Actually DOING research while in M1?

[greekmuse06]

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Hello everyone! I'm an M1 who has done 3 yrs of my PhD so far. (Concurrently enrolled in the MD and PhD programs at my school, not MSTP.) My school is very flexible on its regulations as to how the MD/PhD students can divide up their years in MD and PhD, as we MD/PhDs are few and far between. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or comments on how to schedule my research into my M1/M2 life.

I'm sure that I will get bombarded by people yelling at me saying I'm an idiot/egomaniac for thinking I can do both. I'm not in anyway convinced that I'll be able to do any research until classes let out for summer. However, I'm sure that there have been MD/Phd's who have done it before successfully. Also, I think that trying to fit research into medical school would be a breeze compared to keeping a healthy family life for those students who are married.

Anyway, just wanted to put out a line and see if anyone had any thoughts, advice, or success stories.

 

[bd4727]

Hello everyone! I'm an M1 who has done 3 yrs of my PhD so far. (Concurrently enrolled in the MD and PhD programs at my school, not MSTP.) My school is very flexible on its regulations as to how the MD/PhD students can divide up their years in MD and PhD, as we MD/PhDs are few and far between. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or comments on how to schedule my research into my M1/M2 life.

I'm sure that I will get bombarded by people yelling at me saying I'm an idiot/egomaniac for thinking I can do both. I'm not in anyway convinced that I'll be able to do any research until classes let out for summer. However, I'm sure that there have been MD/Phd's who have done it before successfully. Also, I think that trying to fit research into medical school would be a breeze compared to keeping a healthy family life for those students who are married.

Anyway, just wanted to put out a line and see if anyone had any thoughts, advice, or success stories.

I know a few MD-only kids in my class who did "research" during the year but I think it wasn't very intense, and certainly not on the level of PhD work. They would spend some afternoons toward the begining and middle of the block in the lab. Not sure how productive you can be, but you could put some time in and not have it take away from school too much, it seems. But in terms of a PhD, I am not sure you would be getting enough out of it to make it worth it.

 

[Inuranic]

I would just focus on killing M1/M2. I'm not sure how your program works, but I know most of us do the med school - PhD - med school routine, which lets us focus on one massive undertaking at a time.

Excelling at one is (arguably) better than being mediocre at both.

 

[URHere]

I'm doing research concurrently with my MS2 year at the moment. Personally, I think that substantial research is definitely doable (I am in lab about 20 hours/week)...although if your project isn't flexible and non-time sensitive, it could be a real hassle.

Just a few thoughts:
-You can do real research on the level of an undergrad thesis or research rotation, but if you are already 3 years into your PhD, you may not have enough time to really do the work you need to do.
-You will probably end up working some nights and weekends. You will most likely be bitter about it.
-If your medical school is anything like mine, random requirements and time commitments will pop up when you don't expect them. If your PI understands this, you will be alright. If they aren't the understanding type, expect scheduling to be a nightmare.
-People will constantly tell you that you are doing something stupid. Don't believe them unless your research or program grades start to suffer. No two people are the same - don't decide against it just because someone else wouldn't do it.

Above all else, I would suggest asking yourself how many hours you would need to put in to be truly productive...and then honestly decide if you have that many hours available to give. If your answer is no, then don't do it. If your answer is yes...and you can deal with the downsides, then go for it.