Career question...can I do this?

[HopefulDoc12]

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I posted this in the pre-allo forum as well, hoping to get advice from everyone: I know I’m not supposed to make up my mind on what I want to do post-med school before I even get accepted, but nevertheless, here are my questions:

I am a bit of a non-trad, I have an MPH and I am graduating with a masters in microbiology next month and applying to med school this coming cycle. I am extremely interested in infectious disease, as my masters work was in that, along with some public health work. My ultimate goal is to do an internal med residency and a fellowship in infectious disease and eventually get into a job involving biodefense/epidemiology/public health, perhaps at the CDC, but also practicing some ID on the side.

My question is two fold: Would attending a DO school hinder me (or make it much more difficult) from achieving this? I ask because although my GPA is good for MD, my MCAT (30) is on the low side.

Second question: I am considering applying for the national health service corps scholarship – this would require me to enter a primary care residency, which isn’t a big deal since I plan to anyway, but it would require me to work for 4 years before I could apply for an ID fellowship. Given the fact that I will not make great money in my ultimate job, I feel that this scholarship and the 4 year commitment would be worth it. The problem is would I be able (and competitive) to apply for ID fellowships after working for 4 years as an internist?

Thanks so much!

 

[cliquesh]

I think you'll be fine. In 2011, 75% (14 out of 19 applicants) of DOs applying for acgme infectious disease matched. I don't think any government job would care if you're an MD or DO.

There are 4 AOA ID fellowships. Most take 1 applicant per year.

I don't know about your second question. It is always easier to match directly out of training, but ID isn't too competitive, so I'm not sure.

By the way, Pathology followed a microbiology fellowship might be something up your alley.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Do what? Match into primary care? Be able to get a job? I don't understand what is being asked.

 

[kinzav]

Interesting post. I'm a Biodefense MS myself, and felt somewhat attracted to the infectious disease portions of medical school curriculums (but I'm mostly interested in primary care/emergency medicine), so I took note during my interviews. I think you'd have to work a little harder to find an alley to keep your infectious disease interests moving along at DO programs (ie research opportunities) but there are programs out there. I've attended interviews at CUSOM, RVU, WVSOM, VCOM VC, and KCOM, and though these schools didn't ask about my interest in infectious disease associated with my MS experience, VCOM VC had a portion of their curriculum (not sure if it was elective or not) where they prepared a biodefense scenario, which was cool. I was rejected there, but it seemed like a good program, showing at least an interest and investment by the faculty at the school. Alternatively, I attended interviews at Temple, USUHS, and GWU and each school was interested in my MS and whether infectious disease was an interest for me, which suggested they were interested in speaking about the strength of their programs in that specialty (though I hedged a lot because serving an underserved community has been my main goal). There are probably more opportunities in MD, but it's probably not a big issue to go the DO route. Also, as far as the NHSC, I don't know what the post grad issues are for physicians wanting to transition into specialties, but I did hear that the NHSC doesn't offer a full boat program. You get a lot, but the lack of a full ride and close to the same commitment as the HPSP (though vastly different work environments) turned me off a little.

 

[HopefulDoc12]

Do what? Match into primary care? Be able to get a job? I don't understand what is being asked.

I understand that matching into primary care is one of the "easier" routes. Primary care, as far as residency, has been my intention, as it would allow me to continue into an ID fellowship. My questions, if I wasn't specific enough, is how achievable it would be to graduate from a DO school and end up acquiring a fellowship in ID (as I've been told personally by a couple DOs that there are almost no DO ID fellowships), and whether it would affect my opportunities as far as biodefense/public health jobs are concerned.

 

[HopefulDoc12]

Interesting post. I'm a Biodefense MS myself, and felt somewhat attracted to the infectious disease portions of medical school curriculums (but I'm mostly interested in primary care/emergency medicine), so I took note during my interviews. I think you'd have to work a little harder to find an alley to keep your infectious disease interests moving along at DO programs (ie research opportunities) but there are programs out there. I've attended interviews at CUSOM, RVU, WVSOM, VCOM VC, and KCOM, and though these schools didn't ask about my interest in infectious disease associated with my MS experience, VCOM VC had a portion of their curriculum (not sure if it was elective or not) where they prepared a biodefense scenario, which was cool. I was rejected there, but it seemed like a good program, showing at least an interest and investment by the faculty at the school. Alternatively, I attended interviews at Temple, USUHS, and GWU and each school was interested in my MS and whether infectious disease was an interest for me, which suggested they were interested in speaking about the strength of their programs in that specialty (though I hedged a lot because serving an underserved community has been my main goal). There are probably more opportunities in MD, but it's probably not a big issue to go the DO route. Also, as far as the NHSC, I don't know what the post grad issues are for physicians wanting to transition into specialties, but I did hear that the NHSC doesn't offer a full boat program. You get a lot, but the lack of a full ride and close to the same commitment as the HPSP (though vastly different work environments) turned me off a little.

That is extremely interesting, since my ultimate goal is biodefense, but I am also interested in serving underserved communities, as my hometown is in one of those areas...(big difference in career goals I know). I researched the NHSC some and it pays full tuition, fees, and a monthly stipend for up to 4 years and requires a year of repayment for each year of funding in an underserved area. I am strongly considering this since I could be near family/my hometown for 4 years serving it back, I just wasn't sure how it would affect my chances at a fellowship since I wouldn't be able to apply for one for 4 years. Regardless, I have also considered the HPSP and I don't mind the military lifestyle, I'm just not sure if it would work out for my career goals. If you don't mind my asking, where did you do your biodefense MS? I'm considering that if I don't get in this cycle...

 

[kinzav]

That is extremely interesting, since my ultimate goal is biodefense, but I am also interested in serving underserved communities, as my hometown is in one of those areas...(big difference in career goals I know). I researched the NHSC some and it pays full tuition, fees, and a monthly stipend for up to 4 years and requires a year of repayment for each year of funding in an underserved area. I am strongly considering this since I could be near family/my hometown for 4 years serving it back, I just wasn't sure how it would affect my chances at a fellowship since I wouldn't be able to apply for one for 4 years. Regardless, I have also considered the HPSP and I don't mind the military lifestyle, I'm just not sure if it would work out for my career goals. If you don't mind my asking, where did you do your biodefense MS? I'm considering that if I don't get in this cycle...

George Mason University is where I got my MS. I'm not sure I would recommend it though. The intro courses are great (covers the CDC's major bacterial and viral diseases) but then it quickly devolves into a mish mash of disparate courses. I personally went for emergency-type courses, with emergency management, biosurveillance, and central intelligence theory, but some semesters I got stuck with international relations, global ethics, and some other political science oriented courses. Being in the Northern Virginia/DC area makes politics kind of a given for a program like this, for better or worse. If you can find an epidemiology graduate program or a microbiology program with an infectious disease pathway, I'd suggest that, but if you're looking for a half and half of light science coverage and light policy coverage (as in the biological weapons convention and the government bodies associated with it) then you'll really like GMU's program (but it keeps changing since it's new, so I might be totally wrong at this point). Good luck

 

[HopefulDoc12]

George Mason University is where I got my MS. I'm not sure I would recommend it though. The intro courses are great (covers the CDC's major bacterial and viral diseases) but then it quickly devolves into a mish mash of disparate courses. I personally went for emergency-type courses, with emergency management, biosurveillance, and central intelligence theory, but some semesters I got stuck with international relations, global ethics, and some other political science oriented courses. Being in the Northern Virginia/DC area makes politics kind of a given for a program like this, for better or worse. If you can find an epidemiology graduate program or a microbiology program with an infectious disease pathway, I'd suggest that, but if you're looking for a half and half of light science coverage and light policy coverage (as in the biological weapons convention and the government bodies associated with it) then you'll really like GMU's program (but it keeps changing since it's new, so I might be totally wrong at this point). Good luck

I'm actually graduating with my masters from Hopkins, so I feel like I've covered a lot of the biological and public health aspects, and I'd like to get some more of the policy-esque type experience. But I appreciate the insight and I will definitely look into it. Thanks again!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I understand that matching into primary care is one of the "easier" routes. Primary care, as far as residency, has been my intention, as it would allow me to continue into an ID fellowship. My questions, if I wasn't specific enough, is how achievable it would be to graduate from a DO school and end up acquiring a fellowship in ID (as I've been told personally by a couple DOs that there are almost no DO ID fellowships), and whether it would affect my opportunities as far as biodefense/public health jobs are concerned.

ID is not a competitive field. Outside of Cards, GI, Pulm and CC, all of Internal Med isn't very competitive. I don't know anything about biodefense jobs in particular, but there are a ton of DO in military and other government positions. Usually the government is better at treating MD and DO equally.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

...

Holy crap. I haven't seen Samurai Pizza Cats in YEARS.

 

[kinzav]

Holy crap. I haven't seen Samurai Pizza Cats in YEARS.

Was my morning cartoon of choice in elementary days