Conflicted about medical school or biotech career/phd

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naoise151

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So I was just curious because i'm being sort of "pulled" into 2 separate directions. I do really want to be a doctor-I especially enjoy patient interaction, have an interest towards surgery . BUT i also ended up really liking research. I did minor research in my undergrad institution but recently started some work in a biotech company. I'm also applying to a masters program right now for biotech and physiology programs with the intent of applying to med school after. But the biotech work has been eye opening and i do enjoy the sort of work i do and know that i would love it. the only thing that keeps me from completely committing to that career is the patient aspect/ possibly going into surgery. I also really enjoy learning about the human body so i know learning about the different systems , various conditions,etc,etc in medical school is something i would also really enjoy. what do i do now?
 
MD/PHD and research on implementing biotech into medicine while also working at a clinic?
 
MD/PHD and research on implementing biotech into medicine while also working at a clinic?
Yeah I’ve thought about that but I definitely don’t want to do both. Just a lot of Time and frankly not worth it for me
 
You can still do research as an MD. The whole cancer research department where I work is run by MDs who also do clinical work.


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Yeah I’ve thought about that but I definitely don’t want to do both. Just a lot of Time and frankly not worth it for me
Don't rule it out so quickly. I work with an MD/PhD who really gets to enjoy the best of both worlds. 1 clinic per week, 2 OR days per week, 2 research days per week. His lab is very basic science, has PhD candidates, a post doc, and undergrads, and he is able to do research that directly pertains to his clinical practice.
 
Don't rule it out so quickly. I work with an MD/PhD who really gets to enjoy the best of both worlds. 1 clinic per week, 2 OR days per week, 2 research days per week. His lab is very basic science, has PhD candidates, a post doc, and undergrads, and he is able to do research that directly pertains to his clinical practice.
That sounds pretty amazing but unfortunately I think I don’t have the stats to ever get accepted into a MDPhD program
 
You can still do research as an MD. The whole cancer research department where I work is run by MDs who also do clinical work.


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I just don’t want to get stuck in academia research so I’m not sure how possible it would be to work in industry and do clinical work ?
 
I just don’t want to get stuck in academia research so I’m not sure how possible it would be to work in industry and do clinical work ?
I think it's relatively straightforward. If you get a MPH or similar, which teaches biostatistics, in addition to an MD, I think that your skills would be quite marketable to a biotech company looking to run clinical trials on new pharmaceuticals . The MD/PhD people would be in discovery and development, while you would be closer toward implementation
 
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