Applying to specialties with unrelated MD/PhD research

[langwang3]

Suppose after clerkships an MD/PhD student figures out that they are interested in a specialty not common for MD/PhDs to go into and unrelated to their PhD research. For example lets say they did computational neuroscience research for the PhD and would like to go into derm or orthopedics. How would residency programs at top academic institutions view their PhD? Would the PhD still help for matching into a top program?

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[StIGMA]

Depends if you plan to continue research. If not, then the PhD doesn’t really matter.

If you plan to continue research, then discuss how your PhD training will help you do that. It is still helpful in this case.

 

[Ludwig2000]

Agree with above in that a lot of PhD level research skills transfer to other topics (things like experimental design, data analysis, figure making and manuscript writing transcend any one field).

I would also argue that even if you don’t really want to do research in the future, having survived a PhD speaks to other things like being a self-starter, resilience, trouble-shooting that are strengths you can talk about and will be recognized as such. Although I would probably recommend being open to research of some sort down the line because if you get really into something like ortho there’s still something you can bring to the academic table even if it’s not bench research in the future. Maybe bench-press research AM I RITE LOLOL

 

[SurfingDoctor]

Suppose after clerkships an MD/PhD student figures out that they are interested in a specialty not common for MD/PhDs to go into and unrelated to their PhD research. For example lets say they did computational neuroscience research for the PhD and would like to go into derm or orthopedics. How would residency programs at top academic institutions view their PhD? Would the PhD still help for matching into a top program?

Yes, your PhD helps. If you can translate some aspect of it into your overall career goals related to that speciality, even better, but the fact that you have a PhD when most applicants don’t, irrespective of the field of your PhD, is a tremendous leg up.

 

[JETER]

In general, If you know for sure what field you want to end up in (and especially for fields as competitive as ortho/derm), then I would strongly recommend you try to do your PhD in a related area. If that is not possible, then at least find someone who does very basic research. For example, a CS/EE PhD is more broadly applicable to many fields than a PhD studying the nuances of bioinformatics in neurology, etc. And yes, a related PhD is certainly an advantage in competitive fields. An unrelated PhD may be viewed as just a peculiarity, particularly in the less cerebral fields (i.e., ortho).

BTW, there is a lot of computational research done in Ortho, perhaps more than any other surgical specialty. Not sure about derm.

 

[Seihai]

I'm surprised as to the lack of computational derm that you've found - it's got a LOT of potential data that can be used, and I know of some projects that are trying to use images of lesions to diagnose or at least unravel the pathology of some conditions.

Man against machine: AI is better than dermatologists at diagnosing skin cancer

Researchers have shown for the first time that a form of artificial intelligence or machine learning known as a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) is better than experienced dermatologists at detecting skin cancer.

www.sciencedaily.com

I think that it can be harder to find such research, but it's certainly not impossible. Even if there's no one working on that specific field, you can almost always propose a collaboration to find a way to rope that research in (computational work and bioinformatics is one of those fields that is so incredibly versatile that it's less finding a relation and more making one yourself).

 

[dienekes88]

Suppose after clerkships an MD/PhD student figures out that they are interested in a specialty not common for MD/PhDs to go into and unrelated to their PhD research. For example lets say they did computational neuroscience research for the PhD and would like to go into derm or orthopedics. How would residency programs at top academic institutions view their PhD? Would the PhD still help for matching into a top program?

I think publications are publications. If you produced during your time, it's good.

Separately, if you like a field, you should explore all the possibilities to enter it. There's nothing you can do about the papers you have already written. I wouldn't select a specialty purely based on your research if you don't actually want to do it.