The more people I talk to, the more I become thrilled yet
scared at the same time. Being a clinician scientist is exciting, very
exciting. You can develop a very deep appreciation of human health at the most
basic, cellular level. At the same time you can gear the research that you do
so that it is directly applicable to the needs of society and will in some way
impact your patients. You’re basically a pioneer of medicine who is working on
understanding various diseases or developing drugs to treat others. It’s a
highly rewarding career, that’s what every MD/PhD I’ve talked to says at least.
I think it’s an amazing career option for a workaholic like me :P
What’s the downside? Umm… you starting your career when
you’re like 35. So I’m 21 right now and the MD/PhD program is 9 years. Then I
would still have to do residency and potentially some post-doc fellowships. What
does that mean? Well first off, when do you MAKE the time to have a family?
Also, you’re pretty much earning below minimum wage until you’re 35 so how do
you even afford to have a family? How do you even afford to cloth and feed
yourself or really just have a social life?
There’re sacrifices that must be made for sure. You’re BUSY
ALL THE TIME so you must MAKE time to do anything. You can’t hang out with your
friends as much as you’d want to but then I guess you just spend more quality
time together. You need to give up on some of your hobbies, just think about
how much harder it would be to train for a marathon if you’re working 80 hours
a week… I’m not 100% sure of what would happen to my blog if I was to pursue my
career ambitions. Maybe I would just convert into a more sciency blog and post
less frequently. I don’t know…
The other thing is that you’re always the new kid. You start
medical school and you’re a new kid. Then after one year you start the PhD
portion and you’re the new kid gain. Then once you’re done the PhD program you
return back to medical school where everyone you’ve met when you just started
has already graduated and is your boss. From what I’ve heard that’s a really
shitty feeling.
I know I haven’t gotten in yet or anything (please don’t say
I will because you really don’t know) but it’s something worth thinking about.
It’s not a smooth course and is filled with scary twists& turns. However, I
think it’ll be worth it in the end. Plus doing a combined MD/PhD program isn’t
the only way to get to my ultimate goal and there’re many different ways to get
to where I need to be. That's what I've realized talking with so many clinician scientists.
My present thoughts can somewhat be summarized by the “Just
around the riverband” song from Pocahontas but with respect to carrier not
marriage :P
What’s the hardest
career decision you’d had to make?
Wow. Sounds like a very intense program, but could be very rewarding if you're passionate about it. Which it sounds like you are! With a good work ethic and determination to maintain a healthy balance with life and work, you'll be amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanx Michelle :) I hope good work ethic and healthy lifestyle will be enough. Just need to remember to do things at my own pace :D
DeleteI have a few friends who are MD/PhD students. Although they are very busy, they do make time to do the things they love (one does a lot of hiking and rock climbing!). I think both of them felt that the time during their PhD was less stressed than the MD portion. I also have a friend who did his PhD first, and is now working on his MD -- so, yeah -- like you said, lots of ways to get there. You can do it!
ReplyDeleteReally 0.0 I would think that PhD would be more stressful then MD but I guess each to their own.
DeleteAgreed though, even when you're uber busy you will always make time for the things you love :D
I know someone in a MD/PhD program and he's also WAY into rock climbing. Maybe it's a personality thing?
Delete0.0 I've never tried rock climbing but who knows :P Maybe it's the personality of challenging and pushing yourself that makes them like rock climbing?
DeleteOh my gosh, that's crazy! I can't imagine having 9 more years... I'm almost at the end of my second year, with only one more to go! Mind you that's gone very quickly, so I suppose it would go by in a flash. Hope you work out what you want! I'm sure you'll be able to cope with it if you do choose to go down that route :)
ReplyDeleteI know! I keep thinking that I'm crazy too for wanting to be in school for so many more years. Yet to be honest, only 2 years of med school are actually lectures and the other 2 are in the hospital. Also, for grad school it's more like a job where you actually get paid :D So shouldn't be too bad xD
DeleteYikes, 9 years of school, that's longer than a lot of marriages these days!
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest career decision I made recently was to go ahead and join the union and I am glad that I did! Either that or deciding whether LA or NYC would be a better place to relocate to and act...
Hahaha about the marriage part. Wow so true!!!
DeleteI guess with LA/NYC is a matter if you want to act in broadway shows or actual TV shows/movies. That's my guess though :)
Yeah it is a huge decision, but if you're passionate about and it is what you want it is worth pursuing. And I agree I can't tell you you'll get in, but there are many paths to take to get there and I've no doubts if it is right for you you'll take a path there. 9 years sounds like a long time, but my guess is they will be fulfilling. I was at school for 5 yrs and at the time I wanted to be done and it seemed like forever, but now another 4 in school sounds appealing! :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck! Look forward to hearing how you go with it all!
You`re right- our feelings about school change. I guess I really just need to make sure that I`m doing things I`m enjoying and taking things at my own pace. I often feel like many students in my year are blindly going to medicine or grad school just because everyone else is. Big no no!
DeleteWow! You really have a lot to think about right now. I can only imagine how overwhelming that is.
ReplyDeleteI think that your plan of attach is super smart, though - researching the programs as much as you can, talking to as many people as you can, and considering as many possibilities as you can. Information is power!
I know it's way easier said than done, but trusting yourself really does bring some peace of mind :)
Yeah, I'm just trying to do as much research as I can atm and then see what happens in May. You're right, it's really just about trusting yourself. Hopefully, it'll lead me to somewhere great :D
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