Biomedical engineering PhD / M.D. (I have some questions)

[Chamahk]

I just recently discovered the PhD/M.D. combination program. I'm very interested in pursuing one for biomedical engineering (PhD) / M.D.

My questions are:
With a biomedical engineering PhD/M.D. would I be able to work as a doctor more than I do research? I read one of the threads where people were telling the OP that it has to be 80:20 meaning the OP has to decide where he wants to focus more of his time being a doc or researching. I don't really want to focus on research even though I wont mind. With biomedical engineering, I'll be more interested in working as an engineer than doing research

It seems that many people are saying to stay away from the PhD/M.D. program because it's not worth it or it's too consuming etc., going into a new year and all, how's the PhD/M.D. program looking for the future?

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[SBR249]

If you want to work as a doctor more than doing research, then an MD/PhD program is probably not for you. When people say 80/20, they generally mean 80% research, 20% clinical practice. And that's really what the intent behind the MD/PhD track is, to fund you for 8 years of training so that you won't have debt to pay back when you graduate so that you can focus on the non-lucrative research career.

As for the second question, I'm now confused. So you want to be a doctor, be an engineer, and do research?

 

[K31]

With a biomedical engineering PhD/M.D. would I be able to work as a doctor more than I do research? I read one of the threads where people were telling the OP that it has to be 80:20 meaning the OP has to decide where he wants to focus more of his time being a doc or researching. I don't really want to focus on research even though I wont mind. With biomedical engineering, I'll be more interested in working as an engineer than doing research

I think you are confused about the point of the MD/PhD combined degree. The goal of these programs is to train their students to conduct medical research. Having both degrees can give you a different perspective from those who just have one, as well as a unique set of skills.

The "ideal" career, from the perspective of MD/PhD programs, is working as an academic physician and spending most of your time running a productive lab. This is true for those graduates with a PhD in bioengineering as well as those with a PhD in more traditional fields (cell bio, neuroscience, etc.)

It is not training you to be a part-time physician and part-time engineer, but rather for a career combining the two.

 

[Chamahk]

I see. Thanks for the clearance, guys. I guess I misunderstood the program.

 

[erikreinertsen]

MD/PhD's who focus on BME are suited to utilizing engineering approaches to solving biomedical problems, i.e. using engineering skills for research.

I guess I could go on but it would be easier for me to just ask: what do you think is the difference between engineering and research?

And as for your focus, what do you want to do? Research in academia, work in the BME industry, or help patients?