Really wish I had done biomedical engineering.. Is there a way?

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Rhodes

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Like many of you, I started off premed listening to my premed adviser. Before college, I had always been mechanically inclined. I liked to design and build things. Becoming a biomedical engineering major, a blend of my interest in medicine and finding solutions to problems with devices, was the most natural choice.

My adviser told me that I wouldn't be able to finish all my premed prereqs as a biomedical engineering major, which I now know is completely false. I wish I had SDN at the time. So, I became a microbiology major. I never got a chance to realize my potential as an engineer.

I still feel regret to this day. I truly want to be a physician, but I would also like to find solutions to problems with medical devices. I know of several physicians who are heavily involved with R&D at small firms, universities etc.

My question is, is it at all possible to follow this dream during or after medical school? Do any schools offer entry-level programs in something like biomedical engineering that you can complete during medical school?

If I had my bachelor's in biomedical engineering, I would have applied MD/PhD in a heartbeat.

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Hehe you should do chemical and biomolecular engineering. It's pretty cool and depending on the department at your university, there could be a lot interesting topics/projects to research. Furthermore, BME is pretty new, while ChemE/ChemBE is well established. If you had a bachelors in physics/biophysics or another engineering, it might be easier to transition into the BME field. I'm pretty sure you can still get in. The BME graduate program at my university accepts applicants who did their majors in biology, chemistry etc with a good math and physics background.
 
Like many of you, I started off premed listening to my premed adviser. Before college, I had always been mechanically inclined. I liked to design and build things. Becoming a biomedical engineering major, a blend of my interest in medicine and finding solutions to problems with devices, was the most natural choice.

My adviser told me that I wouldn't be able to finish all my premed prereqs as a biomedical engineering major, which I now know is completely false. I wish I had SDN at the time. So, I became a microbiology major. I never got a chance to realize my potential as an engineer.

I still feel regret to this day. I truly want to be a physician, but I would also like to find solutions to problems with medical devices. I know of several physicians who are heavily involved with R&D at small firms, universities etc.

My question is, is it at all possible to follow this dream during or after medical school? Do any schools offer entry-level programs in something like biomedical engineering that you can complete during medical school?

If I had my bachelor's in biomedical engineering, I would have applied MD/PhD in a heartbeat.

As a biomedical engineer, I will tell you that most of the things you learn as an undergrad in BME are far from what it sounds like you envision engineering to be. Engineering is one of those fields where work experience is the only way you really learn things, so outside of your senior design project your mechanically/hands-on inclined needs will not be met at all. Is this passion great enough for you to sit through 4 semesters of calc, 3-4 semesters of physics, and countless other engineering classes when you could just go learn LabView, Python, SolidWorks, etc on your own?

This is not to say that a degree in BME is useless for medical school - far from it. The biomechanics, fluid mechanics, tissue engineering, and physiology classes you take might help you a lot in medical school, but short of actually working as an engineer it's hard to actually call yourself an "engineer" with only a B.S.

My senior design internship is with a biomedical device company, and as far as I know they would only hire MDs for what you just said - consulting. The heavy lifting (programming, machining, design) is all done by engineers with years of experience in their field. You can consult with or without a BME degree. They won't be relying on your knowledge of circuits and fluid mechanics anyways, just on basic biomechanics, anatomy, physiological responses, etc. Even with an MD/PhD you won't be doing much engineering outside of basic consulting. Industry is vastly different from academics, and requires a set of skills that - as I mentioned earlier - is only learned through years of experience in the field. Many of the engineering professors in my school know barely anything outside of theory, and many have admitted that they wouldn't or haven't lasted long in industry.

So really, I would say it's not worth it.
 
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With a bachelor's in Biomedical engineering you might have a hard time finding a job.

It is pretty useless degree, unless you go to graduate school or medical school. In the industry, if you only have a bachelor's in BME, you are going to end up working on something like prosthetics or go in to clinical engineering (where you work in a hospital and basically make sure that the IV pumps work properly--very unexciting, unrewarding, and low pay). You also won't get paid that well compared to other disciplines.

BME is not that hard. It is a step up from Civil engineering.

My cousin who is an electrical engineer, worked on defibrillators for Medtronic. A EE/MechE/ChemE can land jobs with biomedical firms relatively easily, and they do not have the same limitations as BME graduates with a bachelor's.

You are better off in the more traditional fields of engineering.
 
Biomedical engineering is an awful major, save yourself the headache.
 
Biomedical engineering is an awful major, save yourself the headache.


I don't know if it's an "awful major," but some think that adcoms will be impressed by it. (not saying you would).

engineer, I will tell you that most of the things you learn as an undergrad in BME are far from what it sounds like you envision engineering to be

True.
 
I know UCSD has a program of this type where you can acquire an MD/MS in bioengineering. There may be others like this.

From their website:
"Bioengineering (M.D./M.S., M.D./M.Eng) degrees offered in conjunction with UCSD School of Medicine, pending independent admission to the medical school."
 
I don't know if it's an "awful major," but some think that adcoms will be impressed by it. (not saying you would).

I would agree. It applies to all engineering majors though. They're all useless if you don't take the time to learn on your own outside of class. I know BME majors who learned Python, C++, and SolidWorks on their own and are now employed and I know EE majors who thought their COMSOL or FPGA class would be enough for them and now they're unemployed. The reverse is also true.

OP, engineering takes a lot of effort, and it's not something you can do as a side career to being a doctor. Either you work as a physician with some minimal consulting or you work as an engineer and hope the MD background helps you some - a lot of MD/PhDs in our department say the MD is unnecessary for them on a day by day basis (although it does help with getting a faculty position in BME) and often times they did the MD first before realizing they had their heart set on engineering as a career.

I've yet to see someone who does both. So unless you actually want to be an engineer with a medical background instead of a clinician, don't go back to school for a BS in engineering.
 
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