Possible MD/PhD?

[Ovid]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So I've already been accepted to (and accepted my spot in) my top choice for medical school. It's my undergraduate institution, and I couldn't be more pleased. I love the campus. I love the city. I love the people. I'd be perfectly content living the rest of my life here.

My research mentor (whose lab I've worked in for four semesters and two summers) approached me today. He had a meeting with the coordinator of my school's MD/PhD program. He took it upon himself to get me an interview, although I've expressed no interest up to this point in getting my PhD.

I'm not totally averse to the prospect of doing it. Financially, it makes a lot of sense. It would also make me a more competitive applicant for residencies. I'm just off put by the extra time.

I'm married, and my wife doesn't like the idea of putting off kids any longer than it would take for MD+residency. My dad went back to medical school, so I know what it's like to be a little kid whose dad is too busy becoming a doctor. I will not do that to my children.

I've done research for awhile now, and I'm pretty good at it (first author on a publication, a couple nations conferences). I just don't think it's something I want to do for an extended period of time. Certainly not the rest of my life. I want to be a clinician.

So I'm in a precarious position. Do I interview or not? Assuming I'm offered a spot, do I accept or not?

I just need to bounce this off of some semi-knowledgable people. My research mentor is gung-ho, whereas my wife is about ready to pull her hair out.

Thanks.

 

[sovereign0]

I don't see any harm in interviewing, assuming that you are allowed to matriculate MD-only if you choose - I don't see why not - and then deciding what to do if you are offered an acceptance to the PhD program as well.

As to whether or not you should do it, it's up to your life goals. If you want to settle down quickly and start a family, a PhD will only delay that. If you have little interest in research/academic medicine as a dominant portion of your career, then the extra time for a Ph.D. may not be worth it.

I don't really think the financial incentive to go Ph.D. is a good reason, in and of itself. You're just adding time between matriculation and earning an attending's salary.

 

[Doudline]

The two motives you stated -finances and competitiveness for residency- to pursue a MD/PhD are nonfactual and absolutely insufficient. I would highly recommend forgetting about it altogether.

-------------------------
To be more clear: PhD years are lost physician income years. Worth 200k+ a year?
And a PhD is completely unnecessary even for the most competitive specialties.

Coupled with your disinterest in a research career and desire to be a clinical practitioner, the decision you should take is clear as day.

 

[gyngyn]

There is often no "residency boost" from the dual degree.

 

[NonTrad16]

So I've already been accepted to (and accepted my spot in) my top choice for medical school. It's my undergraduate institution, and I couldn't be more pleased. I love the campus. I love the city. I love the people. I'd be perfectly content living the rest of my life here.

My research mentor (whose lab I've worked in for four semesters and two summers) approached me today. He had a meeting with the coordinator of my school's MD/PhD program. He took it upon himself to get me an interview, although I've expressed no interest up to this point in getting my PhD.

I'm not totally averse to the prospect of doing it. Financially, it makes a lot of sense. It would also make me a more competitive applicant for residencies. I'm just off put by the extra time.

I'm married, and my wife doesn't like the idea of putting off kids any longer than it would take for MD+residency. My dad went back to medical school, so I know what it's like to be a little kid whose dad is too busy becoming a doctor. I will not do that to my children.

I've done research for awhile now, and I'm pretty good at it (first author on a publication, a couple nations conferences). I just don't think it's something I want to do for an extended period of time. Certainly not the rest of my life. I want to be a clinician.

So I'm in a precarious position. Do I interview or not? Assuming I'm offered a spot, do I accept or not?

I just need to bounce this off of some semi-knowledgable people. My research mentor is gung-ho, whereas my wife is about ready to pull her hair out.

Thanks.

Are you allowed to post in the MD/PhD forum now that you're accepted? They probably have the best insights...
1) the financial 'benefit' may not be as real as it seems.
2) having experienced graduate school (PhD -> MS convert, choosing instead to apply for medical school), I wouldn't pursue an MD/PhD if I had other things in-progress. With a SO expressing interest in moving things forward, if you plan to wait until after Med+Residency, the PhD would be a time-sink.

If you want to research you can during medical school, and you can do so after finishing as an MD.

 

[bee17]

OP, you made it clear that you do not want to be in school for four extra years, and you want to be a clinician. MD/PhD is not consistent with these goals. While not being in debt is nice, MD/PhD will ultimately cost you four years of attending salary. Any advantage in residency applications, from what I've read on the MD/PhD forums, is minimal to nonexistent. The extra four years might be palatable if your dream was to become a physician scientist, but that is clearly not the case. Tell your PI and the school that you appreciate their consideration, but your career goals do not make you a good fit for the MD/PhD program.

 

[sinombre]

I'm just off put by the extra time.

I'm married, and my wife doesn't like the idea of putting off kids any longer than it would take for MD+residency.

I just don't think it's something I want to do for an extended period of time. Certainly not the rest of my life. I want to be a clinician.

It seems like there is really no reason for you to get a PhD. As has already been mentioned, you will graduate debt free, but you'll miss out on 4 years of attending salary. If you have no interest in doing research in the future and want to be a clinician, don't get a PhD.

 

[StIGMA]

So I've already been accepted to (and accepted my spot in) my top choice for medical school. It's my undergraduate institution, and I couldn't be more pleased. I love the campus. I love the city. I love the people. I'd be perfectly content living the rest of my life here.

My research mentor (whose lab I've worked in for four semesters and two summers) approached me today. He had a meeting with the coordinator of my school's MD/PhD program. He took it upon himself to get me an interview, although I've expressed no interest up to this point in getting my PhD.

I'm not totally averse to the prospect of doing it. Financially, it makes a lot of sense. It would also make me a more competitive applicant for residencies. I'm just off put by the extra time.

I'm married, and my wife doesn't like the idea of putting off kids any longer than it would take for MD+residency. My dad went back to medical school, so I know what it's like to be a little kid whose dad is too busy becoming a doctor. I will not do that to my children.

I've done research for awhile now, and I'm pretty good at it (first author on a publication, a couple nations conferences). I just don't think it's something I want to do for an extended period of time. Certainly not the rest of my life. I want to be a clinician.

So I'm in a precarious position. Do I interview or not? Assuming I'm offered a spot, do I accept or not?

I just need to bounce this off of some semi-knowledgable people. My research mentor is gung-ho, whereas my wife is about ready to pull her hair out.

Thanks.

You are trained, cheap labor for your research mentor. Get out from under him before you start medical school and don't feel like you owe him anything, because you don't. Don't interview for the combined program, and when he asks you (he will ask) to do research while you are in medical school, tell him no if you are no longer interested (especially if you have clinical research or something else you would want to do instead, like spending time with your family)!

 

[claduva94]

Very few people genuinely need an MD/PhD

 

[WedgeDawg]

What are your career goals?

 

[takeurmeds02]

You could be just as competitive as you want to be so long as you bust your ass in medschool. You already sound resolute in your post and family seems really important to you. I don't think you should further sacrifice that when your primary goal can still get you to where you want to go.

 

[Med Ed]

I've done research for awhile now, and I'm pretty good at it (first author on a publication, a couple nations conferences). I just don't think it's something I want to do for an extended period of time. Certainly not the rest of my life. I want to be a clinician.

That's all you need to say. You getting a PhD is a bad, terrible, horrible, awful idea, and your research mentor is probably thinking about his own needs rather than yours. The apparent financial benefit of a dual degree is usually offset by opportunity cost.

 

[flapjack3d]

Financially it's not a good option, unless youre finding it really hard to get loans. Someone on the physician scientist forum said "don't do md/phd if you want to do research, md is just fine for that. do md/phd if you want to devote your life to research." i think that's probably about right. will you still be happy with your choice when you're 35 and still "in training"?

that being said you could always go to the interview and if you get in you can always drop it later once you've had more time to think about it. personally that's what i'd do.

 

[goldy490]

I know a couple MD/PhD's in my lab, and they all say you need to absolutely LOVE research if you want to do an MD/PhD. Tacking 4 years on to med school may not seem bad, but unless you love being in the lab 10 hours a day for 4 years you're gonna be miserable. Even the MD/PhDs I know who do love research have tons of frustration because their path is so long and non-linear. 4 years med school + 4 years PhD + 3 years (at least) of residency = 11 years of working like a dog. Your kids will be teenagers, if not college students, by the time you're done!

 

[Ovid]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I knew it wasn't a good idea for me, and I appreciate everyone confirming that.

Just a quick clarifier, my mentor is really awesome. I have no doubt he was just looking out for my best interest. He's faculty at a college other than the COM at the university, so I wouldn't be working on my PhD in his lab. I consider him more of friend than anything. We are on a first name basis, I go to his house on Thanksgiving, and he helped with my wedding. I couldn't ask to be mentored by a better man.