masters degrees during med school

[thomasina]

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I've heard a lot about people getting masters degrees during medical school. Most often, this is a MPH or occasionally a MS in, say, nutritional science or biomedical devices or biostatistics. It also typically seems to be done at the same medical school. Are there opportunities to get masters degrees in other things or at other institutions, such as science writing? Would this just be a waste of time? Thanks 🙂

 

[projectlogic]

Seems like a waste of time to me.

 

[Medstart108]

if you are interested in it then its not a waste of time, if its just a degree you aren't doing anything with then yeah its probably a waste of time. 1 year of lost income + tuition fees + the fact that few masters degrees truly increase your income.

 

[alpinism]

It usually depends on the med school, but some places give you the option to take a year off after M2 to get an MPH or MS at another university.

 

[deuist]

1 year of lost income + tuition fees + the fact that few masters degrees truly increase your income.

As there are currently no master's degrees that will guarantee an increase in your income, they are all a waste of time. If it's knowledge you seek, grab some books on the subject of interest.

 

[deleted547339]

As there are currently no master's degrees that will guarantee an increase in your income, they are all a waste of time. If it's knowledge you seek, grab some books on the subject of interest.

An MBA could increase your income if you use it to improve your practice or work as a medical director/manager vs. clinical practice in some specialties. The catch is that business school become more beneficial the more business experience you have (why a lot of b-schools require you work for a few years prior to admission) so it wouldn't have the same returns as if you did it later. I've considered getting an MBA after residency, but that would be a part-time venture while working full-time.

 

[mycatishuge]

OP didn't ask about income generation potential for masters degrees. S/he gave the example of scientific writing.
To the OP: If you are really interested in an area of study then by all means pursue a one year masters degree in that area. A lot of people become scholar-in-residence either between third and fourth year or after fourth year and delay graduation. I know of a lot of people that went to other schools for a Masters. Do remember that general degrees like MPH or even an MBA aren't very helpful because they cover such broad topic areas that you won't be on your way to becoming an expert in what you want to focus in. Find your focus and find a degree where you can take a lot of courses/practicum time to learn about it. FWIW one of my attendings has both an MPH and a Masters in Theology that were earned after completing residency.

 

[deuist]

An MBA could increase your income if you use it to improve your practice or work as a medical director/manager vs. clinical practice in some specialties.

Improve your practice how? Better throughput? More meticulous billing practices? You don't need an MBA to do those things. Similarly, you don't need an MBA to go into management. Neither my hospital's ED department chair, IM department chair, Peds department chair, surgery chair, nor the chief medical officer have masters degrees. Simply put, a masters in anything cannot guarantee you a higher salary and therefore I cannot say that any degree programs are necessarily worth your time and money.

 

[Wordead]

Business school is essentially a bunch of drinking and learning how to use excel.

 

[thomasina]

Thanks 🙂 Well, for me it isn't really about increased income, but more about getting to do something medicine-related that I am interested in (writing or medical humanities, or education-- I would not be interested in MBA, JD, or MPH). I guess it's true that a masters degree probably isn't necessary... but just wanted to know what options were out there.

 

[synecdoche]

Simply put, a masters in anything cannot guarantee you a higher salary and therefore I cannot say that any degree programs are necessarily worth your time and money.

Would a research-oriented masters improve one's candidacy for residency programs? Particularly competitive ones?

 

[deleted547339]

Improve your practice how? Better throughput? More meticulous billing practices? You don't need an MBA to do those things. Similarly, you don't need an MBA to go into management. Neither my hospital's ED department chair, IM department chair, Peds department chair, surgery chair, nor the chief medical officer have masters degrees. Simply put, a masters in anything cannot guarantee you a higher salary and therefore I cannot say that any degree programs are necessarily worth your time and money.

The three ED directors I've talked to about an MBA (none of whom had one) all basically said the same thing: you definitely don't need one, you can learn everything while on the job, but going to business school (generally) would greatly abbreviate the process of acquiring that knowledge. All three basically said they would be in the exact same position 10-20 years out, but, in retrospect, they would have taken the courses and probably had an easier time the first several years.

 

[deleted547339]

Would a research-oriented masters improve one's candidacy for residency programs? Particularly competitive ones?

Maybe, but not necessarily. There are a few fields that are research heavy in their unofficial admission criteria. If people want to go into these fields and want more research, it's not uncommon for people to take a year off between third and fourth year and complete research without being enrolled in any particular degree program. Some people roll that into an mph, but if you're heavily invested in research, doing full-time research would probably be more advisable.

The alternative is to get an MD/PhD.

At the end of the day, do research if you enjoy it. If you hate research and spend an entire year+ of your life doing it, you won't be productive. Life's too short.