Accepted and having second thoughts

[R6WR]

First time posting, but I've been a guest viewer on SDN for quite some time. I was accepted into med school and now I'm starting to have some second thoughts. I'm a nontraditional student. I have my MPH and really enjoy public health. Originally I thought about a PhD in epi, but decided on applying to med school based on the job opportunities. If I went PhD, I thought I would work in academia, and sometimes job opportunities can be limited.

Since I've been accepted, I've started really questioning if this is the right career path for me. I love public health and research, and have always thought with my MD I would work in academic medicine. As I'm starting to look at the realities of med school/residency, I'm thinking it's not the best path for me. My dad and brother are physicians, so I have an idea of what med school and physician work/life is. I'm still going to be limited in opportunities trying to find a position in academic medicine doing some public health/epi research, and I know I wouldn't be happy working as a full-time clinician. I'm starting to think maybe working using my MPH for a couple years and then going PhD would be the better option.

Any thoughts?

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[Aubrey Graham]

Other side is greener? You won't find ur answers on sdn...can u delay acceptance for a year?

 

[kanda1o]

Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

 

[Just1voice]

Become an MD/PHD. Get your PHD in global health, epidemiology, or statistics.

Pay no tuition. Work in academia, government, consulting, or medicine. Don't do a residency (but you'll have the option to later on with your MD)

Physician scientist programs are fully funded. No debt and 2 degrees.

Just a thought.

 

[El-Rami]

I think you'd be a fool not to do M.D./Ph.D. You'd definitely be a fool to turn your own acceptance down in favor of applying for a Ph.D. program.

M.D./Ph.D. is 100% funded and gives a stipend. As a physician scientist, you don't have to rely on grant writing as much because you can subsidize your own research. You'll end up in a more flexible career that affords more job opportunities and potentially more job security than the other option that you described.

If you cannot transfer to M.D./Ph.D. from your M.D. program for whatever reason, you will still have an amazing career that still allows you to be taken seriously in the research world.

Drop M.D. and apply Ph.D., and it's a lose-lose. I believe many, if not most, Ph.D.s would rather be M.D./Ph.D.s.

 

[Goro]

Just go to med school already. All new endeavors are fraught with anxiety.

First time posting, but I've been a guest viewer on SDN for quite some time. I was accepted into med school and now I'm starting to have some second thoughts. I'm a nontraditional student. I have my MPH and really enjoy public health. Originally I thought about a PhD in epi, but decided on applying to med school based on the job opportunities. If I went PhD, I thought I would work in academia, and sometimes job opportunities can be limited.

Since I've been accepted, I've started really questioning if this is the right career path for me. I love public health and research, and have always thought with my MD I would work in academic medicine. As I'm starting to look at the realities of med school/residency, I'm thinking it's not the best path for me. My dad and brother are physicians, so I have an idea of what med school and physician work/life is. I'm still going to be limited in opportunities trying to find a position in academic medicine doing some public health/epi research, and I know I wouldn't be happy working as a full-time clinician. I'm starting to think maybe working using my MPH for a couple years and then going PhD would be the better option.

Any thoughts?

 

[jqueb29]

Anybody who has the chance to become an M.D. should take advantage of it

 

[seeinghowitgoes]

As somebody who also has a public health background, let me just say the MD is a much, much more versatile degree even if you wanted to do health services (or other public health) research in the future. Plus, understanding the healthcare system as somebody in the trenches and understanding disease processes uniquely informs public health work in a way most PhDs will not get. I'd go MD and then choose your career path (research, practicing, admin, etc) from there, but understand the apprehension and wish you the best.

 

[Spector1]

give us waitlisters a chance

 

[w0rldw3y3d]

.

 

[Salt Salt]

I truly do not understand your doubt, fear, anxiety, or whatever you are experiencing. You've been accepted to med school, and it's time to either **** or get off the pot plain and simple.

You can always do MD/MPH or just do MD and be an epidemiologist, or something. However, if you are already having doubts then maybe that is a sign.

1) If you're going to criticize the OP, at least bother to read their post. They already have an MPH.
2) Medical school is an incredibly long and difficult path. Therefore it's very naive to say "I truly do not understand your doubt, fear, anxiety, or whatever you are experiencing." Are you a premed? I assume so, in which case you should take a page out of OP's book and seriously weight the risks and benefits of medicine before you commit your life to it.


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[Salt Salt]

Anybody who has the chance to become an M.D. should take advantage of it

Disagree. Virtually anyone who has the chance to go to college has the chance to become an MD. Medicine is not for everyone.

Getting accepted to medical school isn't the sort of once-in-a-lifetime set-for-life jackpot that people think it is. It's a serious decision that should be considered carefully. Most people who apply will be accepted at some point. The question people should be asking is not "Can I get in?" but "Do I really want to make this life commitment?"


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[futuremdforme]

MD will give you the option of all the career paths you are considering, whereas a MPH+/-PhD will be limiting -- that's why you see so many MPH and PhD students who apply MD later on.

I get the anxiety, but if you want to work in a health related field, MD is the best way to open up those doors.

 

[Affiche]

Your anxiety and doubts started when you were accepted, so is it by chance the program you were accepted to that's making you second think your career path and not the career path itself? I could be off base here, but I'm wondering if you were aiming for a program that routinely funnels students into academic medicine and perhaps the program you're matriculating into isn't quite that?

I have spent a significant amount of time the past few months weighing the various pros and cons of different programs. Fortunately, US MD education is largely standardized and if you work your ass off and seek out the opportunities you desire, you can carve out your desired career out of a US MD program. Obviously there are limitations to this depending on what your desired career is, but if it's in public health I would not worry at all about an MD/MPH not getting you where you want to go. My best advice would be to discuss your concerns with your med school and see what they can offer. I had a significant concern about the global health and health policy opportunities lacking at my medical school and when I expressed these concerns to admissions (around the time of second look), they immediately put me in contact with faculty who are working in these areas. There are far more career opportunities available to us than are advertised and your medical school will want to help you access these opportunities, you just have to be communicative.

 

[takeurmeds02]

Disagree. Virtually anyone who has the chance to go to college has the chance to become an MD. Medicine is not for everyone.

Getting accepted to medical school isn't the sort of once-in-a-lifetime set-for-life jackpot that people think it is. It's a serious decision that should be considered carefully. Most people who apply will be accepted at some point. The question people should be asking is not "Can I get in?" but "Do I really want to make this life commitment?"


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I was looking for some reason in these comments.

@ OP Medical school isn't something to take lightly. You're wasting your golden years for a few letters behind your name if you're not invested in the field. Sure there may be certain opportunities open to you as previous posters have expressed but if you're passionate about public health, you'll find your own way without needing an MD.

 

[Just1voice]

OP, why did you want to go med school in the first place? If it's because your father and brother are doctors, then medicine is not for you.

What do you want to get out of your medical school experience? What are your career aspirations? What job/field do you see yourself being most happy?

I cannot imagine undergoing the harrowing process of applying only to turn down an acceptance. It's harder to be accepted as a re-applicant.

Look over your personal statements. Hopefully the answers are somewhere in those essays. You obviously convinced someone you were interested in medicine.

Really consider a MD/PhD since you are thinking about a PhD anyway. Reach out to professors in other departments at your admitted school. Explain your research interests. Try to gauge the feasibility of applying to a MD/PhD medical scientist program if your school offers one.

Perhaps you can defer for a year, get hired with your MPH, and gain fresh perspective.

Maybe you are burnt out. Did you work for a few years or did you attend the MPH program straight out of undergrad?

Many hungry wait-listers want your coveted spot. Turning down your acceptance is not a decision to make lightly. Nor should you attend because of family expectations.

Or SDN advice.

 

[w0rldw3y3d]

.

 

[kavorca]

Reread your personal statement and see if any of it is still/ever true.

 

[R6WR]

Thanks for all the feedback! I should have added a little more about myself. I've thought about MD/PhD, but I'm in my early 30's and adding on a few more year of school is a little daunting. I've had my MPH for a couple years, in that time I've worked part-time for a health department and have taught undergrad epidemiology and biostats courses. I really enjoy both the teaching I've done and the analysis I've done at the health department.

I think either decision I make will be a good one, which makes deciding that much harder. Clinical medicine is not what drove me to med school. I know I would enjoy interacting with patients, but it's not what I would want everyday. I really like looking at the big picture and trying to make large group level impacts. I'm going to talk to some different faculty I know (MDs, MD/PhDs, and PhDs) to try and get some more insight.