MD-PhD students...do you regret not graduating with your entering class?

[clarkalim]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am considering doing MD-PhD.

My question is, do you, as an MD-PhD student, regret not graduating with the class that you entered into medical school with?

 

[Rumit]

I am considering doing MD-PhD.

My question is, do you, as an MD-PhD student, regret not graduating with the class that you entered into medical school with?

Not a bit.

 

[URHere]

When I was in my first two years of medical school, I really expected to miss my classmates when I parted ways with them. Now that I'm actually in the PhD section of my program, though, I find that I really don't mind being away from the group.

Even when I was a medical student, med students kind of annoyed me, and I find that I connect with my PhD classmates 1000x better than I did with my MD ones. That point is only driven home every time I see an old classmate and have absolutely nothing to talk to them about because I don't understand what life is like on IM/Ob/Surgery/etc.

So, to answer your question, no.

 

[clarkalim]

That's good to know. After watching the "long white coat" ceremony for 4th years at my school (I'm an undergrad, though), it made me kind of sad to think that I wouldn't be graduating with the same class I entered with.

 

[PfNO22]

Even when I was a medical student, med students kind of annoyed me, and I find that I connect with my PhD classmates 1000x better than I did with my MD ones.

good to know. +1

 

[eighty-twenty]

Not really. Although most of my close friends during my MSTP training were from my original MD class more so than my PhD or re-entry MD class, I wouldn't do things differently just to be able to walk with them. I still kept in touch with those closest to me. When it came time to interview for residency, it was nice to run into several of my former classmates who were chief residents/fellows at other institutions.

 

[gbwillner]

That's good to know. After watching the "long white coat" ceremony for 4th years at my school (I'm an undergrad, though), it made me kind of sad to think that I wouldn't be graduating with the same class I entered with.

I think for many MD/PhD students that is the most difficult day that makes you question your path the most. That and qualifying exams. Your longtime friends go on with their careers, on to residency, out of state, etc., and you are stuck in the same place. You will soon see them become professionals while you are still a student.

For me, it was definitely hard. I never regretted my path, but it was still hard. Now, I'm finishing residency while my friends work private practice jobs and have million dollar homes. And I will never "catch up". Of course, if I did the same clinical job every day for the rest of my life, I would probably go insane.

 

[OddNath]

So at our school, we generally do 3 years of med school first before going to lab. So, we had been through the coursework years, cramming for step 1, all of those required rotations and rounds and call, and step 2. Then, they went on to MS4 rotations and we went to lab, where all of a sudden, none of that clinical knowledge helped me and I was a ******* all over again.

But, that year, we continued hanging out. Match day was hard (believe me...our program even has a yearly "Un-Match" party just for us MD/PhD students to commiserate!), but that stinging feeling of being left behind faded. They graduated, started intern year, generally hating it, just as I was getting into my lab groove. So, things got better.

Now, I'm about to go back to MS4. My close friends from my med school class are still my buddies-- they're all over the country but we keep in touch (the inappropriate text messages have not ended!). Basically, yes, there's a few months when it really sucks that you're still the n00b in lab while your friends are becoming actual doctors..but in the end, your close friends will stay your close friends no matter how behind you are 🙂

 

[nothingman]

I think it was hard at the time because at our program this was when folks were well into their thesis projects and just encountering their first major project failures - and thus beginning to question when, and if, they would graduate. It really brought the relative certainty of medical school and the complete uncertainty of graduate school into perspective.

Our program also had a match day commiseration party for our entering MD-PhD class.

I don't have regrets about this path, but so far the best day of my professional life in the program (aside from match day this year) was when my committee gave me permission to write my thesis and thus put me on a countdown toward defending, finally making me a definite class of 20XX.

 

[PTPoeny]

Yes. Match day sucked. Graduation day sucked. Talking to all my good friends and watching them move on with their lives and have real jobs and plans when I feel like I have no idea where I am going and can't plan more than a month in advance sucks. I still don't know if I am going back to 3rd year in June 2011 or 2012. I definitely have more friends among my former medical school class than among the PhD students at my school. I have started participating more in some of the medical school activity groups this year to try and meet the current first and second year students as I will definitely be rejoining one of the two classes but it just isn't the same.

However, I have been promised that these feelings will go away sometime during the first few rotations of 3rd year by people I really trust. And apparently it is really awesome to have your former classmates as residents during 3rd and 4th year.

So overall, yes on a daily basis I question my decision to do an MD/PhD, however I expect it to be worth it in the end.