I guess I need advice from parents

Parents Forum
21

<p>I think what I hear you saying is that you are not enjoying the repetitive nature of research. I think that often happens with some extroverted yet scientifically minded people. You may prefer to interact with people rather than pursue lab research which usually requires some monotony in each day.</p>

<p>I think you can still pursue the major that interests you most, but just consider how you would apply it once you graduate. there are physicians that do research, there are those that focus on teaching, and there are ones that focus more on patient care and there are ones that don’t see patients at all and work with numbers–i.e. epidemiologists. My point here is you can be a physician and still choose a path for the type of work that you find most satisfying.</p>

<p>College is about exploring your options and trying new things. You should be asking questions and evaluating what you do. Afterall, your generation will be working for many years so you better love it so it doesn’t seem so much like work!</p>

22

<p>Options – MD/PhD combination programs combine all aspects where you are often part of a research team, but still are involved in patient care in a hospital/clinic. These can be part of routine medical areas or can be evaluating New/Cutting Edge/Experimental therapies that may just be coming into existence. Depending on interest and field of investigation these folks can spend anywhere from 0-100% in the lab – lots and lots of options for those that go the distance. </p>

<p>MD/Medical Scientist sometimes with a Masters or PhD where the majority of the time is spent in some sort of research. Often these can be with the cutting edge basic science areas that may not be ready for Human Trials yet.</p>

<p>There are plenty of MD’s who do a huge amount of research either as part of a University/Med School, increasingly as part of a Corporate Entity, and often in combination with a PhD at a University/MedSchool.</p>