Difficult Situation..Reapply with MD acceptance?

[NewPatek]

Hi all,

I'm in a challenging position and am unsure of what to do. I applied in the 2019-2020 cycle to mostly MSTP programs and a small handful of MD. My MSTP interviews turned into 2 waitlists which, at this point, I have basically given up hope on. However, I did get an MD acceptance.
The challenge comes in that during the 19-20 cycle, I have realized that my passion truly lies with the dual degree and I don't feel that I would be satisfied with the MD program. The school I am accepted to does not have a well-established MD/PhD program for me to internally transfer into.

Would I be an idiot for turning down this acceptance?
Thanks!

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[deleted859689]

Hi all,

I'm in a challenging position and am unsure of what to do. I applied in the 2019-2020 cycle to mostly MSTP programs and a small handful of MD. My MSTP interviews turned into 2 waitlists which, at this point, I have basically given up hope on. However, I did get an MD acceptance.
The challenge comes in that during the 19-20 cycle, I have realized that my passion truly lies with the dual degree and I don't feel that I would be satisfied with the MD program. The school I am accepted to does not have a well-established MD/PhD program for me to internally transfer into.

Would I be an idiot for turning down this acceptance?
Thanks!

You can be an academic MD. If you have time later on in life you can accomplish the PhD. Don't turn down the acceptance. Especially since next year is going to be crazy.

 

[deleted728364]

I don’t think every investigator position requires a PhD. Assuming the training needed to be a productive researcher is not too insanely far removed from an MD’s training, maybe ask yourself if the PhD is truly necessary?


If not, you can gun for research positions, PSTP residencies, and F32s/HHMI fellowships as an MD. Does the school you were accepted to have PIs working in your area of interest?

 

[NewPatek]

I don’t think every investigator position requires a PhD. Assuming the training needed to be a productive researcher is not too insanely far removed from an MD’s training, maybe ask yourself if the PhD is truly necessary?


If not, you can gun for research positions, PSTP residencies, and F32s/HHMI fellowships as an MD. Does the school you were accepted to have PIs working in your area of interest?

My ultimate goal is to spend the majority of my time in my own lab performing research informed bby my clinical practice. I feel like this paradigm is more challenging to fulfill without a PhD.

There is 1 PI at the school that studies in my field of interest. If I matriculate to the MD program, my plan would be to pursue research at another institution for M1 summer, as well as take a research year between M3-M4.

 

[eteshoe]

@NewPatek with your stated career goals a PhD would be strongly recommended (or some other mechanism of significant protected research time to gain enough skills to max your potential). That being said, take your MD-only acceptance and see if you can matriculate internally into their MD/PhD program. You'll have to get in contact w/ the right admin people on the front end but I've seen it happen a few times.

Edit: even if the MD/PhD program isn't "well-established" - as long as you stay productive during the research years (find a good mentor, lab, & project(s)) and do well in your clinical things (classes, steps, rotations, Sub-I's, AI's, etc) - you should be able to have options when you're done

 

[NewPatek]

@NewPatek with your stated career goals a PhD would be strongly recommended (or some other mechanism of significant protected research time to gain enough skills to max your potential). That being said, take your MD-only acceptance and see if you can matriculate internally into their MD/PhD program. You'll have to get in contact w/ the right admin people on the front end but I've seen it happen a few times.

Though I am open to the option, I am hesitant to do this for a couple of reasons: it's a small Non-MSTP that takes 1-2 students per year and i'm unsure if they allow internal transfers, not many PIs I am really excited about working with, and less importantly, a non-ideal location for me to spend 8 years.

I really feel that I would be a strong MSTP applicant, especially given the extra year of research experience I gained during this past cycle.
My concern lies in this great gamble i'd be taking in dropping an MD acceptance, and how it'd be viewed by MD/PhD programs.

 

[erdoc111]

You should take the MD acceptance. Once there, if you are still interested, you can explore research opportunities and see if it turns into something you'd want to do a PhD in, etc.

 

[Fencer]

Examine other prior similar threads. There are several successful MSTP matriculated students who declined a MD-only acceptance the prior year. In your personal statement, you need to make clear that you declined a MD-only acceptance because as the cycle continued, you realized that you wanted to become a physician-scientist and take MD/PhD plan of studies.

 

[justaperson274939135]

There are MANY physicians who do not start in an MD-PhD or MD-MSTP program and realize during or after school at some point they want to shift their focus to exactly what you described. I know several personally at top research institutions and they don't have PhD's. It is absolutely crazy to think many 18-22 year olds know any of this when preparing for medical school apps. Regular MD is more than sufficient. If you really want you can take a research year after third year and even another after graduation.

I promise I am not saying this in a mean way at all, just some advice I received that has been helpful for me and want to share in case it can help you - Not everything is going to work out "just the way we want" in life (only getting into MD vs MD-MSTP is a small difference in the grand scheme of career options or only getting into a top 50 MD school instead of top 30). Is it disappointing? Yes, and you are allowed to be disappointed. But so is life and there are MULTIPLE ways to get to the same end point and that is what matters in the end. One can consider themselves even fortunate enough to even be disappointed in these types of situations because it often means one have not dealt with much more severe disappointment thus far.

 

[Neuronix]

Why do you think that you didn't get an MD/PhD acceptance?

If it's fixable consider fixing it and reapplying. If not, move on and get a PhD later--in residency for example.

 

[SunBakedTrash]

I would look into things like the STAR program at UCLA after medical school. Might be a good fit if you decide you still want a research career. You may also come to your senses and go into private practice.