chance to get in. There is also an BS/MD program in state but the undergraduate program SUCKS, but the med school is good. I will be applying there also but don’t want to spend 4 years of my life somewhere that bad. </p>
<p>I feel I have the potential to get into a much better ‘regular’ undergraduate school than both these two, but I want to be a doctor. I was thinking of getting into the DO program and hopefully applying out the Med school…but in the chance that I don’t make it is a D.O. degree a good option? Is it worth it, am I limited in some way?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>The only thing I could see limiting you is whether or not you will like the extra 300-600 hours of OMM you will have to learn. It is an intergral part of the D.O. cirriculum, and the only thing that sets Osteopaths apart from their Allopathic counterparts. However, if you plan to go into a field like Surgery…there really won’t be any use for OMM because of the standards set for surgical procedures. </p>
<p>Other than that, you may have a “stigma” that you will get from your (particularly more senior, old-school) colleagues, but it’s usually because they themselves don’t understand the degree or because they just have a personality disorder. Though personally, I’ve never seen this happen at the hospitals I’ve shadowed D.O.'s at, or at the hospital I volunteer at. Finally, if you plan on applying to Allopathic residencies, you will (like Roentgen stated) have to take the USMLE alongside your COMLEX exams, but that really shouldn’t be a problem because they’re pretty much the same. </p>
<p>Those are really the only disadvantages I can think of.</p>
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<p>Are you saying the for the BS/DO program that the undergraduate school is good, the D.O. medical school or both? Wayne State that has the BS/MD program is hardly a top-tier medical school unlike University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.</p>
<p>The undergraduate is respectable, the D.O. is top tier (MSU)
WSU is the med school i’m talking about. I do realize they have a great med school…but I don’t really want to go there!</p>