•••quote:•••Originally posted by ckent:
• •••quote:•••Originally posted by mpp:
•I think all the programs (I don't know of any exceptions but they could exist) do it that way. You do the first two years with the medical students, than 2 to 4 years to complete the PhD, then you do years three/four of the medical program to complete the MD.•••••My understanding is that even though the standard program is set up that way, students can elect to do their phD part first (phD for 3 yrs, then straight MD for the next 4 yrs). I don't see why any MD/phD program would care what order their students choose to do it in, and I know a couple students at different schools completing their phD before their MD in MD/phD programs as well.•••••I think it is possible to do this at several programs, although I don't know if any program director would particularly encourage this route. You'd probably have to talk with them individually to get their take on it. One issue could be that having the first two years of medical school before deciding on a lab might allow you to 1) be exposed to a wide range of topics, 2) delay having to choose the type of research you want to do, and 3) allow you to integrate some clinical knowledge into your thesis work. Additionally, if you wanted to maintain clinical contact during the PhD phase, it would help to have some prior medical background.
Just my 2 cents... 😀