Are you wondering how DO-friendly (or unfriendly) dermatology is as a US medical specialty? Do you want to know your chances of matching in this highly competitive field? Would you love to figure out what dermatology programs a DO would stand the best chance?
This article will give you the most up-to-date information on DO-friendly dermatology programs. Use this information to strategize on whether – and where – to apply to maximize your chances of matching as a DO in dermatology.
Summary:
- Dermatology is a competitive US medical specialty but there are DO-friendly residency programs.
- One residency program filled all its available positions with DOs.
- The match rate for DOs remains low.
- See the full list of searchable residency programs to strategize where DOs have recently been the most welcome
- Be sure to bookmark this page – and sign up for the newsletter – to keep up with the latest residency and USMLE trends and maximize your chances of matching
Table of Contents
What’s the Difference Between a DO and an MD?
Let’s start with some definitions.
DO: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
- Licensed physicians trained in “whole body” wellness and treatment techniques in muscle and joint manipulation in addition to mainstream treatments.
Allopathy Vs. Osteopathy
In the US, there are two main branches of registered physician:
- Allopathy: In this path, doctors train in modern, sometimes referred to as “Western”, medicine to treat symptoms and diseases. Doctors who train in this branch are licensed as Doctors of Medicine (MD)
- Osteopathy: These doctors have the same education and licensing exams as MDs but have additional training in muscle and joint manipulation. Doctors who train in Osteopathy are licensed as Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and have the same residency training and choices as MDs.
COMLEX vs. USMLE
To begin practicing medicine, DOs and MDs must take specific licensing exams:
- COMLEX-USA: This test assesses osteopathic medical knowledge in addition to allopathic medical knowledge in order to become licensed as a DO in the USA.
- USMLE: This test assesses allopathic medical knowledge and is required to become licensed as an MD.
NRMP: “National Resident Matching Program®”
- The organization that administers the “Match.” In the match, the NRMP pairs residency applicants with a residency program.
Note that prior to the 2020 Match, DOs had access to a “pool” of residencies reserved for which only they could match. The current system has merged DO and MD residencies so that every applicant has the same “chance” for matching in their chosen specialty.
For more on how to maximize your match chances and how the “Merge” has changed residency applications, see THE MATCH: Everything You Need to Maximize Your Residency Chances
Dermatology is Not DO-Friendly
Looking at the percentage of spots filled by DOs in the 2022 Match, we can see dermatology was not DO-friendly. Only three other specialty programs had a lower proportion of positions filled by DOs.
Similarly, the match rate for DOs in dermatology (50%) shows the DOs still have a moderate chance for acceptance in dermatology in the 2022 Match:
Here are the same data represented in a table:
| % DO Applied that Matched | % DO Unmatched | % Positions Filled by DO | Total Positions Offered | Total # All Applicants | DO Senior Matched | DO Senior Unmatched | DO Senior Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Radiation Oncology | 0% | 100% | 0% | 185 | 162 | |||
| **Plastic Surgery | 0% | 100% | 0% | 194 | 340 | |||
| Vascular Surgery | 8% | 92% | 1% | 84 | 143 | 1 | 12 | 13 |
| Neurological Surgery | 43% | 57% | 4% | 240 | 379 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| Dermatology | 50% | 50% | 7% | 544 | 834 | 38 | 38 | 76 |
| Orthopaedic Surgery | 56% | 44% | 13% | 875 | 1,435 | 111 | 86 | 197 |
| Interventional Radiology | 59% | 41% | 12% | 169 | 226 | 20 | 14 | 34 |
| Otolaryngology | 60% | 40% | 6% | 361 | 556 | 21 | 14 | 35 |
| General Surgery | 62% | 38% | 12% | 1,622 | 2,400 | 200 | 125 | 325 |
| Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | 64% | 36% | 33% | 532 | 725 | 176 | 99 | 275 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | 65% | 35% | 16% | 1,503 | 2,044 | 241 | 130 | 371 |
| Anesthesiology | 66% | 34% | 16% | 1,969 | 2,560 | 313 | 161 | 474 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 67% | 33% | 15% | 1,155 | 1,568 | 169 | 84 | 253 |
| Internal Medicine/Pediatrics | 74% | 26% | 9% | 392 | 458 | 37 | 13 | 50 |
| Psychiatry | 87% | 13% | 18% | 2,047 | 2,560 | 378 | 57 | 435 |
| Child Neurology | 89% | 11% | 9% | 188 | 182 | 17 | 2 | 19 |
| Neurology | 92% | 8% | 15% | 1,014 | 1,249 | 150 | 13 | 163 |
| Pathology | 93% | 7% | 12% | 631 | 827 | 75 | 6 | 81 |
| Internal Medicine | 94% | 6% | 15% | 9,809 | 11,598 | 1,503 | 93 | 1596 |
| Emergency Medicine | 95% | 5% | 25% | 2,921 | 2,813 | 736 | 38 | 774 |
| Family Medicine | 96% | 4% | 27% | 4,916 | 5,055 | 1,345 | 62 | 1407 |
| Pediatrics | 97% | 3% | 19% | 3,016 | 3,153 | 565 | 20 | 585 |
For more on the most competitive DO medical specialties, see this article.
The Most DO-Friendly Dermatology Residency Programs
Even though dermatology is not a DO-friendly specialty, the same cannot be said for every dermatology residency program. For example, according to the most recent GME census, one dermatology residency filled all of its available positions with DOs (St Joseph). In addition, three other dermatology residency programs had a DO rate of 10% or higher: Western Reserve (33%), St Louis (17%) and Oklahoma (10%).
Here is a list of the most (and least) competitive dermatology programs for DOs. It includes data from the most recent National GME Census Survey. Percentages are of all residents in the program in 2020.
| ACGME residency program code | Dermatology residency name | City | State | % residents US DO graduates | % residents US MD graduates | Osteopathic Recognition | # applications submitted (2021 NRMP Main Match) | % applicants interviewed (2020 NRMP Main Match) | # categorical positions offered (2021 NRMP Main Match) | # categorical positions filled (2021 NRMP Main Match) | # advanced positions offered (2021 NRMP Main Match) | # advanced positions filled by (2021 NRMP Main Match) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 802500143 | St Joseph Mercy Livingston Program | Ann Arbor | MI | 100 | 0 | No | 293 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |
| 803821120 | Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Program | Cleveland | OH | 33 | 67 | Yes | 511 | 12.6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 802821116 | St Louis University School of Medicine Program | St Louis | MO | 17 | 83 | No | 526 | 7.8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 803921074 | University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Program | Oklahoma City | OK | 10 | 90 | No | 408 | 9.6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 802631048 | University of Minnesota Program | Minneapolis | MN | 8 | 92 | No | 519 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |
| 800121010 | University of Alabama Medical Center Program | Birmingham | AL | 0 | 100 | No | 485 | 7.7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| 800521017 | UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center Program | Los Angeles | CA | 0 | 100 | No | 515 | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| 800521018 | University of California (San Diego) Medical Center Program | La Jolla | CA | 0 | 100 | No | 499 | 7.4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 800521019 | University of California (San Francisco) Program | San Francisco | CA | 0 | 100 | No | 509 | 8.7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 800521020 | Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Program | Redwood City | CA | 0 | 96 | No | 493 | 7.8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 801121096 | University of South Florida Morsani Program | Tampa | FL | 0 | 100 | No | 489 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 801121115 | University of Florida Program | Gainesville | FL | 0 | 100 | No | 535 | 8.6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 801221028 | Emory University School of Medicine Program | Atlanta | GA | 0 | 80 | No | 605 | 3.6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 801611033 | University of Chicago Program | Chicago | IL | 0 | 90 | No | 574 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 801612030 | Cook County Health and Hospitals System Program | Chicago | IL | 0 | 92 | No | 533 | 7.6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 801612135 | Loyola University Medical Center Program | Maywood | IL | 0 | 100 | No | 527 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 801721035 | Indiana University School of Medicine Program | Indianapolis | IN | 0 | 100 | No | 527 | 7.8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 801821036 | University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Program | Iowa City | IA | 0 | 94 | No | 474 | 9.5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 801911037 | University of Kansas School of Medicine Program | Kansas City | KS | 0 | 92 | No | 459 | 8.8 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 802121108 | Tulane University Program | New Orleans | LA | 0 | 100 | No | 532 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 802121109 | Louisiana State University Program | New Orleans | LA | 0 | 100 | No | 508 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 802321040 | Johns Hopkins University Program | Baltimore | MD | 0 | 95 | No | 552 | 12.5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 802421044 | Boston University Medical Center Program | Boston | MA | 0 | 93 | No | 457 | 11.4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 802421114 | UMass Chan Medical School Program | Worcester | MA | 0 | 82 | No | 517 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 802421141 | Tufts Medical Center Program | Boston | MA | 0 | 64 | No | 898 | 4.3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 802431043 | Massachusetts General Hospital/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Brigham and Women's Hosp Program | Boston | MA | 0 | 96 | No | 510 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| 802512046 | Henry Ford Hospital Program | Detroit | MI | 0 | 100 | No | 545 | 14.8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 802513139 | Wayne State University School of Medicine Program | Dearborn | MI | 0 | 82 | No | 502 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 802531045 | University of Michigan Health System Program | Ann Arbor | MI | 0 | 96 | No | 562 | 11.3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| 802621049 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Rochester) Program | Rochester | MN | 0 | 88 | No | 545 | 12.3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| 802821050 | University of Missouri-Columbia Program | Columbia | MO | 0 | 100 | No | 415 | 9.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 802821051 | Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium Program | St Louis | MO | 0 | 100 | No | 554 | 7.9 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 803221053 | Dartmouth-Hitchcock/Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Program | Lebanon | NH | 0 | 100 | No | 467 | 7.6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 803500126 | Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Program | Lake Success | NY | 0 | 92 | No | 464 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 803500127 | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Program | New York | NY | 0 | 90 | No | 524 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 803521062 | New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus) Program | New York | NY | 0 | 92 | No | 527 | 8.8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 803521064 | NYU Grossman School of Medicine Program | New York | NY | 0 | 100 | No | 528 | 9.7 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 803521065 | SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Program | Brooklyn | NY | 0 | 96 | No | 519 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| 803521102 | University of Rochester Program | Rochester | NY | 0 | 100 | No | 475 | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 803531058 | Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine Program | Bronx | NY | 0 | 89 | No | 541 | 10.5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 803611066 | University of North Carolina Hospitals Program | Chapel Hill | NC | 0 | 100 | No | 551 | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 803621067 | Duke University Hospital Program | Durham | NC | 0 | 100 | No | 588 | 7.6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 803621110 | Wake Forest University School of Medicine Program | Winston-Salem | NC | 0 | 100 | No | 574 | 9.5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 803811072 | Ohio State University Hospital Program | Gahanna | OH | 0 | 100 | No | 480 | 5.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 803812070 | Cleveland Clinic Foundation Program | Cleveland | OH | 0 | 93 | No | 539 | 7.9 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 804021075 | Oregon Health & Science University Program | Portland | OR | 0 | 100 | No | 578 | 7.9 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 804821100 | University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Program | Houston | TX | 0 | 100 | No | 559 | 6.6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 804921112 | University of Utah Health Program | Salt Lake City | UT | 0 | 100 | No | 541 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 805431091 | University of Washington Program | Seattle | WA | 0 | 100 | No | 577 | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 805621093 | University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Program | Madison | WI | 0 | 100 | No | 510 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 805621095 | Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals Program | Milwaukee | WI | 0 | 100 | No | 500 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 800512137 | Los Angeles County-Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Program | Torrance | CA | No | 456 | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 801131125 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Jacksonville) Program | Jacksonville | FL | No | 474 | 5.2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 801200030 | Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Program | Roswell | GA | No | 238 | 19.6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 801211029 | Medical College of Georgia Program | Augusta | GA | No | 460 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 801611032 | Rush University Medical Center Program | Chicago | IL | No | 542 | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 801621031 | McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Program | Chicago | IL | No | 577 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | |||
| 801621034 | University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago Program | Chicago | IL | No | 569 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 801621118 | Southern Illinois University Program | Springfield | IL | No | 395 | 9.2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 802021038 | University of Louisville School of Medicine Program | Louisville | KY | No | 449 | 4.4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 802321041 | University of Maryland Program | Baltimore | MD | No | 520 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 802500142 | Beaumont Health (Farmington Hills) Program | Commerce Twp | MI | Yes | 218 | 8.4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 802500145 | Beaumont Health (Trenton) Program | Trenton | MI | No | 274 | 6.6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 802600050 | HealthPartners Institute Program | St. Louis Park | MN | No | 406 | 9.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 802700001 | University of Mississippi School of Medicine Program | Jackson | MS | No | 390 | 7.6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 802800117 | Still OPTI Program | Kirksville | MO | Yes | 430 | 15.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 803000001 | University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine Program | Omaha | NE | No | 0 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 803300129 | Hackensack University Medical Center (Palisades) Program | North Bergen | NJ | No | 292 | 7.6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 803321117 | Cooper Medical School of Rowan University/Cooper University Hospital Program | Camden | NJ | No | 385 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 803331128 | Rutgers Health/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Program | Somerset | NJ | No | 458 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 803400055 | University of New Mexico School of Medicine Program | Albuquerque | NM | No | 755 | 13.2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 803500128 | St John's Episcopal Hospital-South Shore Program | Far Rockaway | NY | No | 299 | 7.2 | ||||||
| 803500129 | St Barnabas Hospital Program | Bronx | NY | Yes | 326 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 803521063 | New York Medical College (Metropolitan) Program | New York City | NY | No | 478 | 9.9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 803521104 | New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia Campus) Program | New York | NY | No | 526 | 7.7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 803521113 | Stony Brook Medicine/University Hospital Program | Stony Brook | NY | No | 487 | 12.8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 803600133 | Campbell University Program | Clinton | NC | No | 283 | 5.8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 803800144 | OhioHealth/Riverside Methodist Hospital Program | Columbus | OH | No | 273 | 6.2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 803821068 | University of Cincinnati Medical Center/College of Medicine Program | Cincinnati | OH | No | 521 | 8.3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 803821073 | Wright State University Program | Dayton | OH | No | 421 | 6.4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 803831143 | The MetroHealth System/Case Western Reserve University Program | Cleveland | OH | No | 512 | 8.9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 804000076 | Samaritan Health Services - Corvallis Program | Salem | OR | No | 294 | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 804100104 | Temple University Hospital Program | Philadelphia | PA | No | 544 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 804100105 | Lehigh Valley Health Network Program | Allentown | PA | No | 321 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 804100107 | St Luke’s Hospital – Anderson Campus Program | Easton | PA | No | 313 | 15.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 804821105 | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock Program | Lubbock | TX | No | 395 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 804821121 | San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium Program | JBSA-Lackland | TX | No | ||||||||
| 804821133 | Texas A&M College of Medicine-Scott and White Medical Center (Temple) Program | Temple | TX | No | 428 | 8.6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 804822088 | University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine Program | San Antonio | TX | No | 463 | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 805013129 | University of Vermont Medical Center Program | Burlington | VT | No | 450 | 4.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 805100131 | Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine Program | Roanoke | VA | No | 383 | 7.7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 805111089 | University of Virginia Medical Center Program | Charlottesville | VA | No | 539 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 805121090 | Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Program | Richmond | VA | No | 505 | 6.8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 805121130 | Eastern Virginia Medical School Program | Norfolk | VA | No | 461 | 7.1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 805511092 | West Virginia University Program | Morgantown | WV | No | 385 | 25.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 805622131 | Marshfield Clinic Program | Marshfield | WI | No | 331 | 8.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Concluding Thoughts
Dermatology is a competitive specialty for DOs. Only 50% of all dermatology applicants are accepted. That said, there are still places for DOs as some residency programs have high DO rates.
Are you despairing at your chances of matching into dermatology as a DO? Then, check out Never Forget, where you can learn how to master – not memorize – for the impressive USMLE scores to match at your dream residency. And if you’re looking for a residency advisor, look at our residency advisory services.
