Can a DO match into a Competitive Specialty? | Answers from a DO in Plastic Surgery
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2024
- In this video, I explain what a DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) is and answer the frequently asked question: Can a DO match into a competitive specialty like plastic surgery? Sharing my journey and experiences as a current plastic surgery resident and giving tips to premedical and medical students on matching into a competitive specialty. If you like what you see, please hit the subscribe button! Also, feel free to comment below with any topics you would like covered and check out my blog for my full journey: www.aspiringmin...
As a graduating pre-med matriculating into a DO school in the Fall, this was extremely great to hear and has taken a lot of weight off my shoulders. As a first-gen med student I have had the privelege of working as a CRC in Plastic Surgery at CHOP over the past 2 years and I've found a true passion for Plastics. I have been worried that the door would be shut by going the DO route but its really helpful to hear that it really is a possibility. I am similar to you where my scores weren't the highest but I heavily rely on my networking and leadership abilities to try and give me the best opportunity. Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
Congratulations on your acceptance into med school and happy to have you on the DO side! I'm happy to show you that ANY specialty you want is a possibility, and I'm glad you found my channel. Wishing you the absolute best success on your journey 🤗
Your ability to overcome adversity is so inspiring. All the times you were told “no” and you never let it stop you. You applied to MD and DO programs multiple times and finally got the A. Then applied for plastics multiples times and finally got the A. You knew what you wanted and never settled for less and that’s so admirable. You’re doing fantastic and you’re someone I can look up to as a non trad premed.
Thank you so much for the kind words! Happy that my story could help inspire you on your own path 🤗
Your perspective was great to hear! Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure! Thank you so much for watching!
This was awesome. I appreciate you making this video. I’m a brother from Boston and I want to study interventional cardiology and I was worried that going the DO would stop that you helped me so much I really appreciate it❤
Thank you for watching! You can definitely pursue interventional cardiology! The plus side is you would have to do an internal medicine residency which a lot of DOs can be found in :) Wishing you all the best on your journey and feel free to let me know if there's any other topic you want covered.
@@minoritydoctor you are awesome thank you 👏🏾🫀
@@dr.sungod2129 My pleasure! 🤗
Can you make a video going over your ERAS application so we can see how exactly it looks to be a competitive resident.
I missed up alot in undergrad and i don't want to mess up again in medical school. I'm starting at Osteopathic school soon and want to make sure im setting myself up for success
Absolutely! Imo, the ERAS app was pretty bare bones compared to my CV, but I can definitely make a video discussing what programs look for in a competitive applicant
As a DO here are my thoughts.
Yes you can match into a competitive specialty. Its much harder to do as a DO. If you are a DO your board scores, research, and away rotations need to be killer or better than your MD colleagues. If you have a choice choose US MD if you’re wanting to be super specialized. MD and DO are equals but not in the eyes of PDs or match outcomes. Choose DO over US IMG. It 100% matters if you’re a DO. Congrats to you for being 1 of 2 DOs to match but that stat shows how much it matters and how rare your situation is.
Thank you for your thoughts. I don't necessarily agree that MD is the better choice, because as along as a student does what you mention, they will set themselves up for success. Interesting enough, there are actually more IMGs that match into plastics each year than DOs, and the DO factor is not 100% what matters into matching into a competitive specialty. Just to clarify, I was the only DO graduate to match during my year (which is rare whether MD or DO) and there were 2 DO medical students, but if you look at the numbers of even just this year when no DO matched into plastics, you'll see that only 5 total in the entire country applied. While I agree that we have it harder, the main issue is that we are counting ourselves out before we even set foot in the door, and in my opinion, the negative mindset that we can't get in because we didn't go the MD route is what's holding a lot of brilliant DOs back from applying in the first place.
@@minoritydoctor definitely agree with you. Always always try your hardest and don’t let anyone stop you from trying for what you truly want! Never tell yourself no. I will say tho you have to be a academic beast to get into things like plastics and traditionally DO students score worse on MCAT, Steps, and COMLEX. So I always encourage everyone to go for their goals but just like to toss in some barriers to be aware of as well.
@@Ukadike In all honestly, even though I matched plastics, I was definitely not an academic beast. I like to shy away from and not really discuss the focus on scores (although I know these are a huge part of matching) for this reason. I was a beast in other aspects (national leadership, research, being a published author, honoring my rotations, etc), and I think students tend to forget about the other things that go into an application. I definitely agree with you on going after goals but recognizing and preparing for the barriers though
@@minoritydoctoronly 5 applied? Wow, do you think that could be due to the fact that DO students are told it’s hard to match into hard residency’s?
@tree8177 There are many factors, but that could contribute to it. In my experience, I felt like my school was more driven towards primary care specialties and didn't offer as much support for those who wanted otherwise, but other institutions may be more open. It was also very hard getting plastics exposure for me as a medical student. Other factors could be people believe it's too competitive and simply count themselves out, but honestly, not everyone wants to be a surgeon. Despite the perceived lifestyle of plastics, trainees still have to go through grueling general surgery training with more years of residency than general surgery (my program is 6 years....some are 7+ years) and it's definitely not for everyone. I've met a ton of students who wanted to pursue surgery until they rotated in it and they quickly changed their minds lol, but that's okay too. I just hate when people count themselves out without even trying