MD/PhD EM?

[ChemMed]

I am wondering if anyone at an academic EM hospital has ever hear of a MD/PhD EM-TOX faculty position? I really love science and enjoy clinical Tox. I am simply wondering if it is feasible to combine the two into a career. Thanks.

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[ccfccp]

I am wondering if anyone at an academic EM hospital has ever hear of a MD/PhD EM-TOX faculty position? I really love science and enjoy clinical Tox. I am simply wondering if it is feasible to combine the two into a career. Thanks.

Full disclosure: We have a few MD/PhDs in our program and I am not one of them... These are just my observations. Most of them don't really use their PhDs actively in clinical practice.

There are plenty of academic MD EM-Tox faculty positions. Even if there aren't openings, I have a feeling programs would "make room" for another member boarded in tox. If you're interested in toxicology, it is probably one of the more effective ways (along with a peds fellowship) to pretty much guarantee employability in an academic program.

The PhD might be nice, and it might help you get into medical school, but it's really not necessary. You have to weigh the benefits of the PhD with the knowledge that you would still have to undergo a 2 year tox fellowship at the end of your residency in order to be board certified in tox (and thus reap the benefits of the fellowship.) The opportunity cost of the extra 3 years for the PhD may outweigh the benefits. On the other hand, if you get one of the funded spots (and thus wipe out all your med school debt in one swoop...) it might be okay. Only you can answer that question.

 

[Tiger26]

Personally, I feel it's like doing an EM fellowship after residency--you'll lose out on a lot of $$$, but if a PhD is what gets you jazzed up, then it might be worth it to you.

As for the cost of doing an extra 3-4 years for a PhD, as was mentioned above, the opportunity cost of losing out on attending salary (say, $250,000/year) easily beats the med school tuition you'd save on.

As for the benefit, I haven't been able to tell any difference between MDs and MD/PhDs that I've worked with in any field. I can identify exceptional and not-as-exceptional examples of each. I think a tox fellowship after EM would more than prepare you to be a master of the speciality

 

[RxnMan]

1. Please do not re-post the same question in multiple forums. It's against the ToS

2. The OP is talking about doing an MD/PhD -> EM -> Tox fellowship.

3. As I stated in the other thread, tox is a place in EM where I'd think a MD/PhD could consistently expect institutional support across the US. By that I mean, there are programs that excel in, and have great young faculty support for, studies in sepsis, resuscitation, and so on, but you won't find those centers of excellence in all places in the US.

4. In terms of the clinical practice and the research, I thinks there could be a great deal of conceptual overlap between a biochem/pharm/tox PhD and EM/Tox practice, making it much easier to work between the bench and the ED.