Unconventional Research

[futurenavaldoctor128]

Hello again. I definitely am more of a research guy than a hands on type. Surgery, not my thing. However, learning about research science proved interesting. I do have a few questions before we move forward.

Can a Psychiatrist choose to do research in PTSD specifically?

I should have you know that if I go into the medical field, I would choose oncology or psychiatry. Obviously if I chose oncology, I would research cancer. However, PTSD is the most under rated mental illness in my opinion. I believe it needs more attention and I could be the person to research it.

Is a PhD required, or will a MD do the job?

I originally planned to get an MD/MBA like my grandfather before me and run a hospital. However, could I still choose to go the research route? If that was my career path, cold I mention it and still be where I want? I know the phd is a research degree but will the MD cover the flack?

Finally, what is the market and pay grade for researchers?

Once again, not my top priority. However, is it worth it to make half as much as an MD with the same qualifications? Or do I have it all wrong and they get the same pay, maybe even more

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[cpi89]

From your past recent posts, you said you were not even a Junior in high school yet, so you should be focusing on doing well in your current coursework and then getting into college. When you get into college, then you will have to do research to see if you actually like it.

But a cursory response to your questions:
1. Yes, that's not even unconventional. You can do research in just about anything, and lots of people are doing research on PTSD.
2. This had been discussed ad nauseum. Search the forums for more in depth discussions.
3. Research is not a smart money making scheme. You will take a pay cut anytime you take time away from clinical responsibilities.

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

cpi89 has great answers, but i'll add a little more for anyone else who might be asking these questions

if you really want to do research it might be worth the pay cut to do phd rather than md.

psychiatrists make more money than researchers if they're practicing psychiatry, but to whatever extent you plan to do research that will cut into your clinical salary. NIH has rules about how much you pay yourself out of your grants. the current NIH salary cap is $181,500, and believe me the top phd researchers at my school make that much. this also happens to be a competitive salary for academic psychiatrists. therefore, there are phd's who probably make as much as psychiatrists at my school.

the comparison is not true for all specialties, certainly not true for oncology because they make a lot more. it also probably doesn't hold for non-academic psychiatrists, who average closer to $200k to $210k depending on practice type. but my point is that you might not be taking as big of a pay cut to work as a phd compared to as an md.

even if you're not a top phd researcher, let's say you're making something closer to $100,ooo a year. that might be worth it for escaping med school debt, since any science phd worthwhile will pay tuition and pay you a stipend. also, shorter length of training, better lifestyle... non-financial factors might help make up for the pay gap.

best advice is that you should love your job. keep in mind that research has shown that the effect of salary on life satisfaction plateaus at $75,000 a year, so people making $100k, $250k, or $10M a year aren't necessarily more content in their daily life than someone making $75,000 a year... you might have less money but more personal happiness as a high school biology teacher!

 

[Neuronix]

I'd like to emphasize this post: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...gist-psychiatrist-here.1062866/#post-15080817

Here's my suggestion: go to college, major in something you enjoy while doing pre-med on the side. Find a volunteer gig. If you ace all of your classes and you still like the idea of being a doctor, then you should apply to medical school.

Come back and ask us questions in a couple years. If are you are serious about MD/PhD my advice to you now is: don't tie yourself to the military (i.e. no HPSP and no ROTC scholarship), get involved in research ASAP (freshman year in college is reasonable), and keep your GPA as close to 4.0 when you get to college.