MD or MD/PhD? Need advice.

[bonecrusher]

I have acceptances to both MD/PhD and MD programs for next year, and I am trying to decide which to accept. My goal is to enter a surgical field, and I am especially interested in orthopedics. In addition to clinical work I would like to consult device companies for developing/testing new surgical devices. I am interested in both the design stages of device development and the clinical trials. If I pursue the MD/PhD, the PhD will be in biomedical engineering. However, my main concern with the MD/PhD route is the time required to complete the dual degree. It's not a deal breaker for me, but it is a significant concern. I have a few specific questions.

1) Will a PhD in biomedical engineering open doors for me to consult in industry that straight MD surgeons would not readily have?

2) Could these doors be opened in other more time efficient ways? (eg: extra years of experience as a surgeon, masters degree during residency)

3) What is your overall impression for whether I should go for the dual degree?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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[ValentinNarcisse]

I have acceptances to both MD/PhD and MD programs for next year, and I am trying to decide which to accept. My goal is to enter a surgical field, and I am especially interested in orthopedics. In addition to clinical work I would like to consult device companies for developing/testing new surgical devices. I am interested in both the design stages of device development and the clinical trials. If I pursue the MD/PhD, the PhD will be in biomedical engineering. However, my main concern with the MD/PhD route is the time required to complete the dual degree. It's not a deal breaker for me, but it is a significant concern. I have a few specific questions.

1) Will a PhD in biomedical engineering open doors for me to consult in industry that straight MD surgeons would not readily have?

2) Could these doors be opened in other more time efficient ways? (eg: extra years of experience as a surgeon, masters degree during residency)

3) What is your overall impression for whether I should go for the dual degree?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

1) Not dramatically so.
2) Yes.
3) If you do not want to be trained in basic science biomedical research, I would forgo the dual degree.

 

[referee3]

1) Not dramatically so.
2) Yes.
3) If you do not want to be trained in basic science biomedical research, I would forgo the dual degree.

Agreed. I don't think you will find many orthopedic surgeons having a phd.

 

[massmocha]

Don't do the PhD. It's a waste of time, you can do anything you want with a straight MD, even be a PI if you have some extra training (e.g. master's). Ultimately you have to make the decision, but it sounds like you are already concerned about the time commitment. There is no financial reasoning that makes sense for MD/PhD, especially if you are thinking about ortho. Each one of those PhD years would have been one extra year making ortho attending salary. If your dream is to do a PhD, go for it. Otherwise there is no reason to do it.

 

[ACSurgeon]

I posted this in the Physician Scientist forum, but was hoping to get some additional input.

I have acceptances to both MD/PhD and MD programs for next year, and I am trying to decide which to accept. My goal is to enter a surgical field, and I am especially interested in orthopedics. In addition to clinical work I would like to consult device companies for developing/testing new surgical devices. I am interested in both the design stages of device development and the clinical trials. If I pursue the MD/PhD, the PhD will be in biomedical engineering. However, my main concern with the MD/PhD route is the time required to complete the dual degree. It's not a deal breaker for me, but it is a significant concern. I have a few specific questions.
1) Will a PhD in biomedical engineering open doors for me to consult in industry that straight MD surgeons would not readily have?
2) Could these doors be opened in other more time efficient ways? (eg: extra years of experience as a surgeon, masters degree during residency)
3) What is your overall impression for whether I should go for the dual degree?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

You should do MD/PhD if you intend on actively doing research as an attending. Otherwise, while it will make consulting type jobs more readily available, it's probably not worth the time.

Also, you gotta keep in mind the real chance that you might not become a surgeon (change your mind, poor step scores etc). Would you still want a PhD in that scenario?

 

[NonTrad16]

You can conduct research and consult as a MD, I think it's a matter of how much time you want to spend. Faculty members I spoke to at a teaching/research hospital only spend 10% (max) on research, the rest is administrative/clinical/teaching. If you went MD/PhD you'd obviously hope to skew the balance a bit more towards the middle...

The only real benefit the PhD would serve as far as I see is more initial connections within the industry, which could be very helpful for later consulting efforts. Also, your PhD work could be in a related area, so you'd have a track record they could vet. One of my professors in graduate school had very strong ties to a large orthopedics company and was able to get a lot of work for his graduate students and recent graduates.

That said... instead of the PhD you could spend those ~3 years pursuing an additional fellowship to emphasize research, if you still want to do that several years down the road.