combined M.D/J.D. programs

[lekeishad]

I am currently applying for admittance to medical school for the class of 2003. I am very interested in combined programs especially the M.D./J.D. program because I was also interested in law while in undergrad. If anyone is currently in the combined program or have the same interest as I please give me some feed back. I would really like to know if the combined degree is worth it? I have already completed alot of research about the programs but I really want to hear from someone who knows someone in the program or someone who is also interested like me.

Need some help,
LeKeisha

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[relatively prime]

Go to ... this website of aamc they have a list. I was interested in it for a time as well... but lost iterest when I e-mail a few professors and they told me it was pointless.

 

[BushBaby]

I agree with relative...i was told something similar (not worth it) about the MD/JD degree and that a MD/JS (masters in jurisprudence) would serve the better purpose, and will only take an additional year earn.

But if you are really interested in the MD/JD then go for it....UMDNJ has a program for MD/JD and MD/JS.

 

[Street Philosopher]

I was also under the impression that it wasn't such a good idea. You can always get your JD after medical school (or vice versa).

 

[gower]

What do you mean by "worth it?" What benefits do you expect to have and use from having both degrees?

It may well be worth it for some and not for others.

The same question could be asked about MD/PhD, MD/MPH.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

yale has an MD/JD program..use it to go into powerful law, or heck, just use the JD, and get the MD for fun. Make more $$ that way =D

 

[Adcadet]

I had a classmate getting her MPH in epidemiology after getting her JD and working CABG medical malpractice for a few years. But she dropped it after a year once she saw how much income she was loosing.

I also have many classmates who are MDs and are getting their MPH. Some are established physicians, a few are residents, some are fellows, and a few are med students. To each his/her own.

But I really can't understand why people do the MD/JD. If you need someone to testify about something, hire an MD. If you just need to understand some medical subject matter, hire somebody to explain it to you or just take a few courses or just learn it on your own.

 

[Ronny]

How do you plan to balance a life as a physician and as a lawyer?

Law school is easy to get in to. You could always do that later if you wanted to change your career.

 

[exigente chica]

Originally posted by Ronny
How do you plan to balance a life as a physician and as a lawyer?

Law school is easy to get in to. You could always do that later if you wanted to change your career.

Actually it's not that easy to get into. For the MD/Jd porgram they require average 161 on the LSAT and only 24 on the MCAT(most programs)..so more emphasis is put on the LSAT then MCAT..and the gpa was only lie.3.6

 

[DW]

Originally posted by exigente chica


Actually it's not that easy to get into. For the MD/Jd porgram they require average 161 on the LSAT and only 24 on the MCAT(most programs)..so more emphasis is put on the LSAT then MCAT..and the gpa was only lie.3.6

you're right, but i think Ronny meant law school by itself is easy to get into, which is true more or less, and you could do it later on after residency or whatever. There are some extended 5 year part time programs where you could work and go to law school at some schools. Getting into a good law school is hard, but getting into a middle tier law school is not at all.

 

[Thewonderer]

Originally posted by exigente chica


Actually it's not that easy to get into. For the MD/Jd porgram they require average 161 on the LSAT and only 24 on the MCAT(most programs)..so more emphasis is put on the LSAT then MCAT..and the gpa was only lie.3.6

Having a requirement of 24 on the MCAT does not mean much because good luck getting into a med school (i.e. straight MD program) even with a 28 on the MCAT.

161 on LSAT should not be too hard to get. You gotta understand that many people take the LSAT have GPA's less than 3.0 and the scaring thing is that, they can still get into a law school somewhere in the US even if their GPA is 2.5 (some diploma mills). But most people who take MCAT would have GPA above 3.0 because with <3.0, most of the people would have been discouraged out of applying by their premed advisors. Therefore, the people you compete with on the MCAT and on the LSAT are quite different in terms of their college academic success.

 

[DarkChild]

but I think you still have to address the fundamental problem of what do you do with an MD/JD.
honestly JDs are a commodity now. on top of that it is one of those things which marginalizes you so much that if you decide to move out of law you cant really...
I think a much better idea would be an MD/MBA. the MBA gives you the clout to work in a range of fields - some of which arent even necessarily tied to "business" as we typically define it (hospital administration...)
I know a number of friends who went straight into law right out of school. and love em as I do - they were just using law school as a security blanket. I think you really need to get out into the work force and see what lawyers do on a day to day basis, and then you'll realize that it is FUGGIN boring!
you dont really have to believe me, but my tangential exposure to law runs the gambit from the super large corporate lawyers we work with to the family-esque law firm that my g/f works at.
think hard about law. there is a really great book out there:
"how to get into the top law programs"
the first two chapters are all about why law sucks and why most lawyers feel unfufilled.
for that reason alone it is worth getting.

 

[jot]

from what every doctor i have met tells me -

the first two chapters are all about why law sucks and why most lawyers feel unfufilled.

this is equally applicable to medical school. whatever works.