How would I be able to do this research?

[nearlythere]

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Hi,
I am in a bit of a fix and because I am a medical doctor, but I've not been in a US medical school environment and I have not been exposed to the research strategies I am sure all US medical students are aware of. I am hoping that someone can answer this for me.
I did a biochemistry honors degree after a few years in family medicine as I am really interested in what happens on cellular level/immune processes and how we can approach (treat/prevent) an illness this way. What I found out though, after a year in the lab and doing a thesis, is that I DO NOT want to work in a lab. I miss the patient contact too much.
My question is this. How can I combine research in the medical field with having 1:1 contact with patients, but YET continue to be involved in cellular level medicine and minupulating processes on cellular level or researching things that will influence it at that level? How do I explain to a program director what I want to do research in if I don't even know it is possible. Can those of you who work in research or with MD's who are involved with research please tell me how others do it?

Thanks

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Hi,
I am in a bit of a fix and because I am a medical doctor, but I've not been in a US medical school environment and I have not been exposed to the research strategies I am sure all US medical students are aware of. I am hoping that someone can answer this for me.
I did a biochemistry honors degree after a few years in family medicine as I am really interested in what happens on cellular level/immune processes and how we can approach (treat/prevent) an illness this way. What I found out though, after a year in the lab and doing a thesis, is that I DO NOT want to work in a lab. I miss the patient contact too much.
My question is this. How can I combine research in the medical field with having 1:1 contact with patients, but YET continue to be involved in cellular level medicine and minupulating processes on cellular level or researching things that will influence it at that level? How do I explain to a program director what I want to do research in if I don't even know it is possible. Can those of you who work in research or with MD's who are involved with research please tell me how others do it?

Thanks

I'd say a good number of IM subspecialties would fit that. Really, almost all of them involved a cellular level picture. Maybe specialties like cardio or pulm or renal have a "macro" physiology as well, but it's all ultimately cellular. ID, heme/onc, rheum, endocrine, etc. are highly cellular/molecular. Also neurology.

 

[nearlythere]

Thanks for the reply. Does anyone know how I can combine these two fields in research (clinical as well as cellular) without having to work in the lab? I work in psychiatry and neuropsychiatry is an interest.