Health Field Overview: Medicine

A medical doctor practices medicine and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury. This is accomplished through a detailed knowledge of anatomy, physiology, diseases and treatment — the science of medicine — and its applied practice — the art or craft of medicine.

There are two basic types of medical training: allopathic (M.D.) and osteopathic (D.O.) and the curricula of both schools are nearly identical. State licensing agencies and most hospitals and residency programs recognize the degrees as equivalent.

Osteopathic medical schools have a holistic perspective on the practice of medicine based on a belief in treating the “whole patient” (mind-body-spirit) and the primacy of the musculoskeletal system in human health and the utility of osteopathic manipulative treatment.

Schooling and Medical Training

Doctors complete a 4-year graduate-level program leading to the award of one of the following equivalent degrees:

• Allopathic, Medical Doctor (M.D.)
• Osteopathic, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)

During the fourth year of medical school, students choose a medical specialty and apply to a residency program in order to further specialize. These programs are a minimum of three years beyond medical school. Osteopathic medical students and allopathic medical students go through the same residency match process.

To learn more about the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), visit the NRMP website.

Why Consider Osteopathic Medicine?

There are a number of reasons we might suggest osteopathic (DO) medical schools. We are likely to suggest DO for students who we think would be a good fit for the philosophy of the profession, or whose interests and career goals align with those of other students we’ve seen find success in the DO profession. For example, if a student is expresses interest in working primary care and preventative medicine in underserved communities, that may fit well with DO.  If a student’s highest priority is attending medical school in a specific area of the country, adding DO schools to a school list opens up more options.

DO programs often have lower average MCAT/GPA metrics for accepted applicants. But, we don’t think that this means DO programs are “worse” than MD programs, nor does it mean that you should treat it as a “fallback” option.

A little more detail on osteopathic medicine: the field is experiencing rapid growth, with more than 25% of current medical students training as osteopathic physicians.

Similarities between DOs and MDs:

• Both complete a four-year medical education
• Both participate in residency match and can participate in any specialty
• Both are found in private practice and hospitals all over the country, and can practice abroad

Differences:

• DO schools employ a ‘whole person’ approach in their training, with an emphasis on the body as an integrated whole
• DO programs emphasize preventative medicine and the majority of students go into primary care, often in underserved areas
• DO training includes extra work in the musculoskeletal system and in manipulative treatment

Osteopathic medicine can be an attractive option for those who are interested in a holistic approach to medicine and also for those whose metrics may make them less likely to break through in the allopathic (MD) admission process. Any student interested in becoming a physician would do well to learn more about osteopathic medicine and see if it’s a good fit for them.

Getting Information

For allopathic medicine, you are encouraged to look at the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR), also known as the MSAR on-line. It contains individual profiles for all US and Canadian medical schools and information about the application process, financing a medical education, and career and specialty options.

For osteopathic medicine, you are encouraged to look at the Osteopathic Medical College Information Book, which is available for free on the AACOM website.

National Acceptance Rates for Allopathic Medical School 42%

National Acceptance Rates for Osteopathic Medical School 40%

Pre-Med Courses and MCAT Resources

The following is a standard list of prerequisite courses for medical school admissions and content areas for MCAT prep:

One Year

• Intro Biology:  BIOL 43L & BIOL 44L (can be taken out of order. BIOL 43L is offered fall, BIOL 44L is offered spring)
• General Chemistry: CHEM 14L & CHEM 15L (must be taken in order) or CHEM 29L. Students should plan to eventually take CHEM 115 with lab at Pomona
• IBC: Introduction to Biological Chemistry, covers content from Bio 43L and Chem 15L. Students should take Bio 44L and Chem 14L to complete the series
• Organic Chemistry: Chem 116L & Chem 117L (must be taken in order)
• Physics: PHYS 30L & 31L (life science majors) OR PHYS 33L, 34L (physical science majors) must be taken in order
• English/Literature: In addition to Freshman Seminar (Pitzer FYS), one ENG or LIT course (Literature or Writing course). Scripps students will need to take two courses as Core does not fulfill this requirement. No creative writing courses.
• Math: 1 semester Calculus (MATH 30 or higher, AP credit does not count) and 1 semester Statistics. Biostatistics (Bio175 or Bio174L) OR Psych stats OR Math statistics will fulfill the statistics requirement.

One Semester

• Biochemistry: BIOL 177 (cross-listed with Chemistry) or CHEM 182 at MUDD or CHEM 115 with lab at Pomona (CHEM 29 students only)
• Introduction to Psychology for MCAT preparation & Social Science prerequisite

Additional Courses

Additional courses that students have found useful for medical school preparation (and courses that may be required by individual medical schools) include:

• Genetics: BIOL 143
• Vertebrate Physiology: BIOL 132L or BIOL 131L
• Introduction to Sociology (MCAT Preparation)
• Cell Biology (MCAT Preparation)
• Microbiology (MCAT Preparation)