Is this a weird career choice?

[When the Moon Forgot]

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[ortnakas]

I know someone who is doing this. It's rare, but not "toss your application out" weird.

Just think hard about if you're up for 4 years of med school plus 3 years of residency after getting through your PhD. No judgment - more power to you if you have the stamina-- but over a decade of graduate and post-graduate work would burn a lot of people out.

 

[Goro]

You'll be fine. Aim high.

New on SDN. Forgive me if I sound totally ignorant. A bit about me - I'm finishing up my PhD, and I hope to pursue translational research after medical school and residency. Applying for MD this cycle.

Although I want to do applied/translational research & teaching (academic medicine basically), I still want clinical exposure and patient interactions on the side, which is why I'm applying for med school in the first place. Taking care of families is important to me (this is what brought me to medicine in the first place), so I'll most likely do my residency in primary care (either general internal medicine or family medicine - though there is a possibility that I might be interested in one of the specialties like endocrinology, cardiology, or infectious diseases).

Is my career combination (academic medicine focusing on translational research and teaching / primary care) out of the norm? Would admissions committee toss my app out laughing?

 

[WedgeDawg]

A lot of internists / IM subspecialists at high powered medical centers do both research/teaching and practice clinical medicine. However, these jobs, from what I've heard, are getting more scarce, so it's not something everyone can bank on.

 

[ndafife]

Luckily for you, the MD's who work at medical schools are generally those who are interested in teaching/research

 

[Lucca]

Many people out there do this.

 

[When the Moon Forgot]

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[Lucca]

Thanks all. Just seems like most of the faculty members at medical centers specialize in something (endocrinology, etc). I haven't met anyone who is a general IM or family medicine, which was why I asked. Seems like research/primary care isn't that rare of a combination.

That combination specifically is indeed less common. ID/scientists are not as rare but in genera scientists are specialists as well

 

[nonamesleft]

Thanks all. Just seems like most of the faculty members at medical centers specialize in something (endocrinology, etc). I haven't met anyone who is a general IM or family medicine, which was why I asked. Seems like research/primary care isn't that rare of a combination.

The tendency to specialize probably has something to do with the field in which they conduct research. They may still see patients in general IM/FM though. It's definitely possible to teach, research, and see patients, but the proportionate time spent on each activity will be different.