Anyone have any updated info on how this is playing out with residencies, etc?
I’m seeing kids at high school (again) who are planning the DO route assuming it’s equivalent to MD for specialties (and in general). With the changes that were recently made, is that helping DO or hurting it or no effect?
In short - any BTDT (or knows about that) advice I can glean from to share with them so their eyes are open instead of wishing they had known something? Or is everything fine and I just get to encourage them?
(FWIW, I know many kids heading pre-med don’t get into any med school or change their mind so having a realistic Plan B is already part of my advice to them backed up by the facts/odds of admittance, etc.)
Many times it’s those who have had a close relative or a friend or even themselves with X (from diabetes to various forms of cancer). It’s hardly a bad thing. As they grow and see more of the world, they can still change if they want to just like any other student heading toward any field of high school dreams. The difference with med school (as I see it) is some paths do write things in stone and if that doesn’t mesh with their goals they should know ahead of time.
The students (2) I’m thinking of now want specialties (pediatrics and oncology to be more specific) and are contemplating BS/DO programs. They might not actually get them as we all know the odds, but if they do, is their chance of getting residency specialties from a DO school decent considering the recent changes?
DO and MD programs are virtually identical in terms of accreditation. The only difference is the philosophy of medicine. DOs have the same opportunities for residencies as their MD counterparts. DO takes a holistic approach, so they’ve often been well-regarded as general practitioners, while MD tends to takes a more specialty approach. In fact, in 2020, MD and DO residency boards will officially merge, giving DOs and MDs the very same residency access. This will provide more opportunities for MDs to do general medicine, and DOs to do specialist work.
@coolguy40 That is the theory, but I know in the recent past it’s seemed that the “best” residencies tend to go to MD students. I’m wondering if those more in the field than I am have noticed any trends of that changing. Will theory actually match reality or will tradition carry on?
It will matter for future DO students who want some specialties. It’d be easier guiding them if there were another couple of years of hard data available, but there isn’t for these two (and perhaps anyone else reading).
FWIW, I haven’t noticed any problem in the past with MDs getting into general medicine - only with DOs getting into specialties.
I agree with @blossom. I would tell high school kids to CHILL. Worry about grades and ECs if they have to obsess about something. Enjoy life! They are trying to look way too far into the future.
One can chill and still have a goal for their future lives. We make it well known in our school that oodles of students change their minds once out of high school. At the same time, we need to get them started in a direction and some of those directions matter if they actually want decent odds to reach their goal. Eyes wide open is important for some fields.
Pediatrics is primary care and should not be any tougher than other primary care areas to pursue.
Oncology can be tougher in the sense that it depends on doing internal medicine first and then making it to a fellowship which means two successive matches but also more tougher specialty to match into.
My daughter’s boyfriend’s father (so yeah, real close to me!) is an OD-orthopedic surgeon. BF’s brother started OD school last year (he’s at the newest one in Idaho, he’s in the very first class) and hopes to be an orthopedic surgeon too. He very specifically wanted OD, so I guess he picked what he knew (his dad’s career). I know the school got about 3000 applications for the first 162 spots
I guess the question is if the students are giving up any opportunities while they are trying to become MDs. Should they ignore a good OD opportunity (BS/OD program) hoping for the traditional BS then MD path? I wouldn’t,I’d keep both open.
I think most will just make the decisions as they hit that part of the road and really can’t do that as high school seniors.
Both are trying for BS/DO positions. They are seniors now. If they don’t get accepted, then they can decide the MD vs DO option later if they even are still on the “doctor” route at that time in their lives. If they do get accepted, then they would need to know now if that decision could affect life later. It sounds like pediatrics won’t be an issue. Good to know.
@twoinanddone.
I assume you mean DO, not OD. OD is a doctor of optometry (eye doctor) who is restricted non surgical treatment of vision defects. DO is a doctor of osteopathic medicine with all The rights and privileges and opportunities as a MD.
The reason why in the past DOs didn’t appear to match competitive specialties because few DOs until recently entered the NRMP Match. DOs primarily entered the DO Match, which offered Very, very few competitive specialty positions, much , much fewer than the NRMP match does. DOs entering the NRMP Match had to take the USMLE exams because ACGME programs wouldn’t accept COMLEX scores. (This is no longer the case. Many ACGME residencies now will accept either.)
But the combined match just starts this year so there’s no data about how DOs are affected by the change. Maybe in 3-4 years there will be enough data to make a judgment.
DOs match well into peds programs per the data in the match.
Oncology will be a much tougher match. Hem/onc, along with GE, is THE most competitive fellowship with 1.5 applicants for every position offered. Per NRMP data only 10% of the applicants to H/O were DOs (76); 44 matched in 2018. A proportion not terribly different than MDs.
@WayOutWestMom Thank you for that info. I will let the young lass have that report so she can consider her odds herself knowing everything going on should she get accepted to the program. If she doesn’t, then by the time it comes for her to apply she should have some hard data on what’s going on with the new arrangement to know if it appears the two options are truly equal or not.
I also wonder if she gets into the program if she’s committed to attending or if she could try for MD schools in 3 years if the data leans that way and she still is wanting oncology. I’ll have her check on that.
Most combined programs are binding— that is someone wishes to apply out of the program automatically forfeits their guaranteed seat when they submitted their applications to other schools, or at programs that don’t require a MCAT score to advance to the professional portion of the program, they forfeit their guaranteed med school seat when they sit for the MCAT.
The admission requirements for continuing into the professional portion of the program are made clear to students when they enter the program from high school.