Medicine plus Technology

[PreMedical1]

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I am a returning pre-medical student with a fairly technology intensive background. I am and have been interested in medicine for quite some time while. However, about 3 months into the switch I have been missing/lacking exposure to what I'll call "technology."

I'm curious if anyone else is in this situation or perhaps knows a medical student/physician that has both clinical interests and interests in working with "technology." At present, coming from a physical science background I feel a little bit like an oddity in this respect.

 

[Naijaba]

I am a returning pre-medical student with a fairly technology intensive background. I am and have been interested in medicine for quite some time while. However, about 3 months into the switch I have been missing/lacking exposure to what I'll call "technology."

I'm curious if anyone else is in this situation or perhaps knows a medical student/physician that has both clinical interests and interests in working with "technology." At present, coming from a physical science background I feel a little bit like an oddity in this respect.

Hi PreMedical1,

I'm not sure what aspect of medical technology you're looking to pursue, but certainly their are numerous opportunities in the field. I'm personally applying to MD/PhD programs and I will pursue a career in biomedical software engineering. There are also certain MD-only programs that place special emphasis on biotechnology. Note that these can be highly competitive (Stanford and Harvard come to mind), but it's worth a shot.

 

[PreMedical1]

Thanks for the reply. I guess don't have a specific aspect of medical technology. The main issue is that lately I am concerned that I am moving away from some of my main interests. I really enjoy innovation, solving problems - especially technology related things. When I compare the day-to-day activities of say a Primary Care Physician, they really don't involve any of those things.

Starting out I sort of had a vision that I would kind of be able to combine both of those interests. Lately I am having a little bit of a difficult time finding a way to do that in reality. If any of that makes sense...

 

[Skialta]

Think about general surgery, laparoscopic, robotics, single port, NOTES, there is plenty of room for innovation and working with technology/industry.


Skialta

 

[DucoNonducor]

I would not be too concerned regarding this topic. There are infinite possibilities that will tie your medical school interest and technology.
Look into the school's biomedical engineering department. Many schools will form partnerships with surrounding universities in order to give students a well-rounded education. A great example of that would be the partnership that Harvard has with MIT or University of Pittsburg and Carnegie Mellon. These are great environments where medicine and technology go hand in hand.

Thanks for the reply. I guess don't have a specific aspect of medical technology. The main issue is that lately I am concerned that I am moving away from some of my main interests. I really enjoy innovation, solving problems - especially technology related things. When I compare the day-to-day activities of say a Primary Care Physician, they really don't involve any of those things.

Starting out I sort of had a vision that I would kind of be able to combine both of those interests. Lately I am having a little bit of a difficult time finding a way to do that in reality. If any of that makes sense...

 

[vc7777]

I would not be too concerned regarding this topic. There are infinite possibilities that will tie your medical school interest and technology.
Look into the school's biomedical engineering department. Many schools will form partnerships with surrounding universities in order to give students a well-rounded education. A great example of that would be the partnership that Harvard has with MIT or University of Pittsburg and Carnegie Mellon. These are great environments where medicine and technology go hand in hand.

Or Case Western and Cleveland Clinic
Or Michigan and Michigan (gotta give my alma mater the nod even though they are ignoring my application 🙂)
Or Wash U
Or Ohio State which is partnering with Apple on some interesting medical apps and giving every MS1 an iTouch..
or...
the list goes on and on.

Beyond mechanical widgets for surgeons, there are imaging technologies that need developing, diagnostics to be squared away, medical device development up the ying-yang, medical informatics, pretty much any emerging or high-end technology out there most likely has a healthcare or medical angle that can be exploited.

Let me tell you, a tech-savvy doctor who is proactive and can talk to scientists and engineers is worth his weight in gold.

Doctors are prolific patent-writers, and their love of electronic toys and technology is just as high as any other group!

Me, I love my ipod, so I've been keeping commute interesting by downloading all sorts of medically related podcasts, which is great because I can listen to the summary of the NEJM every week, listen to cardiac heart sounds, and pick up a thing or two about practical internal medicine....and I'm not even into med school yet!

What I'm getting at is: Don't worry! Opportunities abound! "Q" from James Bond could have been content going into medicine instead of espionage. 🙂

 

[Nasrudin]

I agree with the above posters on 2 fronts. Plenty of opportunity. And targeting your applications towards your interests. run with it.

I think all medical schools would respect your technological talents and interests but there are some where your kind is sought specifically. These would be the schools with large research endowments. And a heavy scientific/technology culture as some mentioned.

Your assessment of the daily tasks of a primary care doc is intuitively good. You're simply not a good fit for that (by your own description) and therefore not a good fit for primary care schools that focus on clinical training almost exclusively with maybe a few clinical research happenings.

As the above poster said that needn't worry you. The degrees of separation between basic clinical work and the sites of technological innovations create for you the unique strength of your interests in both.

Medicine appears broad to me. With many different types of people and work within it. From techno geek to primary care grunt.