How to decide to change to MD/PhD?

[closertofine]

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Hi, this is my first post on this forum...I'm an MSI (regular MD program) and have been tossing around the idea of joining the MSTP program at some point...most likely go into neuroscience. I'm not sure how to decide whether or not to do that, though.

My research background isn't very impressive...I did a semester of research in undergrad and got a paper out of it...and this past summer, I worked in clinical research at my med school (which ended up with no real results, and it was in a public health-type field, so I don't really know how this compares to hard sciences).

One bad sign, I guess, is the fact that I found my undergrad research incredibly, mind-numbingly boring...I was basically doing grunt work most of the time and wasn't even really told what the point of it all was...but I'd imagine that a lot of research involves pipetting things, waiting for reactions to occur, etc. I did enjoy putting the results together and actually beginning to understand what we were studying, though.

And according to MSTPs I've talked to, most of them truly enjoy being in lab. I'm glad that there are people like that, since I guess I may not be one of them! But there are a lot of things about research that do appeal to me... I've always been fascinated by the brain, and I like working on long-term projects, and I would love to make some kind of "contribution" to science... but I guess these are more philosophical reasons than practical ones.

We haven't yet had our neuroscience block in school yet, so maybe that will help me decide how much I really like the subject. But I'm not sure how else to be sure if I want to try to go MSTP or not. I'd been thinking of going abroad this summer, but if I were considering MD/PhD, I guess it would be a better idea to find a lab to work in, right?

I guess all these things put together make it sound like I should probably stick with the MD program (which I think I'm leaning towards). Some of my reasons for considering research are related to the fact that I'm really shy, and as much as I will try to work on this, I worry that I will never become a really good "people person" with a great way of relating to patients. But those are probably not good reasons to go into research...hmmm...

I apologize if this kind of thread has been posted many times, as I imagine it has been...if anyone has any ideas or would like to just post a link to a similar thread, that would be great...thanks!

Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention...this will probably sound strange, but one of my reasons for not going into grad school in neuroscience earlier was the fact that a lot of the research was invasive and being done on animals. I wouldn't be able to do that and wouldn't want to...but I know now there are a lot more studies with fMRI, etc...still, I'm not sure that I'd make it through neuroscience without having to "sacrifice" many animals!

 

[oasis786]

Hi there,

Given the tiny bit of background we know about you, I think you're probably right in deciding to stay with the MD program, at least for now. I personally would not encourage anyone to join the MSTP (especially a MSI/II) unless they were 101% positive about their commitment to that path, and I'm sure the MSTP admissions committee would be expecting to see firm dedication and rationale for choosing that path before accepting you (that goes for all applicants, not just MSI/IIs).

Keep in mind that you can always pursue your interest in neuroscience through non-MSTP (i.e. non-PhD) routes. It sounds like you have enough of an interest in research to test the waters further, so to speak, but maybe not enough to pursue MSTP right away. The last thing you'd want to do is apply to the MSTP, manage to get in, and then drop it because you didn't want to do it! I'd say do a summer research rotation in a neuroscience lab - this will a) help you decide if you like research enough to pursue MSTP, b) add to your research resume with some solid basic science work, and c) get you a good letter from a PI should you end up choosing to pursue the MSTP route.
As for other points you touched on, I can definitely empathize with you (I'm in the first year also) for wondering if we'll ever have that golden social touch that many successful physicians have. I suppose that's natural for any young doctor-in-training to think about. I often wonder how may of the MD/PhDs who I meet who have chosen to ditch clinic did so partly because they didn't feel comfortable in their skins with patients....just a random musing.
And yeah, unfortunately so much medical research utilizes animal models - it really sucks, but it's necessary. It's also amazing (and disturbing) how quickly one can become desensitized to the use of animals in the lab. I suppose you sort of have to...
But I think if you really wanted to avoid animals, you probably could - at least your specific project.

Anyways, I'm sure the more senior members on this board will have some better nuggets of wisdom -- take what I say with a grain of salt -- I'm only an MSTPI!

Best of luck! 🙂

 

[tr]

I think you should take an extra year for research. Plenty of people in my med school class did that just for a break, not even because they were really interested in it. You can try to apply for an HH/NIH/NIGMS/whatever one-year fellowship; if you get it, that's impressive; if you don't, it seems to be reasonably easy to find a PI who will be willing to let you mess around for a year. That's a lot lower-stress than a PhD, and ideal for someone who isn't quite sure what he/she wants. You get to figure things out without having to make a commitment.

Re animals: Yes, most of neuroscience will be closed off to you if you don't want to deal with animals, since only animals have neurons. But you can try to figure out where your boundaries are. Are you comfortable working with invertebrates? If so, there is a lot of wonderful research being done in fly and worm labs. Are you okay with invasive studies as long as you don't have to kill the animal? Monkey psychophysics may be okay for you. If you really really don't want to touch any animals, you're right: there is human-based research as well (fMRI and PET), although that's pretty limited in scope.