Why do you want to get both an MD and a PhD degree?

[weezil]

Yes you! What is your motivation? Why not one or the other? I'm deciding whether or not I want to try for this, and I think hearing others' reasons will help me decide if this is right for me.

I'll start: I really like science; I want to be able to apply the scientific method in research and also use scientific knowledge to solve real-life problems like treating patients. Meeting and helping out people along the way is a huge bonus!

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[Raziela]

Because I want to be addressed as Doctor Doctor, thank you very much.

More seriously: I cannot imagine a career without both research and patient-care.

 

[StIGMA]

I always wanted to do a PhD for the intellectual challenge. The MD just sounds cool, you know, like being able to help people and stuff? I'm going into the music business afterwards anyways, so coming out with no debt was key to my decision to be able to tuck the MD in there. Heal people with music, that is my motivation. Soundzzz.

Also, everything you stated only requires an MD degree. Try the search function for old posts, FAQ section, and mdphds.org.

 

[Neuronix]

I was promised big $$$$ and fast women. The lies!!!!! Oh the horrible lies!!!!

 

[vicepharm]

Because I want to be addressed as Doctor Doctor, thank you very much.

More seriously: I cannot imagine a career without both research and patient-care.

Exactly. Both for sure!

 

[medoholic]

I want to design crazy medical technologies, corporate R+D type stuff in BME. Maybe even have my own company. If figure to be great at it, you need the medical know how in addition to the engineering. I also want to work with pts though, as a surgeon. Ideally I would do both at the same time, gaining stuff from each of those things and applying it to the other. Realistically, I know you can't really do both well at the same time. Oh well, thats why life is LONG!! Or so I hope All I know is, my parents are almost 60 and still looking for work. So what if you won't be done with MD/PHD and residency till 38 or whatever.... As long as you manage some fun along the way and your doing stuff you really like and are way into, you cant go wrong.

 

[MSTPlease]

Also, everything you stated only requires an MD degree. Try the search function for old posts, FAQ section, and mdphds.org.

There's no magic set of criteria that automatically means you MUST do an MD/PhD. Pretty much anything an MD/PhD wants to do could be accomplished by an MD or PhD. To me the decision was based on the type of research I wanted to do, and what course of training appears to give me the best possible chances of accomplishing that. MD/PhDs are extremely overrepresented in terms of the authors of papers exploring topics I find most interesting, NIH grant awards and in the higher level positions like deans, department chairs, and biotech executives.

 

[SilverBvllet]

Dear OP - I think the best thing you should focus on is if you like research or not. It's no walk in the park and depending on if you come across an extremely jaded senior grad student (aren't they all?) or an enthusiastic first-year where the last thing on their mind is a distant thesis you will get different opinions. Get some research experience if you haven't done so already and ask yourself can you really see a future doing research? Do you enjoy it? If it wasn't required for med school would you continue to do research anyway? etc.

I do not see the "extra" time for MD/PhD as a disadvantage. After all, many labs have students for 7-8 years on --> average <-- for PhD alone. It is only a disadvantage if you plan on a purely clinical career and to put your lab days behind you.