PhD and post doc to MD

[cmo01]

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Hi there

Some brief background. I completed my BA in Psychology, my MSc and PhD in Neurobiology (all in the UK). I did 2 years post-doc in the UK, before taking a second post-doc in the US which unfortunately only lasted 1 year as it was with a pharmaceutical company and they shut down. I therefore returned to academia and completed a post doc (2 yrs) at an Ivy League before being offered a job (senior scientist) with a biotech.

I'm thinking of heading back to medical school. I am 35 years old. I will have to complete a post-bac program in order to meet the prerequisites given that my undergrad degree is not from the US. I am interested in psychiatry/neurology residencies but understand that options are probably best left open, and there's the whole issue of just 'getting in' to be dealt with first.

The finances are also something I have yet to fully consider. I have approx. $50K in personal savings and would probably be looking to apply to public schools (those in the U of Cal system at least).

Questions, (1) Do I stand a chance of being accepted into a medical school (within the U of Cal system, UCLA, UCSF, UCSD)?
(2) What are my chances (assuming things went good 'when' I get in) of getting into psychiatry?
(3) Am I completely insane.

 

[Scottish Chap]

Questions, (1) Do I stand a chance of being accepted into a medical school (within the U of Cal system, UCLA, UCSF, UCSD)?
(2) What are my chances (assuming things went good 'when' I get in) of getting into psychiatry?
(3) Am I completely insane.

1) Yes, but you must look outside California, too. Even the top applicants from Cali have problems securing admission in their own state.

2) Impossible to predict. That is many steps away from where you are now. Know that psychiatry is not traditionally one of the competitive specialties, however.

3). Yes. I did a BSc (Hon) at Edinburgh, MS and PhD as well as posdoc in the U.S. (different places), then went to medical school - we (wife and I) 'started over' for medical school. We (wife, daughter, unborn son) sold everything and started over again for residency. It is an enormous sacrifice for everyone, and the road is long and dark. This career is a privilege because you serve, but it is in no way comfortable, generous, or glamorous. If you are content where you are and you can be gainfully employed, stay where you are. Medicine is a MINIMUM 7-year commitment....just for the training. You will be 200k+ in debt that will translate into 400K+ loans with compounding interest and the absence of in-training loan forgiveness. You will have no time to eat, sleep, or urinate, you will be treated badly, and taken for granted for a large part of your training.

In short, it is possible for you.

Good luck!

 

[QofQuimica]

Hi there

Some brief background. I completed my BA in Psychology, my MSc and PhD in Neurobiology (all in the UK). I did 2 years post-doc in the UK, before taking a second post-doc in the US which unfortunately only lasted 1 year as it was with a pharmaceutical company and they shut down. I therefore returned to academia and completed a post doc (2 yrs) at an Ivy League before being offered a job (senior scientist) with a biotech.

I'm thinking of heading back to medical school. I am 35 years old. I will have to complete a post-bac program in order to meet the prerequisites given that my undergrad degree is not from the US. I am interested in psychiatry/neurology residencies but understand that options are probably best left open, and there's the whole issue of just 'getting in' to be dealt with first.

The finances are also something I have yet to fully consider. I have approx. $50K in personal savings and would probably be looking to apply to public schools (those in the U of Cal system at least).

First, welcome to SDN from a fellow PhD-to-MD. Second, check out this sticky with links to threads that I have collected for people going from grad to med school. You will find answers to many of your questions there. Third, PM a user named Scottish Chap. Most of us are Americans, so we can't really advise you about how to go about applying to our med schools as a UK citizen.

(1) Do I stand a chance of being accepted into a medical school (within the U of Cal system, UCLA, UCSF, UCSD)?

I am not sure if the UC schools take foreign nationals. Many public schools do not. You should contact the individual med schools to ask about this.

(2) What are my chances (assuming things went good 'when' I get in) of getting into psychiatry?

Psychiatry is one of the least competitive specialties. Assuming you get past the hurdle of getting into med school and you don't flunk out (very rare in American med schools), you have an excellent chance of matching into psych.

(3) Am I completely insane.

Well, you do want to go into psych, so your lack of sanity is a given.

Hope this helps, and best of luck. 🙂

Edit: I see SC has already beaten me to answering your questions. So much the better.

 

[cmo01]

thanks for your responses guys.

Just to answer some of your questions, I'm in the process of establishing residency (through a Greencard) and this is sufficient for most schools (including U of Cal).

I've heard Psych isn't as competitive as other residencies, but my main interest is that I have a psychology/neurobiology background and therefore see quite a lot of synergy between the disciplines.

Now the hard part. Scottish Chap, you final comment to my question "Am I insane". First, I'm also an Edinburgh graduate so...I dunno, did we have a mascot? I'd like to be able to say "GO LIONS" or something like that. Back to the points you raise. You really don't think its worth the sacrifice? I mean you have to answer yes to that question I understand, given that you are in the midst of the process/you've already made the decision. But why did you do it?

 

[Scottish Chap]

Now the hard part. Scottish Chap, you final comment to my question "Am I insane". First, I'm also an Edinburgh graduate so...I dunno, did we have a mascot? I'd like to be able to say "GO LIONS" or something like that. Back to the points you raise. You really don't think its worth the sacrifice? I mean you have to answer yes to that question I understand, given that you are in the midst of the process/you've already made the decision. But why did you do it?

Pretty sure we don't have a mascot. I actually started off in pure psychology at George Square in 1994 (how about you?), but transferred to pharmacology after first year.

Worth the sacrifice? Of course. This is a service profession and, in little ways, you really can make a difference. I do every day and I'm nothing special. However, the training is long , hard, and unforgiving. Every day tasks can be impossible depending on the rigor of the program you join. I had a nightmare call night last night - 27 hours of chaos, a full code, a disaster list, admissions to cap, and I ended up having to do several emergency blood draws and EKGs because nobody else could (or would). It's hard to know why I did this after a night like that, but there's always tomorrow...