How do you know if the MD/PHD is the path for you?

[sshidid]

Hello,

So I've always assumed that I would end up going into medicine simply because I love Biology and the wonders of the body. (Bear in mind that I am an idealistic 20 year old lol). I grew up interested in diseases, reading up the biographies of great and historical people, interested in both their physical and mental deterioration. In a way, I am both an optimist and sadist in that I love hearing about mysterious medical cases that have inflicted someone, but also love the mystery and quest for treatments, causes, diagnosis, etc and overall the ability to take part in healing them.

I went to a lower tier state school and did exceptionally well, having taken (and excelled at) upper level Biology courses. Unfortanately, my school was not a supportive enough environment for research.... oddly enough, the majority of the science faculty were just not passionate enough researchers. HOWEVER, I began interning at a Pharmaceutical company, working as a Research Assistant and I realized that I might actually like what I do.... when I understand what I am doing. Though I was never given my own project, I gained raw lab skills and experience. However, I find attending meetings where people present their findings to be terribly boring, simply because I do not understand what is going on, what the results mean, and how they can be used to find outlets for treatment. I do not know if this is a shortcomming in me or my mentors and I do not know if these are things I will learn on my own or simply do not have the intuition for.

Secondly, I do not know if I am creative enough to run or manage my own project. I guess working in industry, I learned that what makes a strong Biology major at school is far different than what makes a strong scientist in research. At school, success and performance was measured on my abilitiy to largely memorize large volumes of information and partly be able to apply it. However, at work, I realized that a good scientist is defined by his/her ability to apply large volumes of information, be innovative, and know some science along the way... This scares me because I do not feel that college prepared me for this and I am afraid to pursue a PHD only to find out that maybe I'm just not creative enough to run my own lab.... and to think how many years I could waste to come up with this conclusion.

However, I really want to emphasize that I loved being in the lab atmosphere. I loved being around passionate and abstract thinkers. I loved being in an environment whose goal stayed the same(drug therapy) but whose means to the goal(ie: ideas and projects) changed. I loved being around hard workers, intelligent and creative people. Also, working in research showed me group of people who were on the constant quest to save humanity without having to really interact with a sick patient. I know that this might go against the basic principles of medicine, but sometimes I feel like I want to help make a change without having to constantly see someone dying or suffering.

Sorry for the long and drawn out summary, BUT I'm really not sure if the PHD route is for me. Also, should I leave this pharmaceutical company all together and seek research in a different environment and see if I still like what I am doing?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[URHere]

If you are considering applying to MD/PhD programs someday, you will need more research experience - especially in settings where you work independently to run your own project.

Realistically speaking, it will be difficult to obtain that experience in industry, so your best bet may be to apply for a research job with an academic group doing drug development research. Many of those groups highly value people with industry experience. I should stress that it will probably take you awhile to work your way up to an independent project. Two years is the minimum. Three to four years is more realistic. Regardless, the first year or so will give you an idea of whether or not you like academic research.

If you are still in college, my advice would be to join a lab during the academic year. If the researchers were all as unmotivated as you think, they wouldn't still have grants/funding, so you should give them a chance. If you still like research once you graduate, look for a full-time research position.

Finally, there is a physician scientist sub-forum here, filled with MD/PhDs. You should head there next.

 

[Lil Mick]

Ditto.

As to career path, you don't need to be at a top school (I didn't). However, you need to ask yourself a few questions before committing 7-10 years of your life to a program.

Do you need both degrees for your intended career? Many MDs do research, as well as practice, and there are year-long programs for MD students to take time off for research (NIH, within a school...). In addition, there are research residencies for MDs, which will teach you research skills. If you don't intend to practice clinically, it may not be worth your while to get the MD--plenty of PhD programs that will prepare you for a career in biological research.

Are you in a position to spend 7-10 years in a program? You'll be sticking out your commitment, and that goes whether or not the PI of interest stays at your school. A few students in our program wound up miserable when advisors left or were stuck pursuing a different course of research when a PI/small department left for another opportunity. It's not common, but it happens, particularly in small departments. If you really want to do this sort of research, you might be better off applying to MD/PhD or PhD programs with large pharm departments.

Have you considered Pharm.D./PhD? There are programs focused on creating pharmacologists who do research in this area and also practice as pharmacists. You might be a good fit for such a program, especially with internships in that industry.

Check out the MD/PhD subforum here if you want to here more opinions, as we tend to segregate that way. Also, send me a PM if you want to discuss more.