In order to be an MD/PhD, would I have work from my bachelors degree? I plan to earn a degree in Microbiology and would like to know how the process works. If I get a degree on Microbiology do I have to get a PhD in Microbiology or how does it work?
If I wanted to be an MD/PhD
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In order to be an MD/PhD, would I have work from my bachelors degree? I plan to earn a degree in Microbiology and would like to know how the process works. If I get a degree on Microbiology do I have to get a PhD in Microbiology or how does it work?- Joined
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no, you can do whatever you want to for PhD.
appropriate research experience will help. Microbiology is a pretty big field...
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no..
you dont have to have a degree in micro to get a ph.d in micro..
while i believe there is some need to have a science major i think..
I was also wondering how your career works. I am also interested in this, but how can someone be a practicing physician and do research at the same time. Would one need to do a fellowship for their PhD and then residency for their MD. any insight onto the lifestyle of a MD/PhD would be greatly appreciated. sorry for overtaking the thread, still relevant though.
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In a nutshell, you would need to get sufficient training and experience to win the grants (get funding) and complete the research (do the work). In theory, no formal education of any kind is required to do research. If you discover an amazing solution to an important medical research question, you simply write up your work and submit it for publication. However, most people would have their publications immediately rejected in such an attempt and, as a practical matter, need quite a bit of training to intelligently investigate and communicate their findings (not to mention to convince funding sources to give your large sums of money to purchase equipment, supplies, etc. to conduct the work).
As you probably suspect, you would get most, if not all, the necessary research training as part of the MD/PhD training. You could get additional fellowship and/or post-doctoral training to fill the gaps, so to speak. What exactly you need in terms of training and credentials to get your "dream job" depends on many factors, including your specific research area, the funding opportunities and where you plan to work. To plan this out in minute detail would be premature at your stage and a complete waste of time. At this stage, simply do some meaningful mentored research projects in the area of your choice and consider this issue as you near completion of your MD/PhD.
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Most people who choose MD/PhD training either make a switch to 100% clinical or 100% research at the end, or spend the majority of their time conducting research with some dedicated clinic time. These are some ways of balancing this that I have witnessed:
1) Working regular lab hours and devoting one additional day or a couple of random afternoons each week to a clinic that benefits from your research expertise. For example, a neuroscientist specializing in EMG recordings may work in clinic time by running and analyzing EMGs for a motor disorder clinic.
2) Spending the majority of the year working solely on research and then spending a month or two on clinical work. For example, an MD/PhD doing infectious disease research may spend most of the year conducting research, but fly out to provide care and do field research in endemic areas or outbreak sites.
I'm not saying that all MD/PhDs follow one of these molds, or even that they are the most common. My background is personally in neuroscience and ID, so these are just the patterns that I see. As has already been said, training depends on your personal goals and what your specific interests are. If you finish your MD/PhD training and decide to focus on clinical medicine alone, you only need a residency and not a postdoctoral position. The converse will likely be true for those desiring research alone. If you want both in your career, you should prepare yourself for both - although some residencies do provide minimal built-in research time.
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Even though you dont have to have a degree to get a PhD in that...keep in mind some schools do require you to take a GRE subject test....so if you have a bachelors in Economics....and your trying to go for Micro without having much courses in micro...im not sure you will do so well if you are required to take the Bio or Biochem/Molecular bio GRE.
You should look into the PhD programs websites, they usually tell you the requirements.
You should look into the PhD programs websites, they usually tell you the requirements.
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MD/PhD programs are looking for applicants who will be a good fit with at least one of their current investigators because the investigator, basically, pays your tuition and stipend out of his lab budget in exchange for having you as a member of his lab, working there and doing your dissertation research there. Someone who is a good fit has some technical skills that would be useful in that lab, has an understanding of some of the science being done in the lab (can follow an explanation and ask informed questions), and has an interest in the field under investigation in that lab. So, if you understand microbiology and have some technical skills that would be useful in a microbiology lab then you might be an attractive candidate for a micro lab but perhaps you'd find a good fit in immunology. Furthermore, micro is such a broad field that you could end up in virology, bacteriology, mycology, and within those fields there are labs that are more specialized.
A combined MD/PhD usually starts with a summer in the lab, M1 year, summer in the lab, M2 year, Board exams and then 3+ years in the lab, defense of the dissertation and then M3 and M4 years followed by at least an internship (so that one can be licensed as a physician). From there, residency perhaps with time (a year) for additional research which would be along the lines of a post-doc with the goal of writing one's first grant (for independent funding) during residency. Fellowship follows for subspecialty training, again with a focus on research and grant writing. From there, typically one seeks to be hired as an academic physician with some split between lab and clinical care/ teaching akasupervision of housestaff. The split depends on one's interests and available funding. With professional advacement, one generally becomes more of a grant & paper writer and faculty member guiding the next generation of students in the lab and less a hands on worker at the bench.
Some MD/PhD folks go over to school administration, particularly at some of the top schools, but that's a different kettle of fish.
A combined MD/PhD usually starts with a summer in the lab, M1 year, summer in the lab, M2 year, Board exams and then 3+ years in the lab, defense of the dissertation and then M3 and M4 years followed by at least an internship (so that one can be licensed as a physician). From there, residency perhaps with time (a year) for additional research which would be along the lines of a post-doc with the goal of writing one's first grant (for independent funding) during residency. Fellowship follows for subspecialty training, again with a focus on research and grant writing. From there, typically one seeks to be hired as an academic physician with some split between lab and clinical care/ teaching akasupervision of housestaff. The split depends on one's interests and available funding. With professional advacement, one generally becomes more of a grant & paper writer and faculty member guiding the next generation of students in the lab and less a hands on worker at the bench.
Some MD/PhD folks go over to school administration, particularly at some of the top schools, but that's a different kettle of fish.
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not for MD/PhD you dont. You might have to for one or two BME programs but no, you don't have to take the ******* GREs at all for MD/PhD programs, MCAT will count.
Also, if you are looking at microbio, then wisconsin madison is a great place
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Agreed. MD/PhD applicants who have a natural science PhD in mind are almost never required to submit a GRE score. However, the GRE is a common requirement for those who want to pursue a social science PhD (and those programs are FAR less common).
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I worked with an MD/PhD during my post bac, and shadowed several others.
The way they all described their time split btw research and clinic was 90/30.
90% of the time they're doing research, 30% of their time their in the clinic. Busy folks.
They are expected to bring in all the same amount of money that someone who does not do clinical work does.
My boss did his residency (5 years) followed by a post doc (5 years). He got his first position as a professor at 45.
The way they all described their time split btw research and clinic was 90/30.
90% of the time they're doing research, 30% of their time their in the clinic. Busy folks.
They are expected to bring in all the same amount of money that someone who does not do clinical work does.
My boss did his residency (5 years) followed by a post doc (5 years). He got his first position as a professor at 45.
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Best explanation I've seen yet! Been around the forums for quite a bit and this really cleared it up even or me (esp. the first part). Thank you!
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I guess they work 20% harder, too.
it's true
I'm a hopeful MD/PhD student, been to a few intvs.
I was wondering, after completing the 7-8 years of schooling, when I graduate, do I have to choose one over the other (residency or a post-doc) or is there a way to make the best use of my combined degree? Perhaps a combined Res/PDoc program or a translational rsch residency?
I was wondering, after completing the 7-8 years of schooling, when I graduate, do I have to choose one over the other (residency or a post-doc) or is there a way to make the best use of my combined degree? Perhaps a combined Res/PDoc program or a translational rsch residency?
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so i'm no expert on this as i'm in the same position you are, but i have looked in to post MD/PhD options and something that i like is the accelerated IM residency tracks. its 2 years of residency then you jump right into fellowship and then you do 3+ years in a "post-doc" like position at the affiliated university. I'm pretty sure they're really competitive though.
here's an old thread that talks about them:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=307250
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Yes sorry about that, i should have been more specific. What you said is correct, i ment for only PhD programs, rather than MD/PhD's, because the last statement of the OP's post said PhD, but then i guess he also ment MD/PhD
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When applying for medical residency, after finishing your MD/PhD (whether combined or not), you can also look at the possibility of whether or not a program will take you on as junior faculty after you finish your medical residency training in your specific specialty.
There are also programs like the PSTP at Wash-U, kind of an MD/PhD program for medical residents who already have a PhD. 3 years of locked in funding isn't bad!
There are also programs like the PSTP at Wash-U, kind of an MD/PhD program for medical residents who already have a PhD. 3 years of locked in funding isn't bad!
