PLEASE HELP! "Why MD/PhD?"

[benfolds21]

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I really need a good answer to this question. I am interested in research as I have had several positions in different laboratories.

I have an interview in a week and I KNOW they are going to ask this question. Any advice? Because they will shoot me down if I say that I love science and that I want to do more bench work because they will probably say that MD's do bench work as well.

Please help!!!! I feel stupid. Plus I just had mouth surgery ...and so i need pity haha

 

[Apparition]

Maybe tell them you have specific ideas for research and you want time/more education to pursue them?

 

[airflare]

If you don't know how to answer this question, why did you decide to apply for MD/PhD in the first place?

 

[Thundrstorm]

1. Why DO you want MD/PhD?
2. What did you write in your AMCAS MD/PhD essay if you don't know why?
3. You need to know why before you commit to a program, and you should've known before you applied. If it's just a problem of articulating it, that's one thing, but if you really don't know, why did you apply?
4. There's an MD/PhD forum; use it.

 

[jebus]

Most MDs actually don't do bench work/research and if they do I've noticed - as have faculty members/post-docs/graduate students/techs I've worked with - that they lack an appreciation of what can be done in a lab, how grants work, the hard-core peer review that a PhD requires, an understanding of how to pursue long-term research goals (ie. what you want to accomplish in your career) within the NSF grant framework that rewards (and requires) short-term (3-5 year) vision, etc. These can be learned (and PhDs learn them, to boot!) but it's tough to learn them while you're on the job and have clinical duties to worry about, as well.
These are really poor reasons for an interview but whatever.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

I can tell you my reasons. I'm interested in translational research - "bench to bedside" - having both degrees allows me to have access and direct contact with patients, while the PhD trains me in how to do science. Additionally, if you are less interested in patient contact, you can argue that you learn an incredible amount in obtaining an MD degree - you have a ton of information at your fingertips that a PhD doesn't, so you can more easily make connections between clinically relevant problems and the lab. A PhD just trains you in doing basic science research. If you want to do research as an MD, you'll have to put in the time anyway by doing research over summers between school years, on your spare time, take off a year or two, fellowships, a research-incorporating residency, etc. Going MD/PhD gives you a well-structured program, the support of an MD/PhD program office for guidance and resolution, the extra credential of the PhD to better reflect your research experience (and this definitely helps in residency), as well as not having to pay for medical school. The latter reasons are not ones that you should discuss, though. However, if you're just mildly interested in research and looking for a "free PhD", MD/PhD is not the way to go.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

I really need a good answer to this question. I am interested in research as I have had several positions in different laboratories.

I have an interview in a week and I KNOW they are going to ask this question. Any advice? Because they will shoot me down if I say that I love science and that I want to do more bench work because they will probably say that MD's do bench work as well.

Please help!!!! I feel stupid. Plus I just had mouth surgery ...and so i need pity haha

I just looked over your profile. It seems like you applied to a lot of MD programs and then just slapped on the MD/PhD one pretty late. It doesn't sound like you're very committed to the MD/PhD thing, as you didn't apply to mostly MD/PhD programs. If you really want the MD/PhD, I would suggest either taking off two years to do research and hopefully publish (although it isn't mandatory) and reapply mostly or entirely MD/PhD, or go to a better school for MD/PhD than SUNY Downstate (it's not very reputable for its research), do research in the meanwhile, and try to switch into MD/PhD internally.

Also, programs might ask you at interviews where else you've applied. If you only applied to one MD/PhD program and over 20 MD only programs, it doesn't sound like you're particularly interested. Many people are quite interested in MD/PhD and are turning down great MD only interviews because that's what they really want to do. I just turned down a WashU MD-only interview because I really want an MD/PhD program and already got into a great one.

 

[benfolds21]

I just looked over your profile. It seems like you applied to a lot of MD programs and then just slapped on the MD/PhD one pretty late. It doesn't sound like you're very committed to the MD/PhD thing, as you didn't apply to mostly MD/PhD programs. If you really want the MD/PhD, I would suggest either taking off two years to do research and hopefully publish (although it isn't mandatory) and reapply mostly or entirely MD/PhD, or go to a better school for MD/PhD than SUNY Downstate (it's not very reputable for its research), do research in the meanwhile, and try to switch into MD/PhD internally.

Also, programs might ask you at interviews where else you've applied. If you only applied to one MD/PhD program and over 20 MD only programs, it doesn't sound like you're particularly interested. Many people are quite interested in MD/PhD and are turning down great MD only interviews because that's what they really want to do. I just turned down a WashU MD-only interview because I really want an MD/PhD program and already got into a great one.

Let me explain myself just a little bit. I went to my MD interview and while there they spoke of the new joint PhD program for Bioengineering with Polytechnic University. As an undergraduate, I majored in Bioengineering and found the research they were doing very intriguing to me and even visited one of their laboratories. They encouraged I applied to the program and so I did after my MD interview. Therefore that is why I only applied to one MD/PhD program.

 

[hannahx]

If you don't know how to answer this question, why did you decide to apply for MD/PhD in the first place?

I was wondering the same thing?

 

[Thundrstorm]

Let me explain myself just a little bit. I went to my MD interview and while there they spoke of the new joint PhD program for Bioengineering with Polytechnic University. As an undergraduate, I majored in Bioengineering and found the research they were doing very intriguing to me and even visited one of their laboratories. They encouraged I applied to the program and so I did after my MD interview. Therefore that is why I only applied to one MD/PhD program.

Fair enough, but just liking research or having research experience is not a sufficient reason to pursue an MD/PhD.

How do you envision your career, and will a joint degree be the best way to get you there? That's the question you should be asking yourself.

 

[silas2642]

Fair enough, but just liking research or having research experience is not a sufficient reason to pursue an MD/PhD.

How do you envision your career, and will a joint degree be the best way to get you there? That's the question you should be asking yourself.

I agree with Thundrstorm-- MD/PhD is not a road one undertakes lightly. It is a grueling and long process that you want to make sure is right for you before you begin. Otherwise it is hell.

 

[beary]

I have an interview in a week and I KNOW they are going to ask this question. Any advice? Because they will shoot me down if I say that I love science and that I want to do more bench work because they will probably say that MD's do bench work as well.

Just tell the truth. Of course some MDs do bench research, but generally not without a dedicated research fellowship. If you are going to be a successful researcher, you have to put in the time to train - either in graduate school (usually and a postdoc too) or a postdoctoral research fellowship. Medical school trains you to be a clinician, not a bench researcher.

 

[deuist]

Some links that might help you:

UPenn
MCG
UAlberta

 

[Pewl]

Personally, I think a Phd is more difficult to achieve than an MD. I was in a Phd program before I decided just to finish the MS and leave for med school. The trials and tribulations for getting a Phd are nuts. You need to pass the qualifying exams, get a dissertation committee together, get AN IDEA, organize it, present it orally before the committee, then DO the experiment, then write it up. On average it takes about 5 years to do a Phd now. (at least in my area; biomedical physics). I have an enormous amount of respect for science Phd's. I decided to switch over because for some reason medicine just felt right to me right now.