Medical Research-focused MD applicant: How do I answer "why MD"?

[tantacles]

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Hello,

I am applying to MD programs for the 2021 cycle, and I have just wrapped up submitting my secondaries. I have been fortunate to receive 2 IIs so far (1 from UTSW- I am pretty sure this was part of their first wave of "auto-invites" and the other from UCLA - which I was very surprised and happy to find in my inbox!)

I am quite new to SDN, so I apologize if this doesn't follow the normal standards/protocols, but I thought it would be better to lump these questions together rather than making a bunch of smaller, separate posts.

I had a couple of concerns that I have struggled with finding answers to since I first decided to apply to medical school:

1. This could be neuroticism kicking in, but I was curious about how adcoms perceived applicants that are research-oriented but not MD/PhD (i.e., focused mostly on research as an undergrad, wants to continue research as a physician) and also explicitly made that clear in their personal statement - Is there any distinction in how research-oriented MD-only applicants are evaluated? E.g. evaluated against the standards of MSTP applicants vs. MDs who want to pursue a purely clinical career

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications when compared to other MD applicants.

For a bit of context, I initially imagined pursuing a PhD, but after 2.5 years of research in college, I realized that I wanted to have a more direct/immediate impact on treating/healing patients -> interest in medicine -> which evolved into an interest in academic medicine to blend both my enjoyment of research + clinical care. I have 1400 hours in research vs. 270 in clinical volunteering + 48 hours in shadowing (clinical hours would have been higher, but the global circumstances have put a hold on adding more during my current gap year), which I know is not a lot of clinical hours when strictly looking at numbers.

2. Although I envision research being an integral part of my career as a physician, I am worried that it was wrong/questionable for me to add paragraphs on my research in my personal statement and end on the idea of becoming an "academic physician" rather than solely focusing on "why medicine".

If research is a big part of your application and your story, completely acceptable to include it in your application prominently.

Because of this concern, I've felt a bit unsure of my overall impressions as an MD applicant wondering how to present myself in interviews/answering the "why medicine" question in interview form

All you have to do is explain why you want to go into medicine and take care of patients. Come up with a 30 second answer that you can casually say without rushing your speech.