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Hey pre-allo. Some of my friends here know about my struggle, but I think I need a bigger pool of advice.
For about 4 years I have been conflicted about going to medical school or not. To keep it short, I decided I did NOT want to do an MD/PhD because it is so long, and for little payoff in my mind for what I want to do. And I want to get to my work and career rather than stay in school for a long time.
I want to become a field epidemiologist- my dream is to become a CDC EIS officer and then work for the CDC or state health department doing outbreak investigations and ecological microbiology research. Most people in the positions I want are MDs, and I can easily see how being a physician would be useful for the field. But most of what you would learn in med school also seems irrelevant.
I struggle to apply to medical school because I dislike the amount of time spent on politics and beauracracy. It is training for a profession- it won't help me be a better scientist. And the training to be a physician seems dragged out and full of BS to deal with...
I struggle to apply to a PhD program, even with an epi focus, because I don't want to be trapped at the bench. I want to study population/ecological microbiology want to be in the field. I want to meet the people. And I want it to be OKAY to do community work. A lot of people I know imply I will be a ****ty PhD student and scientist because I do community service (instead of just being in lab). I want a career where I can do community work AND research without being dismissed or shuttled into some instructor/advisor position at a university. I love that medicine is so personal and centered on patients and communities, unlike a lot of science (or scientists, at least). I don't want to stop volunteering or caring because "I need to focus more on my research" beyond the 50-60 hrs/week I already do. Sometimes I worry i won't be able to get into a PhD program I want to anyway because my extensive community work will come up in my application.
I am also worried about getting into a research heavy medical school, which I feel is what I would need to do. I only have a LizzyM of about 70-72, but I am a solid A applicant by the WedgeDawg rating system (due to a lot of CV things that I don't want to disclose due to anonymity). So...which one will be more important? Can I even get into Emory if my MCAT if I'm only? I have an app capable of making up for my LizzyM...but is stats a lower bar that will hold me back since I am not URM? And yes, I know you can do research at state schools where I have a good shot at getting in, but the research I am super excited about it at Emory first and foremost, UCLA and Hopkins. Overall, I do still have deeper reasons for wanting to become a physician, but I know that doing public health could fulfill some of those reasons.
TLDR:
I genuinely am torn between the two fields, although I know I have a much better background in science and feel more socially comfortable in science than medicine. I am afraid of getting put into a box at the bench though when I want to be in the field and interacting with the community. Since many field epis have an MD is this the best route of training for me to go?
Any advice or ideas? It's a bit rambly I apologize. Also, I left out a lot of details simultaneously. I thought about posting in the public health forums but it doesn't get much traffic.
For about 4 years I have been conflicted about going to medical school or not. To keep it short, I decided I did NOT want to do an MD/PhD because it is so long, and for little payoff in my mind for what I want to do. And I want to get to my work and career rather than stay in school for a long time.
I want to become a field epidemiologist- my dream is to become a CDC EIS officer and then work for the CDC or state health department doing outbreak investigations and ecological microbiology research. Most people in the positions I want are MDs, and I can easily see how being a physician would be useful for the field. But most of what you would learn in med school also seems irrelevant.
I struggle to apply to medical school because I dislike the amount of time spent on politics and beauracracy. It is training for a profession- it won't help me be a better scientist. And the training to be a physician seems dragged out and full of BS to deal with...
I struggle to apply to a PhD program, even with an epi focus, because I don't want to be trapped at the bench. I want to study population/ecological microbiology want to be in the field. I want to meet the people. And I want it to be OKAY to do community work. A lot of people I know imply I will be a ****ty PhD student and scientist because I do community service (instead of just being in lab). I want a career where I can do community work AND research without being dismissed or shuttled into some instructor/advisor position at a university. I love that medicine is so personal and centered on patients and communities, unlike a lot of science (or scientists, at least). I don't want to stop volunteering or caring because "I need to focus more on my research" beyond the 50-60 hrs/week I already do. Sometimes I worry i won't be able to get into a PhD program I want to anyway because my extensive community work will come up in my application.
I am also worried about getting into a research heavy medical school, which I feel is what I would need to do. I only have a LizzyM of about 70-72, but I am a solid A applicant by the WedgeDawg rating system (due to a lot of CV things that I don't want to disclose due to anonymity). So...which one will be more important? Can I even get into Emory if my MCAT if I'm only? I have an app capable of making up for my LizzyM...but is stats a lower bar that will hold me back since I am not URM? And yes, I know you can do research at state schools where I have a good shot at getting in, but the research I am super excited about it at Emory first and foremost, UCLA and Hopkins. Overall, I do still have deeper reasons for wanting to become a physician, but I know that doing public health could fulfill some of those reasons.
TLDR:
I genuinely am torn between the two fields, although I know I have a much better background in science and feel more socially comfortable in science than medicine. I am afraid of getting put into a box at the bench though when I want to be in the field and interacting with the community. Since many field epis have an MD is this the best route of training for me to go?
Any advice or ideas? It's a bit rambly I apologize. Also, I left out a lot of details simultaneously. I thought about posting in the public health forums but it doesn't get much traffic.