<p>Im interested in doing medical research, but Im not exactly sure what type of school I should attend after Im finished with my UD degree. Maybe you guys could steer me in the right direction. Im currently attending University of Kentucky, This is my first semester-- transferred from a local community college.
What im wondering is what type of school I should be looking into--med school, or graduate? Id really like to get into a top 10 university; I feel the education I would obtain there would allow me to get into the kind of positions where I could really make a difference in medicine. I know my UD institution isnt stellar, but I hope my GPA(3.8), research experience(working in a lab with a phd prof from northwestern), recs, and test scores would make up for that.</p>
<p>Well do you want to deal with patients?</p>
<p>To get it as basic as possible, physicians diagnose and treat patients. Researchers do research.</p>
<p>Certainly there are many MD's who participate in research activities, but the thrust of medical school is teaching you the knowledge, skills and decision making process that results in the patient (hopefully) getting better. With this sort of background, many MD's tend to have research projects that focus on patient care and outcomes - finding better ways to treat disease or make hospitals safer. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if you're more interested in finding out the minutia about a particular disease or the way a very particular aspect of the body responds in a very particular situation, or the mechanism of a particular drug then getting a PhD is more what you're looking for. </p>
<p>To be sure, there's a lot of overlap, and there are MD's who perform more bench research than clinical, and there are a lot of PhD's who work on clinical trials and to improve patient care.</p>
<p>Certainly MD/PhD programs offer another option.</p>
<p>I think the question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you need, on a personal level, the type of training an MD degree gives you to be satisfied. Medical school is difficult to get into, extremely expensive and will require you to complete a residency of 3-7 years after you graduate. If you're not after the skills and the experiences it will give you, then it seems to me like a waste of time and money to go through with and graduate school will get you to your career goals that much sooner.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot Bigred.
Its not so much that I dont want to work with patients, but rather I really enjoy doing research. I very much want to work in medical field, but I want to work in it strictly doing research. I was unclear about which type of degree (phd or MD) I should pursue after UD, but youve help clear that up a bit.
Im wondering though, would a biochemistry phd be an acceptable degree to work in medical research, or should I be looking at something even more specialized? Im currently working on a Bachelors in science in chemistry, and I thought I would attempt to get into a biochemistry program for my phd.</p>
<p>For you, yes, a PhD should be the path you head down. </p>
<p>Yes a biochemistry degree can get you into medical research.</p>
<p>Bigredmed, I have a question that is similar to this. Would a biochemisty undergraduate degree be a suitable degree to enter into medical school to pursue a job in Anesthesiology?</p>
<p>That's not similar at all.</p>
<p>Simply put, your major is not a factor in medical school admissions. Every year the %ages of applicant majors are nearly identical to the %age of matriculant majors. There are some schools who are publicly on record as favoring non-science majors, but there are likely schools that feel the opposite and prefer science majors, thus cancelling each other out in the grand scheme of things.</p>
<p>With that in mind, it makes the concept of undergrad major having any effect on specialty choice completely ludicrous.</p>
<p>Well it was about fields enter into..that is similar, but thanks for your help lol.</p>