PHD after MD?

[RunningKing]

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I am interested in doing research in addition to practicing as a clinician. However, I have come to this realization after doing research my first year of medical school and really liking it. What are the disadvantages of this, if I am interested in a specialty like radiology?

 

[pseudoknot]

I am interested in doing research in addition to practicing as a clinician. However, I have come to this realization after doing research my first year of medical school and really liking it. What are the disadvantages of this, if I am interested in a specialty like radiology?

The disadvantages are mainly financial. Very few people have done this, mostly those who were extremely committed to doing bench research and felt that it was worth it.

I'm not sure what you mean by "a specialty like radiology" as my impression is that it's fairly unique.

Keep in mind there are other options such as doing a research fellowship after residency, or a year out program like the ones run by NIH and HHMI. There are a lot of people who do research with only an MD, although I do think the training and protected time in a PhD makes a difference, and most clinical research is not what I would call scientifically rigorous.

 

[RxnMan]

The disadvantages are mainly financial. Very few people have done this, mostly those who were extremely committed to doing bench research and felt that it was worth it...

I would somewhat agree here. You can do a fellowship or extend your residency (a la surgery research years) to get PhD or other graduate degrees. But either way you're cutting out years of income at the attending level. You can supplement it by loan repayment programs if you qualify for them. As a first year, if you're really gung-ho about research, you might be able to apply in-house to your school's MD/PhD program (assuming your school has one and funding available).

With regards to radiology and PhDs, take a look down the forum page and read the thread entitled "You know what, never mind." It will give you an interesting perspective on how the field of radiology percives PhDs and research.

...Keep in mind there are other options such as doing a research fellowship after residency, or a year out program like the ones run by NIH and HHMI...

I am about to start one of these, so feel free to ask me questions or look through the research forum FAQ (link in my sig).

...most research is not what I would call scientifically rigorous...

Fixed it for you.

 

[Neuronix]

What are the disadvantages of this, if I am interested in a specialty like radiology?

The time to get PhD is either during med school (i.e. MD/PhD) or during an extended research fellowship/post-doc after residency. There is no benefit whatsoever to taking off after fourth year for a PhD and would be significantly detrimental to your residency applications.

As for Radiology, they by far care most about your clerkship/elective grades, Step I/II scores, and LORs. Research is not a very important criteria for them, even at the PhD level, and can only be viewed as a required or even a highly beneficial factor at a few top programs (in combination with all the other grades, Step scores, etc...). This same research can be provided by a productive year out or even several months of research program within a medical school (i.e. 1st-2nd year summer + 4th year research elective).