M.d./m.f.a.

[FictionalGirl]

So there is already the MD/MBA, MD/PHD, and MD/MPH
well.... I was wondering if there was anyone out there in the art world who plans on making their art an integral part of their medicine. This is pretty specific to writers who want to write novels or nonfiction books, or even I suppose, journalism/related work that has to do with medicine at the same time that they're running their practice.

So if you're planning on making writing a part of your practice, have you pursued a MD/MFA? Either going to an MFA program and then applying to medical school, or get a deferral to attend a program before attending med school.

I'm doing an MFA and MD and I was wondering if I'm the only one. I know there are others out there, but are you here?

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[Rafa]

Impressive - are you doing both at the same school? And is the MFA full-time, or part? I imagine it would be quite busy to do both full-time.

 

[AStudent]

MFing Awesome

 

[liverotcod]

I think Yale's MD/MDiv program is pretty cool.

 

[silkworm]

That's very interesting combination. Really wish I could do something similar. How do you plan to weave fiction writing into your practice of medicine?

 

[SpeedRacer]

do you think you could do an md then an mfa?

 

[TheMightyAngus]

So there is already the MD/MBA, MD/PHD, and MD/MPH
well.... I was wondering if there was anyone out there in the art world who plans on making their art an integral part of their medicine. This is pretty specific to writers who want to write novels or nonfiction books, or even I suppose, journalism/related work that has to do with medicine at the same time that they're running their practice.

So if you're planning on making writing a part of your practice, have you pursued a MD/MFA? Either going to an MFA program and then applying to medical school, or get a deferral to attend a program before attending med school.

I'm doing an MFA and MD and I was wondering if I'm the only one. I know there are others out there, but are you here?

Is a MFA even necessary if you want to do creative writing as a doctor? I thought most writers in MFA programs are doing it so that they have stipend to live off of so they could just write without having to work. I think it would be a hard sell to find a fine arts programs to fund you unless you did the MFA first then applied to med school.

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

Actually..... MFA programs aren't just time to buy to write while on a stipend. Granted, they CAN be, it depends on the program and also what you're looking for and who you work with. In a good program you want to look for a mentor who can work with you one on one in teaching you the tangible things about writing. No one can teach you to fashion a sentence (except practice) but you can be taught structure of nonfiction books, techniques, guidance for your story approach, things like that. They can make a world of difference in taking a talented writer and turning them into a talented and now polished and publishable writer. thats really where it also makes the difference. Prepping you for a future publishing career (although if your book stinks, there are zero garauntees)

As for the question above.... doing an MFA after an MD can be done, but you'd probably have to do a low residency e-mail correspondence kind of thing and its a bit difficult, and a post-residency thing (a friend of my family who's in peds just did this.... he writes humor, just fantastic stuff)

Also, as far as weaving fiction writing into a practice. MFA programs also address nonfiction writing. I'm doing something very similar to Fictional(who I've known since I was 2 years old! Hi Fictional!) in combining an md/writing program. I believe with all my heart and deep in my gut that the best way to use my one life to make a difference is by being a doctor who writes. I plan on writing nonfiction science and medically related books as well as creative nonfiction accounts of life as a doctor, even fiction informed my emotional experiences on the wards. Writing is my way of reaching beyond the scope of the people I see every day and getting them excited about science and their own health. So, studying writing for me is going to be a nonfiction endeavor... at least in school... and i found a school that knows what my focus is and can train me accordingly to write polished, publishable nonfiction books.

I have an Oliver Sack's complex I plan on writing and even publishing if i can during med school and residency. Writing is an obsessive thing. I have to do it every day, and I want to write about what I love

But there are a lot of fiction writing doctors as well - the Michael Crighton types, and Ethan Canin (i don't know if he practices anymore) for those of you who are into lit journals, the current McSweeny's has a fabulous short fiction story by a guy who did an MFA at the iowa writers workshop, then went to med school, and is now writing books and stories while he does his peds residency.

We're out there! Not too many of us, but the numbers are growing. And i've noticed that lots of the md mfa types say the same thing.... that when people ask them if they had to pick one which they'd do? , they couldn't. That they see, and I agree with them, that they can heal with medicine and with words. That the two things are inextricable. Yay .

 

[closertofine]

...

just wanted to say I love the quote in your signature...I'm more of the (closet) poet type myself...though I'd like to get more into it at some point (soon would be nice, but not sure how that's going to work with studying for boards, etc). I'm really impressed by those of you going for an MFA...it sounds like you have great things planned.

 

[sweetdoc]

How long is it going to take to do both? I'm interested.

sweetdoc

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

sweetdoc.... MFA programs can range anywhere between 1 - 4 years,
but FictionalGirl and I both, since our goal is to become doctors, not professional writing teachers, is to do a short program, get the practical/technical skills we need for book writing, and then go to med school having those skills so that the things we do write are polished and publishable. That being said, the program length Fictional is doing, because her school gave her a two year deferral to do it, is 2 years long. I'm doing a one year program. My program of study is a little less.... esoteric? i think thats the word i want... then hers, simply because i'm studying nonfiction instead of fiction. I want to write about medicine, so i can take those skills and go straight into med school and... well... write about it. :-D
I was SO torn about whether or not I wanted to take a year off (this was my second time applying to medical school, so i've already had a year "off" working in a lab, which is the time i got serious about my writing, hence all the new plans!)
And i'm still really torn about it. i hate the idea of putting med school off. but i hate the idea of not having the skills to write a really good book even worse, since i believe thats the best thing i can do with my non-doctoring time What the MFA program really does is teach you these skills in a year's time... whereas you could teach them to yourself through trial and error, writing a lot more hours a day than med school allows, using trial and error, taking years to come to similar conclusions....so a nonfiction MFA is like.... figuring out writing for yourself, abridged.

I'll be 23.7 years old when I start med school, then, instead of 22.7
I guess, according to the "too old?" poll, i'm still allright! haha

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

bump. Any writers want to share their work? Medical or non medically related?

 

[HardyFool]

The only true justification for an MFA is desire, so if you have that, don't let anyone get you down.

True, med school will keep you busy enough that writing will mostly likely fall by the wayside. True, as a physician you'll mostly likely lean on your medical practice for income and never feel the publish-or-perish ultimatum. But on the other hand, there are not many great jobs waiting at the end of an MFA, unless you're a superstar, or unless you consider community college teaching great, which it can be. And the combination of writing and science skills could lead to some interesting places, not the least of which is the occasionally collumn with national circulation. All the good magazines, from Time to the New Yorker, all the newspapers from your local to the Washington Post, and all the professional journals, have good stories about medicine executed creatively. And of course you don't need to write about medicine.

After my MFA in poetry, I wound up doing journalism for about five years, which was a nice learning experience. I sharpened a lot of skills there that are serving me well now. And not only writing speed. For instance, just having the confidence to approach patients and let natural curiosity take over. Everyone knows that patients will often lead you to the diagnosis that matters anyway. Two weeks ago, I saw an elderly patient for a broken hip due to a fall at home. We could have stopped there and dealt with the hip. But 10 minutes of conversation led us to his underlying problem, colitis with associated dehydration, weakness, etc. My student partner for that day is a nice guy, but he can't seem to engage patients and it shows.

Some people criticize the MFA system. "If you want to be a writer, just write," they say. But the truth is that writing is hard work, that good advice and feedback can send a story in the right direction, and that many writers need the discipline framework, especially early in their attempts. If you opt not for an MFA, maybe you could consider the summer workshops, where you work up a manuscript and then spend a week in a nice place with like-minded people, getting enough dirt on your work to have something to occupy you until the next summer.

I'm in the thick of med school now, married, with one child, and trying to exercise enough to stay in my current pant size. So, writing has diminished to a minor activity in stolen moments. But that's okay, I know I'll come back to it. I figure my best writing years will be age 50 to 70 anyway.

You might find a low residency MFA very doable, if you don't have too many other competing activities now. Also, if your med school has an MFA nearby, you might find that the creative writing teachers are very amenable to having you moonlight in their classes.

 

[USCTex]

I'm surprised, but very pleased, to find so much interest in this. I think writing and medicine complement each other wonderfully.

My story is a little off topic but my undergraduate degree was a BFA in screenwriting. I came straight to medical school though and so never attempted a living off my work.

We really should set up a thread where people can share their work. I bet there are a bunch of would be writers on this site.

 

[ivy91]

I believe with all my heart and deep in my gut that the best way to use my one life to make a difference is by being a doctor who writes... That the two things are inextricable. Yay .

I couldn't agree with you more. I was a literature major in college, and have always dreamed about becoming a physician and writing at the same time. There's just something so powerful about combining medicine with literature, I know it will be something I have to make time for. I'm happy to know that there are more of us out there Making the world a better place, one carefully crafted sentence at a time.

 

[Unch]

Such bias! Everyone assumes an MFA would only dabble in writing. What about visual art? I was a visual artist and art teacher for ten years before turning (back) to science and medicine. This after a BA with pre-med as an aside.

I did, however, get a T on my MCAT writing sample!

Just wish I had time for even a little drawing or painting in this, my first year of med school. Having to settle for a lot of photography...storing images to work through later.

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

No such bias, Unch! It just happened that the md/Mfa -er starting the thread is getting her MFA in creative writing. All artists welcome!!!