Year off during med school to pursue MS

[chajjohnson]

Hey Guys,

I know there have been posts on this before, but I've been a little confused by them. I will be attending medical school next fall (just MD), but I am someone who really likes doing basic science research. I did over 3 years in undergrad and really loved it. I've been thinking about taking a year off during med school to pursue an MS in biomedical research (or maybe clinical research, but I don't think I would enjoy that as much). The program I will be attending offers this year off to pursue a master's at no extra tuition. However, all the threads I've looked at before say it is a bad idea to take a year off unless the program has free or deeply discounted tuition for the whole 5 years (which my program does not). Is this still the case even if the year off is free of charge? Besides fulfilling my own desire for research, are there any benefits to getting an MS in medical school?

I've been toying with the idea of trying to transfer into the MD/PhD program at this school, but I don't think that is very likely. Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Maebea]

Getting a MS while in med school is like pissing your pants while wearing dark trousers: it will give you a good, warm feeling, but almost no one else will notice. That being said, I think you should go ahead and do it since you seem to love research. Even if it does not lead to anything more career-wise, it will allow you to do something your really like with a minimum of inconvenience. (Your next chance to pursue a passion fulltime for a year will be about 45 years from now, when you retire.)

 

[chajjohnson]

Thanks for that perspective (and analogy). Do you think the year off (and corresponding year off of making physician $) would be enough of a financial burden to not do it? And do residency AdComs really not look more favorably on Master's level research vs. doing a little research in the summers between med school?

 

[gutonc]

Thanks for that perspective (and analogy). Do you think the year off (and corresponding year off of making physician $) would be enough of a financial burden to not do it? And do residency AdComs really not look more favorably on Master's level research vs. doing a little research in the summers between med school?

When it comes to research in residency apps, there's a PhD and there's everything else. From a month-long elective in your uncle's lab to a Master's degree, they're all basically the same.

Maebea's analogy is spot on but left out the part where you'll eventually get cold and uncomfortable (the year or 2 behind you'll be without much to show for it).

If you want to spend a year or 2 doing some research because it's something you think will be fun/awesome/interesting then go for it. If you want to use it to improve your residency chances either do a PhD or just skip it.

 

[ratherbefishing]

It won't hurt. What do you want to go into? Many of the very competitive residencies look for some research component. You might be able to snag an HHMI or Doris Duke fellowship between second and third year.

Remember that you'll probably get a research year somewhere in residency if you need to scratch that itch.

 

[chajjohnson]

If I had to choose right now I'd choose Neurology, but I haven't seen many specialties in action. I've heard that doing research during residency is a much better choice than doing it during medical school (as you're getting payed to do it). I haven't been able to find much info on getting into research during residency. Do you typically take a full year off of hospital stuff to do research, or is it integrated into clinical time? Does researching during residency somewhat limit you to clinical research?