<p>just as the title says...</p>
<p>my goal is to go into medicine but I'd like to focus a lot on research as well, which is where I think the MD/PHD program would come in handy. Does anyone have experience in these types of programs and is it as hard to get into as BS/MD programs?</p>
<p>You're comparing apples and oranges. BS/MD programs look at your high school achievements while MD/PhD programs look at your college achievements since you'll be applying via the traditional application process. </p>
<p>MD/PhD programs generally require a higher GPA, MCAT, and research achievements than normal MD programs. In 2005, the average stats at my med school was 3.7/34 but the average stats for the MSTP students were 3.8/37. I think you can essentially take the stats given by US News for the overall med schools and add 0.1 on the GPA and 3 points on the MCAT to get the average stats for the MSTP programs. This means 3.9/39 is approx. the norm for the top MSTP programs. Good luck.</p>
<p>Note that these are not accelerated programs by any means -- medical school will still take 4 years, and though some schools try to give MD/PhD students sure-fire PhD projects, a PhD is not granted based on time spent but on results obtained. A PhD in the biomedical sciences takes about 5.5-6 years in most programs, and can easily go longer than that.</p>
<p>A 2nd-year med student friend of mine was telling me about an MD/PhD student who will be joining their 3rd-year class -- the student has been doing her PhD for the past ten years, and she still has two more years of medical school plus her residency ahead of her.</p>
<p>
[quote]
my goal is to go into medicine but I'd like to focus a lot on research as well, which is where I think the MD/PHD program would come in handy.
[/quote]
The whole idea of MD/PhD always confused me. I know it was originally started as a way of bridging the gap between clinical and basic research, but from what I gather, it seems kind of unnecessary. If you are into the research side of things, having an MD can let you get past the red tape that many PhDs encounter with human subjects, but getting both degrees seems like overkill to me unless you have your eyes set on positions at the NIH or something (even then, a lot of researchers hold either an MD or a PhD). You can do research with an MD.</p>
<p>I guess what I'm saying is that MD/PhD is a good option depending on the kind of work being done or depending on where you'd like to end up, but I've seen a lot of people who initially say "I want to be a doctor but also like research so maybe I'll do an MD/PhD" without realizing what it entails or without thinking about the purpose of doing such a program.</p>
<p>MD/PhD students in my program expect that their eventual careers will involve at most 20% of their time in patient care. The MD adds clinical knowledge and some resume polishing to their careers -- but they are PhD students first and foremost. The MD, not the PhD, is the supplemental degree.</p>
<p>The joint degree is particularly helpful in applying for grants, receiving academic appointments, and starting one's own lab. Plenty of people do this with a PhD only, but the odds are better and the timelines are faster with the MD. Of course, the timelines probably aren't four years faster.</p>