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Hi everyone,
I haven't posted here in eons. I thought it would be of interest to post how things went during my first year of med school, during which time I was a part-time postdoctoral fellow.
As expected, my life was-in a word-BUSY. I spent on average 10-20 hours a week in the lab with probably another 10 or so involved in writing/organizing things for my project. I started off med school going to a lot of class, just to gauge where I was at and what I could miss. My school is P/F, so my goal for the year was to hit the 50th percentile in my courses. We have on average a half day of lecture each day, two PBL sessions each week, and a patient centered care course another half day each week. As I settled in to the year, I probably skipped 25% of the lecture each week so I could spend more time in the lab.
I think the hardest part of being a postdoc in med school is finding the time to write, but I keep telling myself that this is just a taste of what life will be like in the future. I managed to write three book chapters for my supervisor, two review articles (modified from my thesis), and get a paper from my thesis work revamped and accepted. I have three complete studies from my postdoc work that I have to write up this summer, along with an invited review. I am presenting at a big conference in July.
My plans for the next couple of years are still in a state of flux. I just received a prestigious PDF award, which states that I must have 75% 'protected' time for research, so I may take a year off between 2nd and 3rd year to finish my postdoc. My supervisor has also set aside funds for me to hire a tech to work with me over the next year so that I can pursue my project rapidly while in school. I am sort of ambivalent about taking a year off for research now, since I spent 5 years on my PhD before med school, but then again my supervisor has been an amazing mentor so far, so I should probably just trust him. I guess that 10 years to complete my MD/PhD/postdoc with 15 pubs is probably worth it, but as many of you know, you start to wonder when you will ever have a 'real job'. 🙂
The other madness of this first year involved my pregnancy with my second daughter. I am very keen on a career in surgery, so my husband and I decided that I had to be finished with childbearing before residency. I ended up on bedrest at 28 weeks, so I completely missed the last block of med school. I managed to write all of the exams (and passed them!), so I am a rising 2nd year despite my extended absence. On the bright side though, bedrest sure does give you a lot of time to write! 😉
So anyway, I guess my reply to everyone that said a postdoc in med school couldn't be done is that, under the right circumstances, it can work. I would say that having the right supervisor is absolutely VITAL. There have been times where I have been overwhelmed, but I remind myself that I would be dissappointed if I wasn't working on this project, so it's sort of like being between a rock and a hard place.
Alright, that is enough rambling for now. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to either post or PM me. Best regards, Treg
I haven't posted here in eons. I thought it would be of interest to post how things went during my first year of med school, during which time I was a part-time postdoctoral fellow.
As expected, my life was-in a word-BUSY. I spent on average 10-20 hours a week in the lab with probably another 10 or so involved in writing/organizing things for my project. I started off med school going to a lot of class, just to gauge where I was at and what I could miss. My school is P/F, so my goal for the year was to hit the 50th percentile in my courses. We have on average a half day of lecture each day, two PBL sessions each week, and a patient centered care course another half day each week. As I settled in to the year, I probably skipped 25% of the lecture each week so I could spend more time in the lab.
I think the hardest part of being a postdoc in med school is finding the time to write, but I keep telling myself that this is just a taste of what life will be like in the future. I managed to write three book chapters for my supervisor, two review articles (modified from my thesis), and get a paper from my thesis work revamped and accepted. I have three complete studies from my postdoc work that I have to write up this summer, along with an invited review. I am presenting at a big conference in July.
My plans for the next couple of years are still in a state of flux. I just received a prestigious PDF award, which states that I must have 75% 'protected' time for research, so I may take a year off between 2nd and 3rd year to finish my postdoc. My supervisor has also set aside funds for me to hire a tech to work with me over the next year so that I can pursue my project rapidly while in school. I am sort of ambivalent about taking a year off for research now, since I spent 5 years on my PhD before med school, but then again my supervisor has been an amazing mentor so far, so I should probably just trust him. I guess that 10 years to complete my MD/PhD/postdoc with 15 pubs is probably worth it, but as many of you know, you start to wonder when you will ever have a 'real job'. 🙂
The other madness of this first year involved my pregnancy with my second daughter. I am very keen on a career in surgery, so my husband and I decided that I had to be finished with childbearing before residency. I ended up on bedrest at 28 weeks, so I completely missed the last block of med school. I managed to write all of the exams (and passed them!), so I am a rising 2nd year despite my extended absence. On the bright side though, bedrest sure does give you a lot of time to write! 😉
So anyway, I guess my reply to everyone that said a postdoc in med school couldn't be done is that, under the right circumstances, it can work. I would say that having the right supervisor is absolutely VITAL. There have been times where I have been overwhelmed, but I remind myself that I would be dissappointed if I wasn't working on this project, so it's sort of like being between a rock and a hard place.
Alright, that is enough rambling for now. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to either post or PM me. Best regards, Treg
