PhD post MD

[RNtoMD87]

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I've seen people inquiring about achieving MD after their PhD, how about the reverse? I would probably be interested in obtaining my PhD sometime after I achieved my MD because I am always interested in furthering my education. It is literally the only interest in my life, above wealth, relationships, family, etc. I enjoy the pursuit of knowledge.

Is obtaining a PhD after an MD feasible?

 

[911389]

stop. think about your passion - not "pursuit of knowledge," but what you're actually passionate about??? like helping people or research etc?? - and pursue the path that will get you there. you don't need every degree (and all the debt).

 

[RNtoMD87]

Well I'm passionate about helping people, but I already do that as a nurse. And as bad as it sounds, its not my primary passion in life. If I had to rate them it would be

1. Passionate about the pursuit of knowledge (in all areas. Not just medical)
2. Helping people
3. Bettering myself physically and resilience wise

My life right now- Working as an RN, playing guitar, powerlifting, homebrewing, volunteering, shadowing, studying chemistry, physics, history, etc (main emphasis on studying the premed classes I have left to take but I break it up a lot). I watch a LOT of Ted talks. I read a lot of philosophy, (Nietszche, Machiavelli, sun tzu, primarily.)

 

[SpartanWolverine]

What would you do a PhD in? Would it be relevant to your medical career? Why not MD/PhD?

My two cents: you don't need a PhD to be a research faculty and it would be a massive hit to your medical career to take ~5 years off. As a physician there are one (and of course) two-year master's programs that you could also consider to provide a basis for further research/education.

 

[RNtoMD87]

What would you do a PhD in? Would it be relevant to your medical career? Why not MD/PhD?

My two cents: you don't need a PhD to be a research faculty and it would be a massive hit to your medical career to take ~5 years off. As a physician there are one (and of course) two-year master's programs that you could also consider to provide a basis for further research/education.

It would be something related. My personal interests are more dietary/fitness related right now, but I am pretty interested in most things medical. I just can't anticipate a point in my life that I'll be finished with formal education. I am very self taught but I have found that by taking formal education, it helps me become aware of more areas to go study on my own.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

It would be something related. My personal interests are more dietary/fitness related right now, but I am pretty interested in most things medical. I just can't anticipate a point in my life that I'll be finished with formal education. I am very self taught but I have found that by taking formal education, it helps me become aware of more areas to go study on my own.

That's great you value education so much. It's certainly something you could do but, other than an MD/PhD, you'll likely find few people on here supporting the idea of an independent PhD after finishing medical school. At some point you have to have a 'real job' unless you are independently wealthy. Finishing your pre-med, doing four years of medical school, 3-7 years of residency, and then doing 5+ years of PhD work (when would you fit that in? Would you turn down a physician job offer for $250k+ for a 35k grad school stipend? What about debt? What do you do after you finish the PhD?)... just doesn't make sense. There's a never-ending supply of information in medicine that could keep you learning forever. And if you want to do research you also have that opportunity as a physician. Anyhow, get involved in research during your pre-med time, continue research during medical school, and see what you really want to end up doing on a day-to-day basis.

 

[RNtoMD87]

What's a good place to do REAL research? I work at a learning magnet hospital and everything they suggest is not truly "research".

 

[SpartanWolverine]

What's a good place to do REAL research? I work at a learning magnet hospital and everything they suggest is not truly "research".

What kind of research do you want to do? Really depends. A "magnet" hospital means nothing more than they spent resources (average of 4.25 years and $2.125M) to tick the boxes for some sort of relatively arbitrary recognition from the ANCC. I would argue that nursing research is generally not that kind of thing that will make "Science", "Nature", or "JAMA" headlines (which are places where I would consider "real", broadly impactful research is published). The closest I came, during my handful of years in Boston, to doing 'real' research would have been at MGH/MIT/HMS, but, really, what do you mean? If you want to do research in nursing, maybe your current place is the best. If you want to do research in genetics, you might want to go to UCSD or Yale. If you want to do research in public health you might want to go to JHU, HMS, or UNC. Get what I mean?

 

[RNtoMD87]

What kind of research do you want to do? Really depends. A "magnet" hospital means nothing more than they spent resources (average of 4.25 years and $2.125M) to tick the boxes for some sort of relatively arbitrary recognition from the ANCC. I would argue that nursing research is generally not that kind of thing that will make "Science", "Nature", or "JAMA" headlines (which are places where I would consider "real", broadly impactful research is published). The closest I came, during my handful of years in Boston, to doing 'real' research would have been at MGH/MIT/HMS, but, really, what do you mean? If you want to do research in nursing, maybe your current place is the best. If you want to do research in genetics, you might want to go to UCSD or Yale. If you want to do research in public health you might want to go to JHU, HMS, or UNC. Get what I mean?

Well I mentioned that I wanted to do medical research and not nursing because I didn't think it would look good to a med school. All they really had were M&Ms which isn't research really, (as fascinating as it sounds.)