Thread: Will you go to a DO school Or Caribbean Medical School

Question of the day

Originally Posted by Dell

Question of the day

I'll give you 3 guesses. But only three!

Please consider DO vs off shore schools, it will be esier to get residency,

You haven't been to DO school, or know anyone who is a DO. Old people HATE DO's. And old people will be the majority of patients. It's ahrder to be repected in the medical community as a DO.

At least get a tan while you earn an MD, rather than get laughed at after you've earned a DO.

Originally Posted by JewishDr'sWife

You haven't been to DO school, or know anyone who is a DO. Old people HATE DO's. And old people will be the majority of patients. It's ahrder to be repected in the medical community as a DO.

At least get a tan while you earn an MD, rather than get laughed at after you've earned a DO.

yes thats true......... but you can have a much easier time getting a hard residency than an img.

if you want ortho surgery, then go DO. if you want primary care and dont mind being out of the states for 1.75 years then go carib img. the good carib schools have equivelent teaching to that of a DO schoo (at least from my experience).

yes, many people question what a DO is. and yes....... its sad but true...... some patients will avoid DOs due to ignorance.

the extra year in a "rotational" residency required for DOs it a negative factor for DO.

bottom line, if you dont mind to be away from the states for 20 months and dont want a competitive residency then carib MD can look pretty good in that respect. you wont have to deal with the extra year and and the "what a DO, why didnt you go to a real medical school?" questions.

if you want a competitve residency then please stay in the US and do a DO if you are accepted. your chances are that much improved because you are also allowed to enter into the DO match.

as far as tuition........... honestly most DO schools are private and just as expensive as carib school. the only difference is that you may be eligible for more scholorships/grants.

Back when I was starting pre-med I always thought DO stood for "doctor of optometry"
But I would be proud to be a DO, now that I know what it is.

I still strongly feel that DOs has a great advantage over IMGs, I know plenty of DOs in various positions who had no difficulties getting into any residencies in surgical specialties or medicine. Quite honestly, majority of people would be more concern where a doctor went to school rather what DO stands for after his name. I worked with them in the state of NY as a pharmaceutical consultant and hospital administrator, Trust me on universal acceptance of Dos. GO for it! Unless getting a suntan is more important than your medical career,
Elena

Well, I actually had an application in my hand ready to send in to a D.O. school in Viriginia. Things I considered:

1. If you go to a D.O. school, you can get a federal aid, but they are all more expensive than Carib. schools and state D.A. schools.

2. You won't have a hard time with competing for residency slots compared to an FMG who most likely will have some moderate discomfort during application time.

3. D.O.'s are a regional phenomenon. Some people know what they are and what they represent, others don't. Where I'm from, we have three neighboring states with D.O. schools, and no one from my town know's what a D.O. is.

4. Consider what they represent. Wholistic medicine is a good thing, but it can be used inappropriately. For example, we had a D.O. rotate through our ICU Critical Care Service. He was nice, but had a few misconceptions as to how best treat the patients. (And no, I'm not saying he was just mistaken about what medicine to Rx-- treatment, it was treatment!) Some of their practices are "unconventional" compared to the D.A. medical view.

5. Although some states like CA are working out legislation to allow D.O.'s to have the title of M.D. as well, they have to pay for it out of pocket. (Don't know the cost though.)

6. D.O.'s have to sit for osteopathic and allopathic medical boards- so big yuck to that one.

7. I've heard (although I haven't read it any where) that D.O.'s can get payed less b/c of their title.

8. In my region of the country, most people are just more comfortable with M.D.'s than D.O.'s. (Although some people are not informed a D.O. isn't an M.D. in many cases-- oh I used a double negative .)

9. You can get the same residencies (since most slots are never filled except radiology and anesthesia) as any other John or Jane so long as you work your tail off and do well on the boards.

10. Some D.O. schools firmly adhere to the belief of massage and manipulation to the point of understating a patients illness. The wholistic approach can help, but it is rarely a cure and is not always the most beneficial/effective route. (Of course you can use the same argument about allopathic schools>> just a matter of how you debate it.)

If I want to practice here in TN, then it would be superfluous of me to go to D.O. school, pay more bling$$, and all just to have a person say "what is a D.O?". I'd rather just have them say "so you went to school where?". Technically both are medical school though. Both would be good choices, but I'd rather have the adventure of D.A. school in the Caribbean. I'd much rather go on a rainforest salad diet and look moderately good after med school than fill my pie hole with snack machine polysaturated homogonized semi-synthetic nourishment for 4 years.

Originally Posted by classic

Well, I actually had an application in my hand ready to send in to a D.O. school in Viriginia. Things I considered:

1. If you go to a D.O. school, you can get a federal aid, but they are all more expensive than Carib. schools and state D.A. schools.

2. You won't have a hard time with competing for residency slots compared to an FMG who most likely will have some moderate discomfort during application time.

3. D.O.'s are a regional phenomenon. Some people know what they are and what they represent, others don't. Where I'm from, we have three neighboring states with D.O. schools, and no one from my town know's what a D.O. is.

4. Consider what they represent. Wholistic medicine is a good thing, but it can be used inappropriately. For example, we had a D.O. rotate through our ICU Critical Care Service. He was nice, but had a few misconceptions as to how best treat the patients. (And no, I'm not saying he was just mistaken about what medicine to Rx-- treatment, it was treatment!) Some of their practices are "unconventional" compared to the D.A. medical view.

5. Although some states like CA are working out legislation to allow D.O.'s to have the title of M.D. as well, they have to pay for it out of pocket. (Don't know the cost though.)

6. D.O.'s have to sit for osteopathic and allopathic medical boards- so big yuck to that one.

7. I've heard (although I haven't read it any where) that D.O.'s can get payed less b/c of their title.

8. In my region of the country, most people are just more comfortable with M.D.'s than D.O.'s. (Although some people are not informed a D.O. isn't an M.D. in many cases-- oh I used a double negative .)

9. You can get the same residencies (since most slots are never filled except radiology and anesthesia) as any other John or Jane so long as you work your tail off and do well on the boards.

10. Some D.O. schools firmly adhere to the belief of massage and manipulation to the point of understating a patients illness. The wholistic approach can help, but it is rarely a cure and is not always the most beneficial/effective route. (Of course you can use the same argument about allopathic schools>> just a matter of how you debate it.)

If I want to practice here in TN, then it would be superfluous of me to go to D.O. school, pay more bling$$, and all just to have a person say "what is a D.O?". I'd rather just have them say "so you went to school where?". Technically both are medical school though. Both would be good choices, but I'd rather have the adventure of D.A. school in the Caribbean. I'd much rather go on a rainforest salad diet and look moderately good after med school than fill my pie hole with snack machine polysaturated homogonized semi-synthetic nourishment for 4 years.

you are right for the most part. however, the CA thing has long been over. that happened a while back and cali made the DOs pay a $60 fee to turn their degree into an MD. CA took over the osteo school and turning it into a MD. that was a long time ago and CA now has a another DO school. DOs are no longer allowed to switch their degrees.

you can take the COMLEX but you can only go to osteo residencies. to go to allopathic residencies...... you should take the USMLE because most MD program directors are only familiar with USMLE scores. i was told that they would not give a DO a fair chance because they want to be able to compare apples to apples (usmle scores to usmle scores for applicant) rather than apples to oranges (comlex to usmle scores for applicants). so yes........ you need to take comlex to graduate and usmle to have the best chance at all residencies.

besides family reasons why i left the DO school i was at....... i was dissappointed with the comparing the OMM, clinical practicum, shadow a DO...etc classes as just as important as biochem, anatomy, etc. they shorted the IMPORTANT foundation courses that a medical school needs.

yes we all know the OMM stuff is on the comlex but definetely not on the usmle. i was dissappointed at the pass rate for the usmle which was in the 60's. i was told that the comlex poass rates were steller.........which they were. but i also wanted a good usmle education for allo residencies. but its a DO school..... they teach for their own exam.

but i cant understate the fact that you would need to spend an extra year in residency because you are a DO.

but in the end........... if you want a tough residency..... DO will give you a better chance to land it. but you must weigh all the baggage that comes with being a DO during and after schooling.

Originally Posted by elsko

Please consider DO vs off shore schools, it will be esier to get residency,

really?

folks, this question has been done so many times here. the one sure thing is this: anyway who vehemently tells you one is better than the other doesnt know what theyre talking about. a few bottom line points to consider:

1)some do schools are better than some img schools. And Some IMG schools are better than some DO schools. IF you get into both you have to choose the better of the two and the one that typically has better placement.
2)some program directors like DOs some like IMGs from particular schools. Its usually related to their own experience
3)check out the residency placement from various do schools and img schools. you'll see elskos contention is wholly inaccurate. Some schools of each persuasion have better placement than those of the other group. it depends upon the school.
4)all PD know that (and spare the few exceptions to the rule) both DOs and IMGs are US allopathic failures.
5)being a DO RARELY comes with the "patients dont know what DOs are and dont like them" baggage most people who've chosen the IMG pathway believe is there. A favorite personal bias of IMGs, which often explains their own personal choice. Just like being an IMG typically doesnt mean youre from a diploma mill- a favorite DO true beliver commentary.

Look at the facts for yourself. Youd do better from some DO schools over some IMG schools and vice versa. anyway who tells you one is patently better than the other either proves the point that people will take sides on any issue (the country is more divided now than ever after all) or they're just plain ignorant. Take your pick.