MD/PhD's who don't end up doing medicine

[iowaboy]

Is there anyone out there who is or was in an MD/PhD program and decided to just stick with research??? And if so....are you happy with ur decision??

I'm in my second year of the research phase and I absolutely love it. I am not sure anymore if i want to finish out my M3/M4 year or not....
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[johnM]

i thnk you should finish out the M3/M4 years anyway. even if you are totally sure that you want to do research, the MD degree will at least give you some extra clout in the future, especially if you ever want to do clinical research. besides, your M3/M4 tuition is already being paid for, right?

 

[iowaboy]

i suppose ur right...but man..i just feel so burned out with med school right now...i don't have that motivation i did when i first started out 4 years ago...how did you keep yourself motivated??

 

[iowaboy]

I'm actually not part of the MSTP program here, i decided to my own independent PhD project at the end of my first year of school, we have this option here. So the only difference between what I'm doing and being in the MSTP program is that I am paying for my MD tuition, but my PhD tuition is being paid for by NIH. (besides MSTP program didn't want me anyways..so that wasn't an option!)

 

[johnM]

Well, that's a different story then. I didn't know anyone actually did that, but I see what your dilemma is now. I suppose that your story is pretty complicated, but I think what it is going to come down to is that you have to decide if you are sure if you really want to do basic research for the rest of your life. If so, then don't waste the heartache and tuition money going through clinical rotations that you aren't interested in. But you had better decide for damn sure, because if you drop out if the MD program then I don't think it is very likely that you will ever have the chance to go back to med school. Good luck in whatever you decide!

 

[JJ4]

On a side note. I have been accepted to the MD/PhD program at Mayo (still fully covered) and the MSTP at Sinai. Do any of you have opinions on either location aside??

 

[none]

Finish the MD! It will DRAMATICALLY affect your ability to get funding from the NIH in the future! Check out some of the MSTP (and non-MSTP MD/PhD) studies on the NIH website.

 

[johnM]

none: To get this boost in ability to secure NIH funding, would he also have to do a residency after the MD?? I guess that wouldn't be as important if he doesn't want to practice clinical medicine, but would a residency help at all?

 

[Mutterkuchen]

I'd finish the MD too. The benefits as a researcher are tremendous and if you're at a state school, the cost is much less prohibitive.

Are there other funding sources to finish the MD? Can you be a MSTP as a 3rd year med student? Probably not, but it is worth looking in to. Or you could drag out the last two years of med school over 3 years and also do research. You might be able to get some funding for your research project that way.

Just throwing out some theoretical possibilties.