What are your summers like as a MD/PhD student?

[psychgirl95]

I'm sure the answer will vary depending on a lot of factors (school, degree program, etc...) but I'm just curious about how MD/PhD students spend their summers. Do you do research and/or take summer classes? If so, are you full or part-time? Or do you have your summers free to do whatever you like? Do you feel like you have time to pursue extra interests (such as art, music, writing, etc...) during this time?

I tried googling this but couldn't find anything, so thanks in advance.

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[Neuronix]

Research full-time. Between first and second year it's a lab rotation. I did a lab rotation the summer before starting. After second year of med school, step 1 then lab rotation. You can take some amount of vacation in there, but you don't get a whole summer "off" like in undergrad.

Your ability to pursue interests outside of academic medicine is limited throughout MD/PhD training. If you can pursue your interests a few hours a week, with flexible scheduling, and in any location, great! If not, it can become a real issue for some people (including myself).

 

[psychgirl95]

Thank you so much! I'm interested in becoming a MD/PhD, but I want to be realistic about the intensity of the programs before I seriously consider pursuing it.

 

[gutonc]

Summers are the least of it. If 10 weeks for a couple of years is going to dissuade you from it, you need to seriously reconsider the entire prospect of med school, PhD or not.

 

[psychgirl95]

Summers are the least of it. If 10 weeks for a couple of years is going to dissuade you from it, you need to seriously reconsider the entire prospect of med school, PhD or not.

That's not even what I'm talking about. I mentioned the intensity of the programs because like I mentioned before, I want to know whether I can pursue interests (or even a graduate certificate) while also being in the program. I'm not going to add stress on top of stress. That wouldn't make sense, so I'm trying to figure out whether I should pursue the interests before the program or if it's possible to do so during it.

 

[gutonc]

Be more vague and maybe your question can be answered.

 

[psychgirl95]

Be more vague and maybe your question can be answered.

Well the question is "What are your summers like as a MD/PhD student?"
While extra info - though I actually did give examples of activities I'm interested in - may be nice, it's not really necessary for someone to answer the question since it's asking about their experiences and doesn't actually require information about me. Thanks anyway though.

 

[StIGMA]

MD/PhD training is full time, all the time. You can take occasional holidays and vacations (of around 5-10 days, eg Christmas). PhD is WAY more flexible than the MD training (with variation depending on the program and lab). I took about 6 x 5 day vacations not including Christmas holidays each year during the PhD. I planned/ran experiments (had cells grow, collected when came back) that went during this time so it didn't impact my work. I did not do the vacations during M1/M2 and I don't plan to for M3.

 

[psychgirl95]

MD/PhD training is full time, all the time. You can take occasional holidays and vacations (of around 5-10 days, eg Christmas). PhD is WAY more flexible than the MD training (with variation depending on the program and lab). I took about 6 x 5 day vacations not including Christmas holidays each year during the PhD. I planned/ran experiments (had cells grow, collected when came back) that went during this time so it didn't impact my work. I did not do the vacations during M1/M2 and I don't plan to for M3.

Thank you! That's what I figured but I wasn't sure.

 

[URHere]

Agree with everyone else. MD/PhD programs are essentially full-time jobs and you will be expected to research through the summer during the MS1/MS2/graduate school years.

PhD programs usually don't have mandatory classes during the summer (aside from seminars), so how much flexibility you have during these research summers usually depends on your research mentor. Mine was absolutely fine with me disappearing for 2-3 weeks a year to see my family on the other side of the country. That being said, I had several friends who were required to take sick leave if they wanted to be away from lab. You can usually figure out how strict a PI is about vacations/leave by asking the students who work in that lab.

In terms of pursuing other interests, I had time for martial arts, volunteering, and some (very sporadic) theater work for the early part of my program, but that flexibility came to an abrupt end during the last year of my PhD and during MS3 year. So…you may have time for some certificate program if it's online and very flexible. You won't have time if you need to travel or show up to daily classes during the day.

 

[Rirruto]

We also did 1 MSIII clinical clerkship after Step 1, but before starting grad school. Depending on how long the clerkship was (range 4-8 wks), and whether you needed to do another lab rotation, you could have some extra vacation before starting grad school.

 

[FalconSlice]

Echoing what everyone else said.

Also to add, in a lot of programs, the program actually starts in the summer preceding the first day of medical school by you doing your first lab rotation at that time. You must see what that program's rules/recommendations are about this. I started the program in mid-June by doing a rotation until medical school started in August.

To be honest, unless you weren't rather busy like most people on here have been during undergrad, the last real summer you had just to goof off was probably around high school (if you don't count me working in a fast-food joint in high-school a summer-killer.)

 

[psychgirl95]

Thanks again, guys. I did some more research into some specific schools and their curricula (though most aren't very specific, hence why I asked the question), but I agree that it'll definitely be a full time job and that I should pursue the graduate certificate I'm interested in before considering MD/PhD programs. (And yes, it's an online program!)

To be honest, unless you weren't rather busy like most people on here have been during undergrad, the last real summer you had just to goof off was probably around high school (if you don't count me working in a fast-food joint in high-school a summer-killer.)

Well, I'm only a freshman right now. I have plenty of busy summers ahead of me.

 

[FalconSlice]

Thanks again, guys. I did some more research into a couple of specific schools so I agree that it'll definitely be a full time job and that I should pursue the graduate certificate I'm interested in before considering MD/PhD programs.

Well, I'm only a freshman right now.

Cherish your summers as if they were your last. I wish someone would have told me that my summer of sophomore year in high school was going to be the last one I could do anything I wished... I would have played more Sega Dreamcast.

 

[psychgirl95]

Cherish your summers as if they were your last. I wish someone would have told me that my summer of sophomore year in high school was going to be the last one I could do anything I wished... I would have played more Sega Dreamcast.

Yeah I didn't really get to spend my high school summer years having much fun, so hopefully I can find time to cherish these undergrad ones while also being productive.

 

[FalconSlice]

Yeah I didn't really get to spend my high school summer years having much fun, so hopefully I can find time to cherish these undergrad ones while also being productive.

Well, thattagirl! Good luck on your journey… you have have quite a long one ahead of you.

 

[psychgirl95]

Well, thattagirl! Good luck on your journey… you have have quite a long one ahead of you.

Thanks! And good luck to you too.