Masters in Medical Science

[misanne]

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Hi all
My name is anne and I know that this may seem really trivial to some but this is an issue that I have been dealing with for a while and I am ready to go ahead and go for it I don't have the time to go into deep detail anbout the background information but here is the question that I want to ask. I am striving to go to medical school as are many of you but it is so very hard I PROBALLY HAVE NOT TRIED AS HARD as I needed to but I think that I do try pretty hard. Friday I got some information from Indiana university about a Masters programfor a Masters in Mesical Science. Now I am wondering what will I be able to do with this?? Will it be a waste of time instead of putting all of my efforts in to medical school?? And if I was going to Grad School I was thinking about going to get a masters in Public Health, because I think that would be a little more benificial to my prospective medical carrer, and it is something thatI am really interested in. I have taken the August MCAT and the deadline for Indiana is dec 15, but I don't think that I will have enough time to even get letters of recomendation or anything. I am just feeling really down about the entire situation and wanted some information about the situation. I have been out of college for almost three years and have really done nothing towards medical school I feel like, and I really want to get into school but I don't know what the hold up is. And I am so scared of my preformance on the test that I have not even looked at them yet. I know that that was realy stupid and I just as well have not even taken the test. The initial reason that I did not open the scores is that I did not have the personal statement together so I felt like what is the use since my application is not complete. Right now I wanna give it one more shot and honestly give it my all but I also want to have a back up plan and a supplemental plan and I just need some advice. At this point I don't know what to do.

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[cammy1313]

So what exactly is your question???

 

[misanne]

So what exactly is your question???

Basically I am asking what a masters in Medical Science is used for and which degree (Masters in Medical Science or Masters in Public Health) would be most benificial in addition to a medical degree.Sorry the question was not clear I may have done a little additional rambeling initially.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

Anne-

I think that if you know you want to go to medical school, you should do the Master of Science in Medical Sciences program.

I am striving to go to medical school as are many of you but it is so very hard I PROBALLY HAVE NOT TRIED AS HARD as I needed to but I think that I do try pretty hard. Friday I got some information from Indiana university about a Masters programfor a Masters in Mesical Science. Now I am wondering what will I be able to do with this?? Will it be a waste of time instead of putting all of my efforts in to medical school??

The purpose of the program is specifically to prepare disadvantaged/underrepresented applicants and give them the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to succeed in med school. It's a 2 year program and you have to take a summer MCAT course (through the school) immediately before entering. The curriculum is more suited for those wishing to enter medical school than the MPH program. The MS Medical Sciences degree might give you opportunities to do things like teach, do research, or go for a PhD program, but I think that if you're gonna do this program then you have to KNOW that you want medicine (as opposed to another career like Public Health). In other words, a lot of these biomedical masters programs are Masters-in-I-Want-to-Go-to-Medical-School programs--they're great at what they do, but aren't quite as flexible as other graduate programs might be (such as a hard masters program w/ a required thesis).

And if I was going to Grad School I was thinking about going to get a masters in Public Health, because I think that would be a little more benificial to my prospective medical carrer, and it is something thatI am really interested in.

I think the MPH has an advantage over the MS Medical Sciences in two respects:
1) It's a degree that will give you an opportunity to get into a great field even if you don't do medicine
2) If you are eventually accepted into medical school, it's an added degree that supplements the MD degree. There are a variety of MPH programs (I don't know that much about Indiana specifically) that offer concentrations such as epidemiology or healthcare policy. This can give you a unique perspective on medicine.

However, there's a big disadvantage in doing the MPH over the MS Medical Sciences. The MS Medical Sciences will probably be more helpful for medical school acceptance and success because it has coursework specific to the medical school curriculum (biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, etc.) that will allow you to prove you can handle difficult biomedical sciences. Also, the MS Medical Sciences gives you the added benefit of MCAT prep and research. The program doesn't guarantee you acceptance into Indiana University, but a great showing in the program might get you into the med school.

Right now I wanna give it one more shot and honestly give it my all but I also want to have a back up plan and a supplemental plan and I just need some advice. At this point I don't know what to do.

Obviously I can't make the decision for you, but this is what I think...

-If you want to do a program that will help you get into medical school, do the MS in Medical Sciences.
-If you want a backup plan that is (probably) less effective in getting you into medical school, but gives you the opportunity for an excellent career in case medical school doesn't work out (and gives you a supplementary degree if med school does work out), go for the MPH.

Just my opinion.

Good luck!

 

[cammy1313]

Anne-

I think that if you know you want to go to medical school, you should do the Master of Science in Medical Sciences program. The purpose of the program is specifically to prepare disadvantaged/underrepresented applicants and give them the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to succeed in med school. It's a 2 year program and you have to take a summer MCAT course (through the school) immediately before entering. The curriculum is more suited for those wishing to enter medical school than the MPH program. The MS Medical Sciences degree might give you opportunities to do things like teach, do research, or go for a PhD program, but I think that if you're gonna do this program then you have to KNOW that you want medicine (as opposed to another career like Public Health). In other words, a lot of these biomedical masters programs are Masters-in-I-Want-to-Go-to-Medical-School programs--they're great at what they do, but aren't quite as flexible as other graduate programs might be (such as a hard masters program w/ a required thesis).

I think the MPH has an advantage over the MS Medical Sciences in two respects:
1) It's a degree that will give you an opportunity to get into a great field even if you don't do medicine
2) If you are eventually accepted into medical school, it's an added degree that supplements the MD degree. There are a variety of MPH programs (I don't know that much about Indiana specifically) that offer concentrations such as epidemiology or healthcare policy. This can give you a unique perspective on medicine.

However, there's a big disadvantage in doing the MPH over the MS Medical Sciences. The MS Medical Sciences will probably be more helpful for medical school acceptance and success because it has coursework specific to the medical school curriculum (biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, etc.) that will allow you to prove you can handle difficult biomedical sciences. Also, the MS Medical Sciences gives you the added benefit of MCAT prep and research. The program doesn't guarantee you acceptance into Indiana University, but a great showing in the program might get you into the med school.

Obviously I can't make the decision for you, but this is what I think...

-If you want to do a program that will help you get into medical school, do the MS in Medical Sciences.
-If you want a backup plan that is (probably) less effective in getting you into medical school, but gives you the opportunity for an excellent career in case medical school doesn't work out (and gives you a supplementary degree if med school does work out), go for the MPH.

Just my opinion.

Good luck!

I was a BU Masters in Med Sciences student and I concur with Phil. If you are willing to consider Boston, they have a combined MS (in Med Sci)/MPH degree. Takes 2 years to complete both degrees. I was going to do it but I didn't want to add on an extra year of debt. It's a great program though.