<p>I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of MD/PhD programs. </p>
<p>People almost always have to choose either a career in research or a career in medicine. Very few medical scientists can have their cake and eat it too -- the postdoc with whom I work at the lab is an MD/PhD, and he only gets into the clinic for half a day per week. There's just not enough time in the day for him to be in the lab less or in the clinic more. My feeling is that if you're going to have to eventually choose one or the other, why not make the choice before spending several years of your life in medical school or graduate school?</p>
<p>I disagree that it's too much to ask a 22-year-old if he or she wants to be in research or not -- if you don't know for sure that you want to do research, you shouldn't be within five miles of a PhD program.</p>