Any PhD/MDs or PhD/MDs-to-be?

[QofQuimica]

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I'm finishing my PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry and getting ready to apply for med. school for 2006. I'd love to hear from any of the rest of you who did a PhD and then went for your MD, are currently in this process now, or like me are planning to do it. What are your ultimate goals? Where did you attend med school/want to attend med school?

I am interested in anesthesiology research. This seems to be a field that is very chemistry-dependent and would be a natural choice for someone with a chemistry background. I've been shadowing a PhD/MD in anesthesiology, and he is including me on a clinical trial that he wants to run here. (We should be starting this spring; I'm really excited about this!) His PhD is actually in pharmacology, but I find that there is enough overlap between pharm and pharm. chem. that I have a fighting chance of understanding what he's doing!

I am not yet sure where I will be going to med school, since I won't be applying until June. I am interested in programs like Mayo, Stanford, and Yale that have required research components in their curriculums, because even though I'll already have a PhD, most of my research experience will be basic science, and in a science that is only tangentially related to medicine to boot. So I would like extra training in clinical research if possible.

 

[1Path]

What are your ultimate goals? Where did you attend med school/want to attend med school?

I'm working part-time on my PhD in Pathology and I'm also in a full-time research fellowship in Surgical Pathology/Urologic Oncology.

Next years plans? Not sure yet. I'm retaking the MCAT to be competitive for top pathology programs.

Plan A) I've got one 1st author paper down and if I can get the research done for what will be a second paper before my fellowship ends next August, I'll stick with the PhD and apply to med school in about 3 years when I expect to be wrapping up my dissertation. The school I currently attend will be my first choice since I would have already completed a few courses in the medical school curriculum.

Plan B) Matriculate in PhD full-time Fall 2005, and apply to MD/PhD rogram for 2006.

Plan C) Rearrange my goals depending on what life throws at me!

I'm looking foward to a research career in Surgical Pathology with a speciality in Renal and Gyn pathology. Unfortunately, this is going to limit me a great deal as there aren't many places where you can do a post residency fellowship in renal pathology.

 

[Gut Shot]

I received my PhD in 2001 in experimental pathology. I started medical school a few weeks later at an urban med school not known for its research. Having done the PhD thing, I wanted to use med school to learn medicine (what a novel idea), although I have a little basic science research project that I tend to. My goal has been to specialize in pathology, and I'm currently interviewing for residency.

My experience has been great overall. It was a total a$$kicker to take anatomy with no previous coursework in that subject, but the memorization got easier. It is also amusing to see many of my colleagues (who invariably went straight from undergrad to med school) in perpetual freakout mode. I simply did my work, and at the end of the day let the chips fall. It seems to have worked out well, as I've gotten interview offers from some competitive programs (UCLA, Wash U, etc.).

From reading your post, I would infer that you have a typical outlook for someone in a PhD program who is interested in med school, in that you are potentially overemphasizing research as a component of your MD training. You will have a PhD, for God's sake, give it a rest for awhile. Med school will have you busier than a one-armed paper hanger, so don't limit yourself to a few schools. I gravitated towards my school because it has the sickest patient population and a reputation for hands-on education. Believe me, there will be ample opportunity to do a little research no matter where you go. If you're still so smitten with research as a career, worry about it when you're looking into residency programs, since residency is really your apprenticeship and your opportunity to segue into an academics (if that is your goal).

 

[QofQuimica]

From reading your post, I would infer that you have a typical outlook for someone in a PhD program who is interested in med school, in that you are potentially overemphasizing research as a component of your MD training. You will have a PhD, for God's sake, give it a rest for awhile. Med school will have you busier than a one-armed paper hanger, so don't limit yourself to a few schools. I gravitated towards my school because it has the sickest patient population and a reputation for hands-on education. Believe me, there will be ample opportunity to do a little research no matter where you go. If you're still so smitten with research as a career, worry about it when you're looking into residency programs, since residency is really your apprenticeship and your opportunity to segue into an academics (if that is your goal).

That's true. But I have the impression that clinical research is very different than chemistry research; even the way the papers are written is very different. It's heavily statistics-based, for example. And maybe there IS something of a comfort factor there. I am planning to apply to about 8 or 10 schools, which I think is a reasonable number based on my budget and time but still allowing for a variety of schools. Thanks for your input and congrats on the residencies.

 

[scrappysurfer]

give a go applying to cleveland clinic. its a 5-year prog with one year research (subsidized), very hands on, and you could use that year to get acquainted with clinical research. not to mention the school is small and in a world famous surgery center. the one-on-one attention there is unbelievable

That's true. But I have the impression that clinical research is very different than chemistry research; even the way the papers are written is very different. It's heavily statistics-based, for example. And maybe there IS something of a comfort factor there. I am planning to apply to about 8 or 10 schools, which I think is a reasonable number based on my budget and time but still allowing for a variety of schools. Thanks for your input and congrats on the residencies.

 

[QofQuimica]

give a go applying to cleveland clinic. its a 5-year prog with one year research (subsidized), very hands on, and you could use that year to get acquainted with clinical research. not to mention the school is small and in a world famous surgery center. the one-on-one attention there is unbelievable

It's funny you say that; I just received a brochure from them in the mail a couple of weeks ago. 😛 It sounds like a great program. Do you go there? If so, would you please PM me and tell me more about your experience there?

 

[theprizefighter]

Hello, QofQuimica

I got into CCLM but didn't go becaue it was too new (i.e. lots of bugs to iron out) and their financial support wasn't very good. Only several Full tuition support scholarships are available to students, leaving the rest to shoulder the 50K+ of studying medicine and living in Cleveland. Those are the facts.

Rumor and Hearsay: I've heard the Mayo Clinic has more money for it's students and that Cleveland Clinic students won't actually do their clinical rotations at the Cleveland Clinic; rather, they'll be doing them at Case Western Hospitals. Given the superspecialized nature of the Clinic (they were building a 500 bed hospital just for heart problems when I was there) and their prior lack of teaching their own medical students, your purposed might not we well served their. Then again, it is the Cleavland f---ing Clinic, a fact that was pounded into my head many times during my visits there.

 

[PsychStudent]

Hi everyone! I know that this forum is geared towards the biomedical sciences, but I thought I'd chime in because I'm also a PhD student thinking about getting an MD. After going from a crappy public high school to very competitive/prestigious university, I was too intimidated to take hard sciences in college; instead I took almost every psychology class my school offered but never considered pursuing psychiatry over psychology. Now I'm wondering whether I should have gone the former route since I'm increasingly interested in the brain, psychopharmacology, and outcomes research. I'm equally interested in research and clinical work, and I'd really like to treat the whole patient instead of being limited to psychotherapy.

I'm not really sure how to go about exploring medicine except by taking some pre-med classes, so I'm probably going to talk to my advisor about fitting bio into my schedule in the summer or next year (I think it's too late this year since it's a full-year class). Does anyone have any advice for me about trying to figure out whether I want to pursue an MD in the future? Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Gut Shot]

But I have the impression that clinical research is very different than chemistry research; even the way the papers are written is very different. It's heavily statistics-based, for example.

It is a common misconception that virtually all clinical research is pharmaceutical trials and cohort studies. I personally find clinical and translational research to be just as rich and varied as basic science. For instance, on my residency interview trail I had the good fortune to meet Kevin Rosenblatt and Diego Castrillon at UTSW, who are doing fascinating work:

http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept146133/files/184618.html

Just my two cents.

 

[Gut Shot]

Does anyone have any advice for me about trying to figure out whether I want to pursue an MD in the future? Thanks so much for your help!

Like any other career, you won't ever really know what it's like being a physician until you become one, and by then it's too late to turn around. Shadowing is always advisable. Aside from that, why not just do what I did, and take the MCAT? If you do well then consider moving forward. If not then go forth with your PhD and be happy.

 

[PsychStudent]

I'm not sure it's advisable to take the MCAT without having taken pre-med classes. 🙂 I would have to do post-bacc in order to apply to med school. How do most people get shadowing opportunities, just by contacting physicians in the area?

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm not sure it's advisable to take the MCAT without having taken pre-med classes. 🙂 I would have to do post-bacc in order to apply to med school. How do most people get shadowing opportunities, just by contacting physicians in the area?

Yup. I literally just looked a guy up on the internet, wrote him an email, and now I've got a doc to shadow. I picked him b/c he was an MD/PhD, he'd gotten individual degrees like I'm doing, and his PhD was in a field close to mine. It worked out really well. Give it a try.

 

[QofQuimica]

Hello, QofQuimica

I got into CCLM but didn't go becaue it was too new (i.e. lots of bugs to iron out) and their financial support wasn't very good. Only several Full tuition support scholarships are available to students, leaving the rest to shoulder the 50K+ of studying medicine and living in Cleveland. Those are the facts.

Rumor and Hearsay: I've heard the Mayo Clinic has more money for it's students and that Cleveland Clinic students won't actually do their clinical rotations at the Cleveland Clinic; rather, they'll be doing them at Case Western Hospitals. Given the superspecialized nature of the Clinic (they were building a 500 bed hospital just for heart problems when I was there) and their prior lack of teaching their own medical students, your purposed might not we well served their. Then again, it is the Cleavland f---ing Clinic, a fact that was pounded into my head many times during my visits there.

Thanks for the insight. I'm interested in Mayo as well, but they are very small and take so few people, so I don't want to have my heart set on going there. What other schools did you apply to, Prizefighter?

 

[theprizefighter]

Hello, QofQuimica

Sorry for the long wait.

I got into:

1. Pitt

2. Case and CCLM

3. GW and Georgetown

4. Medical College of Virginia

5. Temple

6. Emory

7. Northwestern

I interviewed but did not get into: Yale, Univeristy of Miami, and Duke.

 

[QofQuimica]

wow, congrats on all of those acceptances. What made you pick Pitt over the others?