<p>Do any of the Doc's out there know how the field of bioethics is evolving? If a medical student is interested in specializing in bioethics rather than clinical medicine, can anyone suggest the best paths to take? Is a Ph.D. in philosphy desirable after the MD? Is there a drawback to not finishing the clinical portion of the medical training (internship/residency) and just stopping at the MD? Thanks for any suggestions you can offer!</p>
<p>i'd like to know as well. thanks.</p>
<p>The drawback to not doing an internship and residency is that you can't get certified in a board specialty (ie orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, internal medicine, etc). As a result, you couldn't become a practicing doctor. A year of internship is the minimum before you can do that, although it's insane to think you can practice medicine after just a year of internship, and thus most everyone does a residency as well (and can then be taken seriously by the medical community)</p>
<p>I honestly don't know anything about degrees in the field of bioethics or about PhDs in philosophy, but I do know that there are a bunch of MD/PhD combo degrees out there, and something related to bioethics may exist.</p>