MD Advice

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>I am an undergrad who likes doing research. I previously wanted to do an MD/PhD until I discovered that and MD/PhD is basically a PhD which allow a researcher the ability to get patient samples and recruit patients for studies. Although I enjoy both physician shadowing and doing research, I sort of want to devote more time to patients. I currently shadow and electrocardiologist and I love the field. I have heard that with an MD/PhD it is impossible to perform surgeries while doing research, considering that a good MD/PhD has an 80/20 (research/clinical) split and anything lower than that makes him/her a bad MD/PhD. I am considering doing an MD/MS or MD w/ research honors even though they are not as prestigious as an MD/PhD. I am willing to devote the time to the MD/PhD degree, but I want to devote a tad more time to patients. My original idea was to team up with a PhD where I could be the co-PI of the lab, who devotes more time to clinical but is also able to do research (something like a 60/40 clinical:research split), but that does not seem to be the case since most MD/PhD own their own labs and must oversee all that goes on there. I really do not want to own my own lab and deal with the pressures of grants while commanding grad students and post docs to do my bidding, but I would rather do the actual technical work. So I guess that I could potentially be allow to do that with an MD/MS, am I correct? </p>

<p>Also, if I do choose this path of an MD/MS, will it look bad if I do research during all 4 yrs of undergrad and adcoms ask me why I devoted so much time to it if I did not apply MD/PhD even though I enjoy doing it and hopefully making a new discovery that could save lives (essentially what most docs do on the operating table)?</p>

<p>Some feedback is appreciated. Thanks so much.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I am considering doing an MD/MS or MD w/ research honors even though they are not as prestigious as an MD/PhD.

[/quote]
I believe my very research oriented D is on this same path. She believes she wants to be a surgeon of some type (depends on the month) and the length of time required to do both seems too long. She spends some time looking at the places she wants to work and seeing what those physicians have done to get there. Seems like a pretty good plan to me. Reverse engineering.</p>

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<p>I agree that MSTP is a tad long but it has its benefits-- like free tuition.</p>

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<p>but that free tuition comes at the cost of 3-5 yrs salary, so it's pretty much a wash money-wise.</p>

<p>I went through much the same process as the OP, and decided that I would rather not pursue the MD/PhD and instead go to a very research-geared med school. The one am starting at in a couple weeks requires a thesis project, and gives me the option of taking a tuition-free fifth year for research; there are a number of schools with this arrangement, and a couple that have research certificate programs and the like. I do, however, know several MD/PhDs who do surgery, but they do definately spend more than 20% of their time in the clinic.</p>