Question about going from a school to working at its affiliated hospital

[noroxytocin]

I've heard it's bad to work at the hospital that's affiliated with your school, because the people still think of you as a student or something like that, so I was wondering if it's true of most or all schools. But specifically, I really want to go to Harvard, and then Mass General. Before you immediately think I want to go to Harvard only because it's one of the best schools, let me tell you that it isn't the main reason, although it is an added bonus. The reason I want to is because I had a condition since I was two years old that made me want to go into neuroendocrinology. I was reading about Mass General's neuroendocrine clinic, and I loved it. If there was anywhere I could work, it would be there.
Going back to the topic at hand, I also heard that Harvard and Mass General are different, in that MGH is more likely to accept people who went to Harvard. I'm asking not only because I don't know if this is true or not, but also for any advice in general. I'm not trying to brag at all, but I am really smart, and I do have a very strong passion for medicine and research, especially living with the condition I have.

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[Ismet]

It's not bad to work at the hospital that's affiliated with your school.

Worry about getting into medical school first, then worry about what specialty you want to do, then worry about where you will do your residency, then worry about where you will work as a physician. You can get into an MGH residency from any med school.

 

[noroxytocin]

Okay. But why is it bad to plan them out in advance? I can see how people could change their minds about what they want to do, but other than that it seems like a good thing to figure out what they want to do. Like I heard that a lot of doctors said they would have liked to change their specialty in retrospect.

 

[Ismet]

Okay. But why is it bad to plan them out in advance? I can see how people could change their minds about what they want to do, but other than that it seems like a good thing to figure out what they want to do. Like I heard that a lot of doctors said they would have liked to change their specialty in retrospect.

Wishing you did a different specialty is completely different from wishing you went to another institution for residency.

You can certainly have an idea of the specialty you are interested in. But it is pointless to "plan" where you will work as a physician when you haven't even applied to medical school yet. There are SO many factors at play between now and then, both in your control and out of your control, that any "plans" you come up with are just a pipe dream at this point.

 

[tmn]

Sounds like you're all set, OP. All that's required for BMS (HMS) and MBH (MGH) is desire.

 

[noroxytocin]

I agree with you guys, but I don't see why you have to be so rude about it. It's not like I want to go there so I can brag or anything--I just like they're neuroendocrine clinic. It seems like they're really improving treatments, which will change peoples' lives in my opinion. Also if you could tell me what the real and fake abbreviations mean, besides MGH of course, that would be good.

 

[tmn]

Best Medical School (BMS) and Man's Best Hospital (MBH) are Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), respectively. They are from a satire about healthcare and are not necessarily terms of indearment. Look up House of God.

I really like NASA and think that doing a moon walk would be so cool. Also, NASA is doing very important work for humanity. Those thoughts do not qualify me to be an astronaut. I don't know OP, perhaps you are astronaut caliber.

I suggest you take the MCAT before you pencil in a residency at MBH.

 

[Ismet]

I agree with you guys, but I don't see why you have to be so rude about it. It's not like I want to go there so I can brag or anything--I just like they're neuroendocrine clinic. It seems like they're really improving treatments, which will change peoples' lives in my opinion. Also if you could tell me what the real and fake abbreviations mean, besides MGH of course, that would be good.

No one is really being rude. Some sarcasm on tmn's part, but you are getting realistic answers. You can certainly have a "dream school" or a "dream specialty," no one is saying you can't. You can certainly say that at this point, you think you want to go to Harvard and do residency at MGH and eventually sub-specialize in neuroendocrinology (btw, that would require one or more fellowships, that's not something you get via a residency). But your question about working at a hospital affiliated with a school you haven't gotten in yet is a question that is about 10 years premature, and with the nature of this process, chances are slim that everything works out as desired.

 

[pluto101]

The best laid plans of mice and men not only often go awry, but they also set one up for unnecessary disappointment. Aiming high is great, but aiming high and narrow is foolish.

 

[tmn]

The best laid plans of mice and men not only often go awry, but they also set one up for unnecessary disappointment. Aiming high is great, but aiming high and narrow is foolish.

Sage words indeed.

 

[noroxytocin]

I don't know. I think it wouldn't have been rude, but saying oh please before it implies that I could never get into Harvard no matter what. Realistic answers are perfectly fine and welcome, but I really think that was just rude with no good advice to balance it out.
I did think it would require some fellowships. Aiming for a narrow goal does seem like a bad idea, but I just want to consider the best possibilities, like what I would like to do (for now at least) if I got an MD, or what I'd like to do if I got a PhD for example.

 

[Microglia]

I don't know. I think it wouldn't have been rude, but saying oh please before it implies that I could never get into Harvard no matter what. Realistic answers are perfectly fine and welcome, but I really think that was just rude with no good advice to balance it out.
I did think it would require some fellowships. Aiming for a narrow goal does seem like a bad idea, but I just want to consider the best possibilities, like what I would like to do (for now at least) if I got an MD, or what I'd like to do if I got a PhD for example.

Why not both?

To answer your original question: it's complicated. Eventually you do want to institution hop, especially to get more research funding and learn from multiple perspectives. Despite Harvard being a terrific institution, there will always be new things you could learn by spending some time at other great institutions like Stanford, JHop, etc.

Best of luck OP, perhaps it will happen for you. Either way, the path will not be easy and a decent amount of sacrifice will have to be made.

 

[noroxytocin]

Trust me, I would love to get MD and PhD degrees. My main obstacle is that I'm completely blind. I still think I could get both, but I think the main problem will be other people thinking that I can't. Does OP mean something other than oh please in this case? If so, I take back what I said about it being rude. Anyway, I will consider institution hopping in the future.

 

[noroxytocin]

Never mind--I thought OP meant oh please. I had no idea it meant original poster. I'd still like to know what you meant by MBH though. If it was insulting to them, I don't see how you could insult a hospital that has saved many thousands of lives, especially those of more difficult cases.

 

[tmn]

@noroxytocin MBH stands for Man's Best Hospital. It is a thinly veiled pseudonym for Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). It is from the book The House of God. The book is a satire about healthcare, specifically academic healthcare, set in places such as MGH, Beth Israel, etc. I didn't explicitly say the term was insulting, but the term is not a compliment either. Read The House of God and you will realize that there is no love lost on places such as MGH from Samuel Shem (the author). If you read the book, or if you spend any time in healthcare, you will quickly realize that places like MGH (and healthcare in general) are not the ivory towers they are made out to be.

 

[noroxytocin]

Thanks. That sounds like a really interesting and useful book, and I am not being sarcastic. I'll definitely read it. You don't have to answer this if it's in the book, but do you think it is good to an extent that they are academic, or is it more the arrogance and stuff like that that makes them flawed? I was just thinking that they do seem to focus more on improving therapies for people, which I really like, but then again maybe it's only because they have more money or something like that.