I recently became fascinated with the field of Immunology. With my prior interests stemming from Neural-science, I thought it would be absolutely fascinating to combine the two into a MD program with a focus on neural-immunology. However, my troubles come into play when I try to research the lifestyles of immunologists. Income doesn't interest me. I want to know if I'll be able to work with people/patients rather than sit in a lab all day long, working on the same experiment for years on end, which is the last thing I would want out of my career. That being said, are there any med graduates here with this type of specialization? Or are there any med students who know people that specialize in this field? Even immunology alone would be excellent. Thanks for any help!
Hey there! I suggest posting this question in the MD/PhD forums, since it is most research oriented. As for lifestyles of scientists, actually you will be able to see patients without having to sit in lab all day long. However, the time is split unevenly - usually its a 80/20 split of writing grants to seeing patients.
I'm far from being a med school graduate, but I can answer some of your concerns. No, you don't have to wind up being in a lab all day. There are multiple tracks within any specialty, including what you're interested in right now. I agree that those are fascinating fields. During med school, you will be exposed to many fields, several of which you may find equally or more fascinating and suitable. It's very normal for students to wind up changing their goals several times during rotations.
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