Yale's MD/PHD program........ Comments?

[hnbui]

How is yale's md phd program? is it considered good? Also should i try out for one of these program if i want to become an amergency physician. I'm planning to retire after my forties and teach at college.

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[Aptamer]

I don't know much about the Yale program, but there's a couple of Yalies MSTPers on the forum so they can answer questions regarding their program.

First of all, I'm a stickler for semantics so I'll grind on this...you never TRY out an MD/PhD program. These programs are designed for a specific purpose, to produce physician-scientist; physicians who are trained in both basic and clinical science in a pursuit to integrate both fields.

If your only goal is to be an emergency physician, then an MD/PhD would be a huge waste of time for you. Having the extra degree would not be of much benefit to your practice. If you want to teach at a university later in your career, you can do it with just an MD. At my undergrad, Univ of Texas, there are many MDs who conduct basic science research as well as lecture in undergraduate and graduate level classes.

Have you spent time doing research in a lab? If you haven't, I suggest you look into summer research programs or research opportunities on campus. If you enjoy what you do there, maybe the MD/PhD route is the way to go.

Hope this helps in your endevors.

 

[surge]

I guess if you were specific and had particular questions, I would be more than willing to answer them, but right now it feels like you should first figure out what and WHY you want to do it.
As Aptamer said, it doesn't sound like you really know what the combined degree programs are all about. I would suggest reading the FAQ on Habari's site and doing some searches in this forum.

If you then have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

 

[crazee8]

Originally posted by hnbui
How is yale's md phd program? is it considered good? Also should i try out for one of these program if i want to become an amergency physician. I'm planning to retire after my forties and teach at college.

Hi hnbui, you're a high school senior right? So, I am just curious, why are you specifically interested in Yale's MD/PhD?

Anyway, to answer your question, it's not necessary and probably a waste of time to get a MD/PhD if you just want to go into emergency medicine. My mom is an ER doc and only has a MD and in fact I don't know of any ER docs with an MD/PhD. But then again, you might change your mind later on and not want to go into emergency medicine. Also, I think you can teach at a university/medical school with just an MD but I am not quite sure.

 

[hnbui]

thank you all for posting. I just asked about yale's because i came across it one day while surfing. I guess i'll just get a md then.



p.s. wouldn't a md and phd make it easier to get a teaching job at a university?


p.s.s. where does your mother work at. what colleges and school did she attend?

 

[crazee8]

Originally posted by hnbui
thank you all for posting. I just asked about yale's because i came across it one day while surfing. I guess i'll just get a md then.

p.s.s. where does your mother work at. what colleges and school did she attend?

I honestly don't know if an MD/PhD will make it easier for you to get a teaching position but I know MD's who teach medical school and residents at the hospital. As for my mom, she works at a major metropolitan hospital here but I don't think that really is relevant to the question anyway.

 

[Tezzie]

hnbui please pay no attention to crazee8. I know you are serious about your posts and you are just looking for info. On the other hand crazee8 is a hardcore troll.

Any more interaction with her will completely confuse you.

 

[hnbui]

oh... okay. Do you recommend that i look into md/phd programs? I'm just a highschool senior right now but have my sights on becoming an er doctor. I also have my sight on retiring after a couple of years to teach and do research at a university. Do you think that a md/phd program would be worth it?

Time is not a conflict with me. I'm 16 right now and am planning to finish undergrad in 3 yrs. (I want to save money, because an undergrad dregree doesn't count that much anymore)

what's your opinion? Do you recommend a book that i could read to get a better prespective of this program?

 

[ManchotPi]

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[vixenell]

It seems as though you want an MD and PhD. Not an MD/PhD.

I hope that you're not considering MD/PhD because of the financial benefits. I kind of get that idea since your primary reason for rushing through undergrad is to save money. As someone said earlier, the purpose for the MSTP programs is to produce physician-scientists. The physician-scientist is expected to spend the majority of his career contributing to the scientific aspect of medicine and biomedical research. While someend up practicing soley, or researching soley, the majority do become physician-scientists.

You want to practice medicine. You want to teach. You haven't expressed any interest in research. There is a better way to accomplish what you want: get an MD. Why you want to retire just when you're getting started, i dont know. But you've got a looooong time to think about what you want to do at 'retirement age.'

Go to college. Work hard. Don't depend on AP credit to get you through prereq classes-- because it doesnt help you in the long run. Don't rush through it-- explore other subjects, and make sure that medicine is what you want. I would recommend participating in an MD/PhD summer program after your freshman year so that you can get a better idea of what the dual degree is all about. This will give you the opportunity to gain research experience, and you will be able to determine if research is for you.

 

[hnbui]

thank you all for the advice.

 

[Newquagmire]

i've heard in the rumor mill that Yale may provide travel expenses for its interviews. confirm/deny?

 

[GlcNac]

Originally posted by Newquagmire
i've heard in the rumor mill that Yale may provide travel expenses for its interviews. confirm/deny?

I don't think they cover travel expenses by default, but it's possible that they have a discretionary reimbursement fund that they can draw from if you're coming from far away or are insistent enough.

 

[surge]

No, this is unfortunately not true.
However, they will pay for you to come to the second look weekend if you ask.

I'm affraid we're still looking for out own Ross Perot....