tedrik said:
When you apply to a residency, will they actually be looking at who you did your PhD with? It seems like unless you worked with some Nobel Laureate, then the residency people aren't going to know who your PI was. Will the name of your med school matter? I've heard conflicting views on that topic and would appreciate some clarification.
I think it depends. You don't want to come from a lab where the PI is flailing or not generally respected. (I had a bad experience on the med school interview trail when one of my undergraduate PIs fell into that category.)
I think if your grad school PI is someone well known (and Nobel laureate is not necessary)--that helps--especially if the basic science people in your clinical specialty belong to a field that is related to your lab's work.
You know, my residency interviews were similar to my MD-PhD interviews in that I got both sets of interviews. (1) The clinicians and (2) the scientists. And some schools even emphasized my meetings with the scientists more than they did with housestaff or attendings. The scientists definitely would know or have an opinion about your PI--the clinicians absolutely not, of course.
It is often written in science journals (when they comment on career issues) that the #1 predictor for future research success is the lab you came from. While this is much more true of you when you're at the post-doc level than when you're still a grad student...and while your own individual publication record speaks more than your lab pedigree per se...I think it's something to keep in mind wherever you decide to go.
As far as school name recognition...that really varies. I heard from one residency program director who confessed that he weights this--even dating back to undergraduate institution for an applicant.
But the bottom line is that everything is a balance.
You want to go to a decent medical school. You want to get into a lab that has a good publication track record. But, from my experience, it's not necessary to come from that dream medical school you didn't quite get the full acceptance from.
I went to a #15-20 ranked medical school, got my PhD, and did just fine. I didn't get my dream MSTP...and I also passed on a few that were ranked more highly--because this particular school I decided on had better research lab choices for my particular interests.
And I haven't regretted my decision at all.