Yes, it is possible. There are a few dedicated postdoctoral programs that certify Ph.D.'s in branches of laboratory medicine. I did one...but not in microbiology. Essentially, you complete an ACGME (or similar) postdoctoral fellowship and conduct clinical research simultaneously at the better programs. I was able to do my fellowship with clinical research as well as a basic research postdoc in another department simultaneously. After this, you write your board exam. Pros: excellent way to serve in a clinical specialty without doing an M.D., good way to get tenure early on because you are usually a hospital employee (I was interviewing for tenured faculty positions at age 27), job usually not dependent on grants, postdoc salary is on the PGY1 scale (resident) rather than research scale, you will earn 2-3 fold more than a basic science faculty member after just two-three years of postdoctoral training. Cons: the clinical people may not be supportive of your basic science research interests (hence my subsequent enrollment in medical school), the basic science people may not understand or appreciate your call schedule (especially in the middle of lab meeting), it really is tough to do two jobs well (I cannot emphasize this one enough), the fellowship essentially trains you to be a director of a clinical laboratory in an academic or industrial environment and management is not for everyone.PSYDR said:
