<p>I'm a freshman and I plan on going to medical school, but I am not really interested in practicing medicine as a Doctor - I am more interested in the pharmaceutical and medical device research business. I've gotten some conflicting information about the career path (Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, chemistry, MBA then med school??) I enjoy both math, business and the sciences and I'm getting A's in my premed courses (so far). Anybody have any sage advice?</p>
<p>An MD could pursue such a path but the benefit gained to such a career would not be worth the time and energy, not to mention that medical schools probably wouldn't want such a candidate.</p>
<p>A PhD in science followed by work experience and then an MBA is the normal way to do this. Or, for that matter, just work experience and then an MBA.</p>
<p>You may want to try applying to MSTP programs. In these, students go for their PhD and their MD at the same time. They are highly competitive. For a list of institutions, try this link.</p>
<p>If an MD is too long and tedious for what the OP wants to do, an MSTP is twice as long.</p>
<p>Unless you want to be the physician that is actively involved in using the new medical devices (putting them through clinical trials, helping determine the sensitivity and specificity for various conditions, etc) I see absolutely no reason for you to pursue an MD. But that would still involve practicing medicine which you've clearly stated you are not interested in.</p>
<p>Thank you for the responses. Bigredmed, a career path that does interest me is the medical device route you described, but now I think the Pd.D/MBA or maybe the MSTP is the way to go. Thanks for the MSTP links, I hadn't heard of it.</p>