<p>Do people pursuing academic medicine make more money? I mean the money has no bearing on my decision. I was just curious.</p>
<p>Less. Much less.</p>
<p>So MD/PhD....leads to less money? My adviser keeps telling me that academic medicine is the only thing I can go into with an MD/PhD but I find that hard to believe.</p>
<p>You can always ignore the PhD and just practice as an MD. It would be weird and unusual and there would be no reason to get the PhD if you were going to do that, but you could.</p>
<p>So you cant do anything else other than academic med with an MD/PhD?</p>
<p>You could not USE the MD/PhD for anything other than academic medicine or research. You could, I suppose, work for a pharmaceutical company and conduct their research/trials. The work would seem much the same except that you wouldn't be writing grants all the time.</p>
<p>You could DO many things other than academic medicine if you have an MD/PhD. You could ignore the PhD and just do medicine. You could ignore both degrees and go into investment banking. You could ignore all your academic qualifications completely and become an auto mechanic.</p>
<p>What BDM is trying to point out (at least I think), is that the PhD of the MD/PhD puts you into some very distinct categories. Pursuing the PhD is kind of raising the sign that says "I want to do research" and whether that's clinical or procedural, or pharmacological, or even more bench related (ie genetics), than Academic medicine, or at least working at an academic medical center is going to provide you with the best opportunities to reach such goals.</p>
<p>Now, let's be straight though and point out that you don't have to have a PhD to be in academic medicine - there are plenty of MD's who love teaching medical students and residents and influencing the next generation of physicians. Some teach basic science lectures, others are attendings out on the wards, and some have roles that are somewhat more akin to mentors/academic advisers (At my school we keep the same small group for two years and our facilitators remain constant - one is an MD, one is a basic science PhD).</p>
<p>Let's also be clear that you don't have to have a PhD to be involved in research. There are plenty of MD's who found a passion and are looking to improve the care of patients and came up with an idea. The director of minimally invasive surgery at my school is intimately involved in the creation of miniature robots for surgery, working with mechanical engineers at my undergrad to solve some of the problems that little rovers encounter inside the abdomen...</p>
<p>The gist is getting the PhD puts you on a research heavy path, and the best place to pursue that path is to work at an academic medical center. However, if you don't have a PhD you can still be involved in research, you can still work at an academic medical center, you can be involved in teaching, but you also have the option of just living the life of a normal doctor in private practice.</p>
<p>Right -- MD/PhD can only be used ("used", as such, I suppose) in a research setting.</p>
<p>But it's not the only way into academic medicine.</p>
<p>Squares are rectangles, but not vice versa. (PhD's most obvious use is research, but research doesn't require a PhD.)</p>