<p>My career goal is to become a cardiologist who treats patients. Also, I want to work on creating medical devices for the heart such as artificial hearts, stents, etc.
I am a sophomore majoring in Biomedical Engineering(BME).
Now, I do not know if I should get a Master's in BME and then go for the MD.
Or should I go for both the MD/PhD?
I want to get the degrees that will best help with my career.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.</p>
<p>bump^^^ ^^^^^^^</p>
<p>So if your goal is to be a cardiologist, get your MD. I doubt you really NEED a BME PhD to do the design work, but you absolutely NEED a MD to be a cardiologist. If you have your heart set on doing both, Penn State has a dual degree that takes a whopping 7 years and I can only imagine the cost.</p>
<p>@navy: MD/PhD programs are typically fully funded.</p>
<p>@navy: I had the same thought. I did not think I would need a PhD to do design work. I thought a master’s would suffice.
@Chem3: you are correct. Most MD/PhD programs waive the tuition or provide a generous stipend. Most Master’s programs do not provide funding. And since Medical School costs a tremendous amount, from a financial standpoint I think it would be helpful.
I am definitely getting the MD. I just need to know if I can do design work with a PhD…</p>
<p>You dont even need a masters most likely. I suspect that your MD and BS in BME will be sufficient.</p>
<p>IMO go for the MD, work for a few years in the field, see if you need the master’s to do design work. If you do, then you can go back for a master’s after the MD. Trust me when I say there are many, many accelerated master’s programs in the health/biomedical sciences fields that are designed for MDs who want to add another skill set to their repertoire. And if you are already working for someone, you might be able to get them to pay for it.</p>
<p>IMO you shouldn’t go for the MD/PhD unless you really, really want to be a physician-scientist at a prestigious medical center. And even then, there are plenty of medical professors and researchers who only have an MD. Look up people who have the kind of job that you want to do and see what degree(s) they have.</p>