Can someone plse explain the path to obtaining an Allopathic residency after you’re done with DO school? Is it the same as path that MD graduates take?
My interest is radiation oncology. As a DO graduate, would it still be the typical 5 year residency? I don’t have a clue. Thanks.
Go to the OPM SOAP notes (the link is at the top of the page) and read Dave Kelley’s entries from last year. He is a D.O. in an allopathic residency and describes what he went through to do his applications.
The short & over simplified answer is yes, you can, as a DO graduate, undertake an ACGME residency & No, there are no penalties or add-ons you must endure as a DO-grad in an ACGME residency. Now, for the complex part - that load of BSis largely a product of the AOA (Amer Osteopathic Assoc - the DO analog to the AMA)…that is where it can become complicated. Unless you complete either an AOA sanctioned traditional internship OR get your ACGME internship AOA approved, you cannot be a voting member of the AOA (they’ll still accept your dues, you just won’t be able to vote on issues), nor can you hold an elected position in the AOA or be faculty or Dean at a DO school. There are also 5 states that make life complex if you do not do the AOA internship. FL, OK & PA will let you train there in an ACGME program, but you cannot get an independent license to practice there once you are through with your residency. WV & MI go even further - there you cannot even obtain a training license for either an AOA or ACGME residency w/o having completed the DO internship year.
Regarding the ACGME programs themselves, excepting the programs in MI & WV, they have no such additional obstacles for DO-grads. Funny how the “other side” can be more accomodating than our own parent organization that allegedly exists for the purpose of championing our needs.
In the journal articel mentioned above, I go into much more detail on this very topic. Feel free to read that & post any questions that read generates here. Since I rarely have time to peruse the journals, I would suggest not posting your questions there…it may be a month of Sundays before I know to reply. 