start lab rotations or finish a master's degree?

[ellifino]

Hi there,

For the last year, I've been screwing around in a Master's degree program at my tiny little state school in the Midwest, waiting to start my MD/PhD program, which I deferred for one year to make the move easier for my family (I'm married with three kids.)

My Master's program is in mathematics, and I haven't been taking it all that seriously because I am getting ready to start medical school. But apparently I have accidentally almost completed the requirements for the Master's degree. I still need 5 hours of mathematics "research" (they mean just independent study on a topic of your choice), Algebra I (an advanced number / group theory, which is a topic I'm really good at, and 2 hours of any other upper-division math elective. And I'd have to take comps.

So my plan had been to move in June & start lab rotations, but now I'm tempted to either 1) stay an extra month here and knock out those requirements or 2) do them in the evening during those months when I'm just doing lab rotations. I have crap tons of existing material for the research requirement that I'd just need to package into a coherent thing.

My research interests are all along the lines of computational biology / biostatistics / bioinformatics, so the Master's would be applicable. But like my husband says, will I really need more letters after my name? But then again, it seems silly to walk away from most of a Master's degree.

So, like you do for any important decision, I've decided to turn to strangers on the Internet for help. What do you guys think? Would it be worth it?

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[Maebea]

Forget the MA and enjoy the next few months with your family. The first two years of med school are going to kick your butt. Remember how it was after you had your first child, when brushing your teeth once a day or taking a couple showers a week was considered an accomplishment? Med school is not quite that bad, but it can be damn-near all-consuming. Your kids will be two years older when you next have some time to really kick back and enjoy them. For your sanity, take this opportunity to build some cherished memories to sustain you through histology, anatomy, Step I, etc.

The only reason to do the degree (since the degree itself really does not matter) would be to gain tools that would be helpful in your PhD. Chances are, learning these tools would be part of the PhD curriculum, so I do not see a compelling reason to acquire them now.

It is pretty amazing that you are starting a MD-PhD program with 3 kids. You obviously are very talented & determined and can probably do anything you set your mind to. However, just because you can do it, does not mean you should do it. Sometimes, walking away is the best thing to do.

Good luck!

 

[Freak]

I don't know ... I think that the MA may help you more than a few months on the back end (ie. delaying your lab rotations). You are not required to have the summer rotations to be an MSTP. So I am voting for #1.

The extra letters are not what will matter, what will is that on your CV it will show that you have a masters in mathematics (which is actually quite relevant to comp bio). The second thing is that if anything (god forbid) were to happen during your PhD, you at least have a solid masters to fall back on. I have found that during my PhD, I have not gotten as much coursework in valuable related topics (as the focus has been more on research, classes required to be able to do said research, and getting out).

Finally, sometimes if you tell the committee that you have a masters, they will let you skim by some of the PhD requirements a little (usually coursework and timeline).