MD vs MD/PhD

[VIZ1]

Hey everybody,

I want to pursue a career in academic medicine but I'm having trouble deciding between these an MD and MD/PhD program. What's holding me back from a MD/PhD is the long time commitment.
Does anybody have some feedback or thoughts on this decision?

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[gyngyn]

Hey everybody,

I want to pursue a career in academic medicine but I'm having trouble deciding between these an MD and MD/PhD program. What's holding me back from a MD/PhD is the long time commitment.
Does anybody have some feedback or thoughts on this decision?

Don't do it.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

Don't do it.

Is this your general opinion or is this specific to the OP

 

[gyngyn]

Is this your general opinion or is this specific to the OP

MD PhD is a good choice for a very small subset of the pool. It's almost impossible to tell if it's a wise choice, except in retrospect...

 

[eteshoe]

MD PhD is a good choice for a very small subset of the pool. It's almost impossible to tell if it's a wise choice, except in retrospect...

There is a certain madness to us bunch lol

 

[Lucca]

Wanting to be an academic is probably not a good enough reason to do both degrees. If you want to be an academic physician...because you want to have a primarily basic or translational research career then it might be a good choice for you. Deciding to do both, in my humble and inexperienced opinion, is more about A) the kind of training you want, B) your priorities in life, and C) the kind of career you want to have... in that order. Importantly, it should not be a decision made for the sake of money, prestige, or a specific position.

In other words, "I want to help us understand disease" or "I want to help use our understanding of disease to develop new treatments" are better motivators than "I want to be the chief of medicine at MGH". In the best case scenario, you will say "I want to work really hard for a really long time on science because investigation and biology are super cool and I'm totally fine with spending my whole life doing that", at which point you can feel free to call yourself crazy and join the club.

 

[gyngyn]

There is a certain madness to us bunch lol

May the gods have mercy on you.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

If you enjoy learning things a lot and having an experience in medical research, and can find joy in the journey...then it's worth it if you suspect you want to do basic research.

You can do translational and clinical with just an MD and some fellowship training.

Getting into mdphd programs is very hard. Most apply to a few MD only schools as well. Might as well just try if you feel it interests you enough.

But if you are neurotically just trying to get to the "next step" like a treadmill, in the fastest way possible while trying to outcompete your peers...don't do it. Too long of a commitment and you will suffer. That is most premeds...soo I would say MD only.

Try to find a physician scientist around you and also email MDPhD students at a nearby school. That helped me a lot, as well as talking to mdphd residents.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

Oh yeah, and you have to have a lot of experience in research.

To give you some perspectve, the average age of getting your first real grant is basically the same between MDPhD and PhD. So that's cool. But you are pretty far behind, seemingly, in your MD career.

Also, it is EXTREMELY hard to balance both fields. You will probably just do one or the other. They are incredibly demanding...

All in all, most people really don't want it. And you can do most of it with an MD. It's mostly an experience thing (or a thing people do cause it's competitive...eyeroll).

 

[JustAPhD]

I generally say "if you have to ask the question, then go MD" because if you don't know whether you need the PhD or not you generally don't need it.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

I generally say "if you have to ask the question, then go MD" because if you don't know whether you need the PhD or not you generally don't need it.

Exactly.

 

[aldol16]

Working in academic medicine does not require MD/PhD if you really want to do the clinical side of medicine. You only need an MD to do things like clinical trials and MDs also do a lot of clinical research if they work at academic medical centers. On the other hand, the MD/PhD route is generally meant for those who want to be scientists who are informed by their knowledge of medicine and use that medical knowledge to advance biomedical science. In other words, the PhD degree itself says that you are an expert in some subfield of a basic science (biology, chemistry, etc.). While I have seen MD/PhD degree holders work in the clinic, most of them tend to work in basic research and become PIs.

 

[Lucca]

I generally say "if you have to ask the question, then go MD" because if you don't know whether you need the PhD or not you generally don't need it.

Ehhhh I feel like if you don't have ANY doubts then you are a special type of crazy lol. But that might be what it takes...

 

[Lost In Transcription]

Ehhhh I feel like if you don't have ANY doubts then you are a special type of crazy lol. But that might be what it takes...

I questioned it constantly. You need to to show yourself it's what you want.

 

[Lucca]

I questioned it constantly. You need to to show yourself it's what you want.

I definitely question it all the time, but I can't get away from it, as much as I try.

 

[JustAPhD]

Ehhhh I feel like if you don't have ANY doubts then you are a special type of crazy lol. But that might be what it takes...

Every MD/PhD I've met falls under the "special type of crazy" category haha.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

I definitely question it all the time, but I can't get away from it, as much as I try.

Same. Haha

 

[Penn-mdphd]

Do it 🙂

 

[Penn-mdphd]

Questioning it is natural. Everyone does. If they say they never had doubts, they're a liar

Critically evaluating your commitment beforehand is essential and can save you from making the wrong choice imo 👍
There's a healthy amount of doubt, and another variety that indicates you really shouldn't do it, barring the fact you are still competitive to apply.

No one really has a right answer for you. And I agree that evaluating your decision post-hoc is really the only way to know, unfortunately.
That's why you gotta enjoy the journey regardless 🙂

 

[stemingen]

Don't do it unless you are 99% sure of what you will get afterwards.

Generally speaking, the MD/PhD is not a wise choice for most of the applicants when it comes to time, finance, career flexibility, etc.

You can get some bench experience during or after medical school. There are plenty of fellowships available to medical students. There is no need to go through the soul absorbing PhD training unless you just want to do research career wise. But if so, why not just pursue a PhD?

You can still be a great researcher with a MD degree alone. In fact, I have known many amazing MD researchers. A MD degree will be sufficient to open doors for you in academic medicine.

 

[aldol16]

You can get some bench experience during or after medical school. There are plenty of fellowships available to medical students. There is no need to go through the soul absorbing PhD training unless you just want to do research career wise. But if so, why not just pursue a PhD?

You can still be a great researcher with a MD degree alone. In fact, I have known many amazing MD researchers. A MD degree will be sufficient to open doors for you in academic medicine.

But it depends on the kind of research one is interested in. The great research that MDs do is not the same as the great research that MD/PhDs and PhDs do. While both kinds of research have their merits, MDs typically are not qualified/do not have time to do bench research unless they took some extra time during medical school for a research track (CCLCM comes to mind) or a basic research fellowship. If one is interested in basic research into disease and wants to pursue the MD degree to inform that research, then MD/PhD is the right track. But I agree that this is true only for a small handful of people.