Undergrad doing Ph.D /MD-Ph.D Program but wants to M.D.

[Genetixx]

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Being from a State School with little emphasis on research, I was able to join the MARC program which is a two year fellowship designed for those who wish to pursuit a Ph.D or M.D./Ph.D.

After speaking with the coordinator of the program he said, "If you apply to just an M.D. program, we'll be sad, but we cannot make you apply to an M.D./Ph.D program." He also told me that the school could get in trouble if I only go M.D. He went on to inform me about the benefits of an M.D./Ph.D program and I still actually am considering it. My problem is that I am afraid of the time commitments of being an M.D./Ph.D and possible family problems that could arise. As of now, I am 75%/15% leaning towards just an M.D.

So my question is:
What kind of difficulties will you run into by doing these programs designed to earn a Ph.D but not actually following through? (i.e. applying, interviewing, problems with the program and/or school, etc.)

If anyone has had or knows anyone who's had any experience with this type of issue (or non-issue) I'd greatly appreciate your input!

 

[Poetic Silence]

What the [censored]?

You'll "make them sad?" who the [censored] cares? Do what you wanna!

 

[Genetixx]

What the [censored]?

You'll "make them sad?" who the [censored] cares? Do what you wanna!

lol most definitely. My question mainly asks if there will be any road bumps applying to medical school, or if they will even care.

 

[Poetic Silence]

I can't imagine why they'd care negatively. If anything, it's a positive.

 

[StIGMA]

Plenty of Goldwater scholars "fail" their committment to pursue a PhD or MD/PhD and pursue medicine. This is no different. You are acquiring reseach exposure. If you decline to apply to MD/PhD programs, you still will have set a foundation to decide whether or not to pursue research any further as an MD. Do what is best for you.

 

[Genetixx]

Plenty of Goldwater scholars "fail" their committment to pursue a PhD or MD/PhD and pursue medicine. This is no different. You are acquiring reseach exposure. If you decline to apply to MD/PhD programs, you still will have set a foundation to decide whether or not to pursue research any further as an MD. Do what is best for you.

Perfect, this is exactly the type of answer I was looking for. I do want to pursuit research but after putting in 20-40 hour weeks in the lab and writing, I'm not sure if I want it to be my "life".

Thanks for the input!

 

[Nuel]

I was accepted to medical school 6 years ago, declined it since I was waitlisted for the MD/PhD everywhere I applied, and I went for a PhD since I liked research more and felt I could let go of clinical medicine. It was a very difficult decision to make. I was 20-21 yrs old and naive as well. I am done with the PhD and I'm back in medical school now. I wish I had just gone to medical school, finished residency, and done an extended postdoc/research fellowship. When I do a research fellowship I don't even know if my PhD is going to help me.

Don't bother with the PhD at your current stage. A year of research is a joke if you want to run a serious independent program eventually so I don't recommend taking time off. Some of my research MD professors came from "no name" schools but they were VERY driven and committed to research, and are now full professors at a top 5 medical school/hospital (where I finished). I completed a very hard PhD in molecular biochemistry/biophysics and the MDs and MD/PhD on my committee were self-taught experts in the biophysical aspect of my work, although I felt I still had to figure out most of my research by myself and at times go against their suggestions, especially when I became largely independent--still working to submit my paper though.

In any case, when it comes to research, degrees are overrated. As long as you are very committed, very hard-working, and have the baseline intelligence, you can succeed. MD/PhD/DO/DVM,PharmD,etc. don't matter.

 

[Genetixx]

I was accepted to medical school 6 years ago, declined it since I was waitlisted for the MD/PhD everywhere I applied, and I went for a PhD since I liked research more and felt I could let go of clinical medicine. It was a very difficult decision to make. I was 20-21 yrs old and naive as well. I am done with the PhD and I'm back in medical school now. I wish I had just gone to medical school, finished residency, and done an extended postdoc/research fellowship. When I do a research fellowship I don't even know if my PhD is going to help me.

Don't bother with the PhD at your current stage. A year of research is a joke if you want to run a serious independent program eventually so I don't recommend taking time off. Some of my research MD professors came from "no name" schools but they were VERY driven and committed to research, and are now full professors at a top 5 medical school/hospital (where I finished). I completed a very hard PhD in molecular biochemistry/biophysics and the MDs and MD/PhD on my committee were self-taught experts in the biophysical aspect of my work, although I felt I still had to figure out most of my research by myself and at times go against their suggestions, especially when I became largely independent--still working to submit my paper though.

In any case, when it comes to research, degrees are overrated. As long as you are very committed, very hard-working, and have the baseline intelligence, you can succeed. MD/PhD/DO/DVM,PharmD,etc. don't matter.

Thank you very much for this insightful post. A lot of times I feel really enthusiastic about conducting research but on other days it feels like it can be such a drag. Being at a "no name school" it feels like you work so hard but there's always an eerie lingering thought in the back of your head that tells you that no one or no journal will even care.

Hopefully summer next year I will be able to participate in research at a known research institution to get a true feel of what it's like to do research in a supporting an uplifting academic atmosphere. From there I will re-weigh my options. I agree with your sentiments on not needing a PhD though. The drive is much more important.

I was just bothered by the idea that, since I'm in this program, I will have to face scrutiny for not actually pursuing a Ph.D. Knowing that it probably won't be that big of a deal makes me feel okay about being in this program 🙂

 

[Nuel]

I did lots of research as an undergraduate and it didn't prepare me for the heavy lifting involved in PhD research. However, the way I think about research problems has changed significantly. So, clearly, there is great benefit to doing a PhD. However, this experience can be gotten during a post-MD research fellowship. You just need the right mentor--your mentor is key. Best of luck and try to enjoy science.