Benefit of having an MD

[BusinessAndMedicine]

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I have and still do toy with the idea of leaving clinical medicine and was wondering about how differently someone is treated/viewed if they never did any PGYs vs completed a residency and became board-certified.

I went into residency after medical school and figure I will finish because it isn't too bad and I don't have any alternative plans in the works at this moment. Will I be more competitive as an applicant than someone who only did medical school?

Having already finished a large portion of my residency I have not only learned a lot about clinical medicine but also about how a hospital works and work flows. Comparatively, I knew very little about clinical medicine or how a hospital functions at the end of medical school and am surprised that these people would be highly sought after. Is it just because of the initials as I can't think of a solid skill set or unique knowledge that they bring to the table?

I'm not trying to bash med students and wasn't a bad student myself. I just don't think that medical teaches you much besides a foundation to learn clinical medicine and navigate (poorly) a clinic/hospital.

 

[eteshoe]

From what I've been told, you're more useful once you've finished residency (since the MD degree by itself w/o actual medical training doesn't really make one a medical expert). Not sure about board certification, but it can't hurt. Though I guess this depends on what you want to do once you leave clinical medicine.

 

[OxToCA]

That depends on what you want to do, I suppose. What is it you're interested in doing?

 

[BusinessAndMedicine]

That depends on what you want to do, I suppose. What is it you're interested in doing?

That is a fantastic question. I don't really have a solid answer. It's more an aversion to clinical medicine than a strong draw to business.

 

[OxToCA]

That is a fantastic question. I don't really have a solid answer. It's more an aversion to clinical medicine than a strong draw to business.

Well, which of the following is the most interesting to you? Healthcare management, health tech/biotech, pharmaceuticals, academics, consulting, etc? You could do a fellowship tailored to at least 3 of those, I believe; doing so may be a good decision based on what I've seen on the specialty forums. Everyone seems to think that medicine is changing.

RIP to Prince (my avatar) who passed away a day or so after I replied, above.