Quitting PhD

[MD only]

I have pretty much made up my mind about quitting PhD portion of my MD/PhD program. This is unfortunate and I would have never thought that I would be in this position just a few years back. I feel like it will be unlikely that I will finish my PhD on my own terms. I know now I enjoy the clinic much more -- not that I don't enjoy research, but the circumstances are not in any way ideal.

How many students make the transition from MD/PhD programs to MD only? And what do you think about this kind of attrition in MD/PhD programs? Also if anyone has suggestions or comments I am open to them. I could pm details if you are interested in them.

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[StIGMA]

Sorry that your PhD portion is not going well. This is very common. Know that your program has an interest in getting you to complete both degrees, so dropping the PhD is generally unwelcome.

From MD/PhD matriculants between 1995-2000 (matriculated in these years, so graduated generally between 2002-2010), 73% of matriculants graduated with both degrees (2,582 MD-PhD program enrollees, 1,885 MD-PhD graduates). 23.1% of students (597/2582) completed MD graduation (and did not finish the PhD). 3.9% of students withdrew/were dismissed entirely.

86% of students that did not complete the PhD graduated with an MD.

(See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3874256/)

You are in good company.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

I have pretty much made up my mind about quitting PhD portion of my MD/PhD program. This is unfortunate and I would have never thought that I would be in this position just a few years back. I feel like it will be unlikely that I will finish my PhD on my own terms. I know now I enjoy the clinic much more -- not that I don't enjoy research, but the circumstances are not in any way ideal.

How many students make the transition from MD/PhD programs to MD only? And what do you think about this kind of attrition in MD/PhD programs? Also if anyone has suggestions or comments I am open to them. I could pm details if you are interested in them.

I would think long(er) and hard(er) before quitting; those who do seem to do well on the MD side, but my sense is that many suffer a considerable psychological blow for a while. Feel free to PM (I considered quitting very seriously for very easily justifiable reasons)

 

[gbwillner]

I have pretty much made up my mind about quitting PhD portion of my MD/PhD program. This is unfortunate and I would have never thought that I would be in this position just a few years back. I feel like it will be unlikely that I will finish my PhD on my own terms. I know now I enjoy the clinic much more -- not that I don't enjoy research, but the circumstances are not in any way ideal.

How many students make the transition from MD/PhD programs to MD only? And what do you think about this kind of attrition in MD/PhD programs? Also if anyone has suggestions or comments I am open to them. I could pm details if you are interested in them.

My advice is that if you don't see yourself doing research long term, quit now. It's not worth the stress to continue doing something that you do not enjoy or will only give you a marginal career benefit at a tremendous cost in terms of your life and money.

 

[gutonc]

My advice is that if you don't see yourself doing research long term, quit now. It's not worth the stress to continue doing something that you do not enjoy or will only give you a marginal career benefit at a tremendous cost in terms of your life and money.

10 years ago, this advice would have been insane. Now...it's the only rational choice quite honestly.

I would think long(er) and hard(er) before quitting; those who do seem to do well on the MD side, but my sense is that many suffer a considerable psychological blow for a while. Feel free to PM (I considered quitting very seriously for very easily justifiable reasons)

I would argue the psychological blow is harder on those who stick it out only to feel like they wasted those 3-6 years. But I agree that a long, hard look, and discussion with peers and mentors is absolutely in order before you cross this bridge, because there is no going back

 

[solitude]

10 years ago, this advice would have been insane. Now...it's the only rational choice quite honestly.

I would argue the psychological blow is harder on those who stick it out only to feel like they wasted those 3-6 years. But I agree that a long, hard look, and discussion with peers and mentors is absolutely in order before you cross this bridge, because there is no going back

Need more info. How far along are you? If it's still 3-4 more years, you should think very hard. If it's just one more year, or possibly even two, then it may be worth it to just stick it out, for financial and psychological reasons as noted above.

 

[SplenoMegastar]

I know a few people who left the MD/PhD program I'm in and did well afterwards. At least one has matched at our home institution in the past year or so, and all of the ones I can think of were happy with their decision and matched, which I think is a sign that residency programs understand that this is something that happens. I'm sorry it didn't work out. Wanting to leave is very common, and actually leaving is relatively common, too. I know I've had one foot out the door at least twice.

 

[QofQuimica]

As others have already suggested, it's hard to give you advice going on so little data. Can you at least explain why you're wanting to quit, and also give us an idea of how far along you are in the program?

 

[PhysicianScientist]

What happens to the stipend you received if you quit? Say for example, you're on your third PhD year and quit. Do you have to repay your first two MD year stipends?

 

[Elixir6]

A few people at my program quit. No one had to repay their previous tuition or stipend. I agree with the things the posters wrote above even though some of the advice is different. The specifics of your situation will determine what advice you should follow. You should give a bit more info to get the best feedback.

I know this is a very difficult time. There are several threads here about the unhappy PhD that you should read to gain some motivation/perspective. However, as people mentioned, it may not be worth it to stick it out for a PhD if it costs too much time and emotional energy. I wish you good luck in making the choice best for you.

 

[SplenoMegastar]

My school claims that you would need to repay most of your stipend (it works out to about 2/3) plus tuition for the medical school years. No repay of stipend is required for the years spent in graduate school. As mentioned above, likely to be very program dependent. I mention this only as an example.

 

[gutonc]

My school claims that you would need to repay most of your stipend (it works out to about 2/3) plus tuition for the medical school years. No repay of stipend is required for the years spent in graduate school. As mentioned above, likely to be very program dependent. I mention this only as an example.

Most programs say this on paper. Very few actually pursue it.

 

[meowkat444]

10 years ago, this advice would have been insane. Now...it's the only rational choice quite honestly.

I would argue the psychological blow is harder on those who stick it out only to feel like they wasted those 3-6 years. But I agree that a long, hard look, and discussion with peers and mentors is absolutely in order before you cross this bridge, because there is no going back

Don't mean to derail too much, but can you elaborate on what has changed in 10 years?

 

[gutonc]

Don't mean to derail too much, but can you elaborate on what has changed in 10 years?

Funding climate. Lack of research support by institutions. The cost-benefit analysis has never been in favor of the tuition waiver + stipend vs 3-5y of lost attending income. Now with the relatively low likelihood of getting funded and having a TT physician-scientist position with reasonable protected research, it's just nuts.

 

[meowkat444]

Thanks. That's what I figured the answer would be, I just wondered if there was something else I was missing.

 

[marenwhy]

I dropped out after 1 year in the lab. It was absolutely the best decision for me, but YMMV. Feel free to PM me

 

[Rowany]

I hesitate agreeing that you should quit since it seems like you still enjoy doing research. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but you seem to be implying more that you're working in a toxic environment. If that's the case, you could consider changing labs and sticking it out for a bit longer. Either way you'd burn a bridge with your current PI but at least this way you could see if you can still regain that passion for science in a better setting. Try talking to your dean and MD-PhD director and seeing what they recommend. There can often be more alternatives than you realize to simply quitting.