Accepted! Question on my path forward in terms of med/business

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Ck212

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So I am in a very interesting position right now and I was hoping to get the advice of people who maybe are in a similar situation.

I have been very fortunate to be accepted to a few medical schools and medicine has clearly been a passion of mine for the past few years. I am very interested in the science of medicine and the more hands on clinical opportunities that are available (very interested in the more procedural specialities).

However, I am also extremely entrepreneurial minded and really envision my future career as starting a startup or working for a healthcare related company that tries to disrupt a sector of healthcare delivery or tech to secure positive outcomes for the public. This is definitely one of my interests in terms of future career and possibly taking on a more healthcare VC type role later on in my career.

My question is to anyone with a similar mindset. How should I attack medical school. Clearly right now my interests in terms of specialities lean towards some of the more competitive ones, therefore I definitely plan on studying extremely hard. However, with these interests I really would love to gain exposure to these healthcare related fields and begin networking, etc.

I'm just curious to hear of anyone with stories of what they did during medical school to balance these interests and set themselves up for a potential alternative career path than a traditional MD degree + residency provides. At this moment I am just slightly confused because I know I am interested in medicine, I'm not sure if I am interested in fully practicing clinical medicine for my entire career, and I know I am interested in healthcare related entrepreneurship and possibly going the consulting route beforehand. I just want to make sure I can take advantage of any opportunities during med school that could set me up for an alternative career path if I choose to do so, but making sure I perform academically to not close any doors residency wise.

I'm going to a top 40 Med School that does not offer an MBA program but is in NYC

Any information on this matter, specific opportunities, programs, etc. would be greatly appreciated along with general advice! please feel free to PM me.

Tl;Dr -- interested in medicine and entrepreneurship. How/What opportunities are there for me in medical school to keep all options open and to learn more about the intersection between the two.

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So I am in a very interesting position right now and I was hoping to get the advice of people who maybe are in a similar situation.

I have been very fortunate to be accepted to a few medical schools and medicine has clearly been a passion of mine for the past few years. I am very interested in the science of medicine and the more hands on clinical opportunities that are available (very interested in the more procedural specialities).

However, I am also extremely entrepreneurial minded and really envision my future career as starting a startup or working for a healthcare related company that tries to disrupt a sector of healthcare delivery or tech to secure positive outcomes for the public. This is definitely one of my interests in terms of future career and possibly taking on a more healthcare VC type role later on in my career.

My question is to anyone with a similar mindset. How should I attack medical school. Clearly right now my interests in terms of specialities lean towards some of the more competitive ones, therefore I definitely plan on studying extremely hard. However, with these interests I really would love to gain exposure to these healthcare related fields and begin networking, etc.

I'm just curious to hear of anyone with stories of what they did during medical school to balance these interests and set themselves up for a potential alternative career path than a traditional MD degree + residency provides. At this moment I am just slightly confused because I know I am interested in medicine, I'm not sure if I am interested in fully practicing clinical medicine for my entire career, and I know I am interested in healthcare related entrepreneurship and possibly going the consulting route beforehand. I just want to make sure I can take advantage of any opportunities during med school that could set me up for an alternative career path if I choose to do so, but making sure I perform academically to not close any doors residency wise.

I'm going to a top 40 Med School that does not offer an MBA program but is in NYC

Any information on this matter, specific opportunities, programs, etc. would be greatly appreciated along with general advice! please feel free to PM me.

Tl;Dr -- interested in medicine and entrepreneurship. How/What opportunities are there for me in medical school to keep all options open and to learn more about the intersection between the two.

I was thinking the same thing as you once upon a time. Actually almost went through with a start up, but decided to not delay medical school graduation. The best thing to do IMO is to go through school with an open mind and if you still feel like doing entrepreneurial stuff during 3rd year, then pick a short and flexible specialty. The best option right now is probably Emergency Medicine due to the high hourly pay and short residency. Anes and radiology are also doable but those tracks are longer.

As far as wanting to do VC and getting into start-ups: these are all possible, but why would you want to spend 7-8 years of your life learning something and then transition out, when you can just get an MBA from a better institution for 2 years? You do have more experience as a physician, but you won't have the connections and your MBA will have already been completed 4-5 years prior to working as an attending.

If you want to combine the two, it may be a good idea to at least work as a physician at least part time while getting your start up or business started. I will be working in my specialty and do some business/start up stuff in the future, but the VC game is probably out.
 
So I am in a very interesting position right now and I was hoping to get the advice of people who maybe are in a similar situation.

I have been very fortunate to be accepted to a few medical schools and medicine has clearly been a passion of mine for the past few years. I am very interested in the science of medicine and the more hands on clinical opportunities that are available (very interested in the more procedural specialities).

However, I am also extremely entrepreneurial minded and really envision my future career as starting a startup or working for a healthcare related company that tries to disrupt a sector of healthcare delivery or tech to secure positive outcomes for the public. This is definitely one of my interests in terms of future career and possibly taking on a more healthcare VC type role later on in my career.

My question is to anyone with a similar mindset. How should I attack medical school. Clearly right now my interests in terms of specialities lean towards some of the more competitive ones, therefore I definitely plan on studying extremely hard. However, with these interests I really would love to gain exposure to these healthcare related fields and begin networking, etc.

I'm just curious to hear of anyone with stories of what they did during medical school to balance these interests and set themselves up for a potential alternative career path than a traditional MD degree + residency provides. At this moment I am just slightly confused because I know I am interested in medicine, I'm not sure if I am interested in fully practicing clinical medicine for my entire career, and I know I am interested in healthcare related entrepreneurship and possibly going the consulting route beforehand. I just want to make sure I can take advantage of any opportunities during med school that could set me up for an alternative career path if I choose to do so, but making sure I perform academically to not close any doors residency wise.

I'm going to a top 40 Med School that does not offer an MBA program but is in NYC

Any information on this matter, specific opportunities, programs, etc. would be greatly appreciated along with general advice! please feel free to PM me.

Tl;Dr -- interested in medicine and entrepreneurship. How/What opportunities are there for me in medical school to keep all options open and to learn more about the intersection between the two.

Hey Ck212, I am in a similar position to you. I was accepted to SUNY Downstate this cycle (2016). However, I am interested in startups and businesses that I believe will have a longer and deeper lasting impact in the long term as compared to a traditional MD degree and residency. I have some computer science background and I was thinking of learning it on the side while in school. I am also thinking of drafting an admissions deferral to study CSE for a year and pursue that. Maybe a deferral is in the cards?

Also, I think it's helpful to use sites like Quora to ask this question (a lot of computer/startup/entreps). Or use LinkedIn to find people with MD degrees but don't practice medicine. There are quite a few people like this who have dropped out of prestigious schools like Stanford and Harvard before residency to do consulting.... or something. I should also take my own advice and do some hands-on research like this. If I learn anything about their thoughts I'll post it here.
 
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