PhD or M.S. before MD in Medical Physics?

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jpostie

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Hello everyone, I am looking for insight into the plausibility and general effectiveness of what I have been considering after my undergraduate studies. I am currently planning on receiving a degree in physics with a possible emphasis in medical physics within the next 2 - 2.5 years. I have been strongly considering attending a graduate program in medical physics such as the one at UW Madison, I am not sure if I would go for the M.S. degree or really go all in and go for a PhD. After this I would actually like to attend medical school with intentions of going into surgery. So really I am looking for any input here, similar personal experiences, insight into what MD admissions might think about this, or M.S. vs PhD values.

Thanks!

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A few things:
- How are your stats at this point? (research, GPA, MCAT, ECs)
- Medical physics tends to be a pretty clinically oriented PhD (I don't know much about the field but I know there's clinical certifications in med physics) - are you trying to learn the basic science behind some aspect of the field?
- If you are planning on going into surgery (in like a decade from now), what purpose would the MSc or PhD serve you?
- Have you thought of doing a combined MD/PhD with the PhD in biophysics?
- How much would the MSc cost you? If your research is up to par, it may not be necessary, especially if you could just do the combined degree. I had done a MSc myself but it was strictly to gain necessary skills + it was funded.
 
A few things:
- How are your stats at this point? (research, GPA, MCAT, ECs)
- Medical physics tends to be a pretty clinically oriented PhD (I don't know much about the field but I know there's clinical certifications in med physics) - are you trying to learn the basic science behind some aspect of the field?
- If you are planning on going into surgery (in like a decade from now), what purpose would the MSc or PhD serve you?
- Have you thought of doing a combined MD/PhD with the PhD in biophysics?
- How much would the MSc cost you? If your research is up to par, it may not be necessary, especially if you could just do the combined degree. I had done a MSc myself but it was strictly to gain necessary skills + it was funded.

I'll answer your questions as best I can first.
-Planning on publishing ~2 years worth of data with some other students by the end of this summer, I still have 2 years left at minimum but my goal is to maintain between a 3.6 and 3.7, no clue on MCAT, I have done a lot of shadowing of different physicians and volunteer on a regular basis at the local hospital as well as miscellaneous events when they arise.
-I really just enjoy most medical physics concepts and classes, I am mostly considering this route to improve chances at an upper tier med school, however I could see myself just doing without the MD and being employed in research.
-I don't really know.
-I have considered it, and I would be open to that. However, the appeal in this case to me is that if I just went for the MS in this program, then after two years I could reflect and decide if I would be content without going on for surgery.
-I can't tell for certain, I believe it would be around ~50k(edit - I believe this is just for the MD program, I will look for the MS/PhD program) a year without any scholarships or financial aid.

Overall, I really haven't settled on this as a final plan, I'm just looking ahead and trying to get input on ideas.
 
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Well it seems like you're considering all your choices so not much I can input at this point. Good luck with your studies!
 
Wow, two threads in short succession about medical physics. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...l-physics-for-phd-with-no-background.1203304/

Hello everyone, I am looking for insight into the plausibility and general effectiveness of what I have been considering after my undergraduate studies. I am currently planning on receiving a degree in physics with a possible emphasis in medical physics within the next 2 - 2.5 years. I have been strongly considering attending a graduate program in medical physics such as the one at UW Madison, I am not sure if I would go for the M.S. degree or really go all in and go for a PhD. After this I would actually like to attend medical school with intentions of going into surgery. So really I am looking for any input here, similar personal experiences, insight into what MD admissions might think about this, or M.S. vs PhD values.

You should have enough research experience by the time you're a junior to decide whether you want to go to medical school or graduate school. If your goal is to become a physician, you should do an MD or MD/PhD.

An MS will be an expensive holdover with little to no benefit for a surgical career. Medical physics degrees are generally used to train clinical physicists for radiology and radiation oncology departments. You can do research with a PhD in medical physics, but again, it's typically applied to those specialties.

-I really just enjoy most medical physics concepts and classes, I am mostly considering this route to improve chances at an upper tier med school, however I could see myself just doing without the MD and being employed in research.

If your goal is to use your graduate degree to get into an "upper tier med school", I think you're thinking about this all wrong.

First, there are no guarantees you'll ever get into the "upper tier" (whatever that is), no matter what you do.

Second, your grad school GPA can only hurt you. Everyone knows grad programs are easy and ignore grad GPAs, except when they aren't, and then that low GPA will hurt you. An MS isn't going to make you a much stronger candidate for MD/PhD programs as long as you have significant undergrad research, which you do.

Third, a lot of people like me are going to ask you "you did a medical physics degree to become a surgeon?!" It doesn't make sense.

Fourth, I don't know what an "upper tier" (whatever that is) med school is going to do for you that any other medical school isn't.


Really the issue here is that you need to commit to something. You don't need to do that quite yet. But soon. Seek whatever experience and advice you will need to commit. You can always change course or add degrees later if you change your mind, but once you're in grad school/med school and beyond it becomes a lot harder to change.
 
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