Mathematics PhD to MD

[supposedlyfun]

Hello,

I am currently a graduate student studying mathematical physics and my PhD will be done in around a years time, as you can tell from the title, I'd like to go medical school afterwards.

I am just wondering, has anyone gone through this process of going from a PhD to a MD program, especially from a PhD field not really related to medicine? As an undergraduate, I did all of the prereqs but decided I would rather pursue mathematics first. I knew I didn't want to really be an academic, but I wasn't sure whether I would go into medicine or industry afterwards, after a lot of thought I've chosen medicine.

Like I mentioned, as an undergraduate I did the prereqs, volunteering, etc. My gpa wasn't bad, it was 3.7 with a double major in two mathematically-intense fields. I never took the MCAT.

My questions are:

Do I need to start volunteering again?

My undergraduate finished up about 2 years ago. Do I need to retake the prereqs? I obviously have a pretty good knowledge of physics and I feel like I could easily study up the chemistry and biology I need to remember. It looks like they have added on some MCAT subjects, but I'm not worried.

I still have the LORs I applied to graduate school with (one of those sites that holds them for you). I will probably get another one from my adviser, but can I reuse two of the ones from my undergraduate?

Finally, will the fact that my field is not medically related and that I haven't been volunteering up to now, hinder me? I could probably find one or two doctors to shadow.

Thanks in advance.

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[Mr Roboto]

....you finished a PhD in 3 years?

 

[Oso]

First off, it's good that you've completed the prereqs and have a solid GPA. That's not usually the case with non-trads.

Other things:
-yes you need to do shadowing (about 40-60 hours spread over a few different specialties).
-yes you need clinical experience (ex. hospital or hospice volunteering, medical scribe); try to spread this out over 1-2 years
-no, you don't need to retake the prereqs you already took, but you may have to take some new ones (ex. biochem, psych, etc.) for the new MCAT
-you need to take the MCAT
-no you cannot use the letters that got you into a physics phd program for medical school, you need letters that vouch for your success as medical student and physician; if you're still close with the letter writers, it's possible they could write you letters for med
-there are plenty of people from unrelated fields who decide to pursue medicine later in life. As long as you have good reasons and good stats and EC's, you should be fine.

Good luck!

 

[supposedlyfun]

....you finished a PhD in 3 years?

Yes, I will be done in 3 years total. The thing is, I started research as soon as I got to my graduate school. First thing I did was go to my future advisers office and tell him that I wanted to do research with him and that I had already started reading publications. The research is really separated from the coursework, you can begin understanding the research before coursework has been completed. I've already had 3 publications in my field as first author.

Anyway, other people have done it as well, it's nothing new.

 

[supposedlyfun]

First off, it's good that you've completed the prereqs and have a solid GPA. That's not usually the case with non-trads.

Other things:
-yes you need to do shadowing (about 40-60 hours spread over a few different specialties).
-yes you need clinical experience (ex. hospital or hospice volunteering, medical scribe)
-no, you don't need to retake the prereqs you already took, but you may have to take some new ones (ex. biochem, psych, etc.) for the new MCAT
-you need to take the MCAT
-no you cannot use the letters that got you into a physics phd program for medical school, you need letters that vouch for your success as medical student and physician; if you're still close with the letter writers, it's possible they could write you letters for med
-there are plenty of people from unrelated fields who decide to pursue medicine later in life. As long as you have good reasons and good stats and EC's, you should be fine.

Good luck!

Thanks, but you say I need to "do shadowing and clinical experience". I already have done it in the past, the question is, do I need to do it again? Around 2 years ago when I stopped, I had about 200 hours of hospital volunteering and about 55 hours of shadowing.

 

[Oso]

Thanks, but you say I need to "do shadowing and clinical experience". I already have done it in the past, the question is, do I need to do it again? Around 2 years ago when I stopped, I had about 200 hours of hospital volunteering and about 55 hours of shadowing.

Nice! I'm glad you have already done these things.

In my opinion, it may be a good idea to do a bit of shadowing and/or volunteering between now and when you submit your app to convince schools that you are interested and really committed to making the switch. Each school will absolutely ask you why you're switching and how you are certain that this is the right field for you. Being able to draw upon recent clinical experiences will be helpful to you and resolve any doubts they have. It will also help you confirm that this is the right field for you. Experiences can seem a little different in retrospect (3+ years ago). Worry more about gaining meaningful experiences and less about the hours, since you already have enough hours.

 

[gyngyn]

You will need to give recent evidence of the following characteristics:

· Integrity and Ethics

· Reliability and Dependability

· Service Orientation

· Social and Interpersonal Skills

· Capacity for Improvement

· Resilience and Adaptability

· Cultural Competence

· Oral Communication

· Teamwork

 

[moop]

Also better have a damn good reason/rationale for wanting to make that jump

 

[lumpyduster]

Related question - is it really that rare to see applicants with graduate-level degrees in unrelated disciplines wanting to go into medicine that they'd need to have some really interesting reason why? I feel like I've seen several of my older friends do masters or PhDs, out of interest in the field and desire to develop certain skills (critical thinking, analytical skills...), and then go to into medicine.

 

[487806]

Related question - is it really that rare to see applicants with graduate-level degrees in unrelated disciplines wanting to go into medicine that they'd need to have some really interesting reason why? I feel like I've seen several of my older friends do masters or PhDs, out of interest in the field and desire to develop certain skills (critical thinking, analytical skills...), and then go to into medicine.

It's probably similar to any nontrad situation. Just follow what @gyngyn dictated and everything should go fine.

 

[Willard_FlexMed]

There are many applications in medicine of mathematical physics (discovered and undiscovered), and I think that if you have done what most medical schools require (and like to see), your application likely hinges on your MCAT score and essays (noting your motives and the like). Your pursuit of a doctoral level education shows a certain passion that you were not willing to sacrifice in the short-term, but to be cautious, I would contact each school to which you would like to apply and check about your questions. Some of those things you mentioned are for you to make sure medicine is for you. Sending an email or making a phone call about your inquiry hurts nobody.

I hope that you get there.

 

[gyngyn]

Related question - is it really that rare to see applicants with graduate-level degrees in unrelated disciplines wanting to go into medicine that they'd need to have some really interesting reason why? I feel like I've seen several of my older friends do masters or PhDs, out of interest in the field and desire to develop certain skills (critical thinking, analytical skills...), and then go to into medicine.

PhD's of every stripe are fairly common in the applicant pool.