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- Jul 12, 2005
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Hi all,
I recently joined the forums upon recommendation of a friend, and I must say SDN is an invaluable resource for us Pre-Meds due to the flood of misinformation out there. I was wondering if you guys might be able to provide some input on a problem I'm having in applying to med schools. I have been blessed (or cursed?) with great experiences in both research and medicine.
I am getting my undergraduate honors thesis in a nationally renowned HHMI genetics lab and will probably be able to get my results published in a journal (my PI's name carries a LOT of weight). I've grown to love research and I could definitely see myself working as a researcher.
However, I also am definitely interested in clinical medicine. I've done several different shadowing stints and am love the idea of the doctor-patient relationship. I have been regularly shadowing a pediatric surgeon at our local children's hospital (one of the top ten in the nation) and today she told me that I have great potential in clinical medicine. I love interacting with kids and would throughly enjoy working in peds. I definitely want to be a doctor that does clinic. The main appeal of medicine for me is patient interaction, being able to use my science knowledge to help better the health of patients.
Thus, herein lies my problem. Every time I leave the lab, I know I want to do quality research work. Every time I leave the hospital, I know I have to be a doctor that maintains significant patient contact. Logically, this would seem to point to a dual degree but the problem is I don't have an inclination for one field over the other and I know it would be extremely hard for me to do 50/50.
Am I wanting too much here? I want to be able to do quality research. But I also want to be an excellent physician, that is, one that is able to do clinic regularly and work with new techniques in medicine. Is this even possible? Should I go for the two in the beginning and see how it turns out?
It isn't the time or effort required that worries me the most, it's that I don't want to feel like my education for one or the other was wasted. Should I be happy to compromise or just pick one? I'm afraid of going MSTP and then backing out, I would feel guitly about taking someone else's spot and I generally hate quitting.
Sorry for the blocks of questions there. Any help would be highly appreciated. Thanks.
Best,
Teresa
I recently joined the forums upon recommendation of a friend, and I must say SDN is an invaluable resource for us Pre-Meds due to the flood of misinformation out there. I was wondering if you guys might be able to provide some input on a problem I'm having in applying to med schools. I have been blessed (or cursed?) with great experiences in both research and medicine.
I am getting my undergraduate honors thesis in a nationally renowned HHMI genetics lab and will probably be able to get my results published in a journal (my PI's name carries a LOT of weight). I've grown to love research and I could definitely see myself working as a researcher.
However, I also am definitely interested in clinical medicine. I've done several different shadowing stints and am love the idea of the doctor-patient relationship. I have been regularly shadowing a pediatric surgeon at our local children's hospital (one of the top ten in the nation) and today she told me that I have great potential in clinical medicine. I love interacting with kids and would throughly enjoy working in peds. I definitely want to be a doctor that does clinic. The main appeal of medicine for me is patient interaction, being able to use my science knowledge to help better the health of patients.
Thus, herein lies my problem. Every time I leave the lab, I know I want to do quality research work. Every time I leave the hospital, I know I have to be a doctor that maintains significant patient contact. Logically, this would seem to point to a dual degree but the problem is I don't have an inclination for one field over the other and I know it would be extremely hard for me to do 50/50.
Am I wanting too much here? I want to be able to do quality research. But I also want to be an excellent physician, that is, one that is able to do clinic regularly and work with new techniques in medicine. Is this even possible? Should I go for the two in the beginning and see how it turns out?
It isn't the time or effort required that worries me the most, it's that I don't want to feel like my education for one or the other was wasted. Should I be happy to compromise or just pick one? I'm afraid of going MSTP and then backing out, I would feel guitly about taking someone else's spot and I generally hate quitting.
Sorry for the blocks of questions there. Any help would be highly appreciated. Thanks.
Best,
Teresa