I am really split between going for just M.D. or a combined M.D./Ph.D. program. Can someone please enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of either programs and the career paths and opportunities.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I also considered the time commitment: if you are female hoping to start a family, the 15 years required to obtain an MD/PhD is quite daunting. It's a little easier for males.
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What it ultimately came down to for me was the fact that I did not enjoy research enough to want to spend 4-5 years in a lab, I do want to have a family and it will be hard enough handling medical school alone, and lastly, I realized that if I want to do research, I can do it with an MD. There is so much flexibility and I'm sure I'll change my mind. Research is a required component to the fellowship years so I figure I will make up my mind then.
Thank you for your response. Were there any websites or books that you read to gather information?
I am really split between going for just M.D. or a combined M.D./Ph.D. program.
Thank you for your response. Were there any websites or books that you read to gather information?
Not to answer for the guy, but I think I might see where you're going with this and as far as I can tell, science does friggin' suck. In theory science is all about curiosity and being clever. In reality science is about accidentally spilling some buffer on your jeans and having some 135-pound pencilneck breathe fire at you in a lab meeting for it.
Not to answer for the guy, but I think I might see where you're going with this and as far as I can tell, science does friggin' suck. In theory science is all about curiosity and being clever. In reality science is about accidentally spilling some buffer on your jeans and having some 135-pound pencilneck breathe fire at you in a lab meeting for it.
To put this in perspective, it's two quarters since I finished that one year research project. I got eight units of credit for it. Yet, unlike the last eight units of upper division classes I took, I'm still tearing my now-prematurely-graying hair out over how to approach the dozen final drafts of my research paper.
This isn't even getting published, but every line of this entire freaking paper has half a dozen tiny nitpick corrections I have to make. When I say that "preliminary results show that (protein) is required for optimal (condition)," I get a little mark saying, "Under what conditions?"
...Under the conditions that you HAVE THE FREAKIN' PROTEIN. Knock down expression of that protein and (condition) is suboptimal. If there's something else you want to know about it, GO ASK THE FRIGGIN' POSTDOC because I DIDN'T RUN THOSE PRELIMINARIES. If you want THAT MUCH FRIGGIN' DETAIL then you should have had the postdoc co-write this glorified wad of kleenex with me. It's not like this is even getting published anyway, so what the heck does it even matter? Just give me my friggin' units and let me leave already.
Jesus.
A whole career of that? Nah, I'm good. Enjoying my youth under the crushing burden of student loans is still better to me than sacrificing my youth and being harried by some jackhole until I'm 30 just to get a free ride.
Go for it. I hope it works out for you.
but you generally need patience (a personality characteristic) to run ten million PCRs in a row.
Well Mr. Human, certain professions (and even specialties within medicine) tend to attract certain personality types.
I know you're a precious unique snowflake, and I can't generalize, but you generally need patience (a personality characteristic) to run ten million PCRs in a row.
It's not universal, of course and plenty of exceptions abound....