xkittens Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Even though it's way down the road for me, I want to do 3/4 clinical work (doctoring) and 1/4 research eventually .... Is that even possible? Furthermore, are MDs limited in terms of the kind of research they can do compared to a PHD? Would a master's degree help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Even though it's way down the road for me, I want to do 3/4 clinical work (doctoring) and 1/4 research eventually .... Is that even possible? Furthermore, are MDs limited in terms of the kind of research they can do compared to a PHD? Would a master's degree help? You could do a phD/MD as a thought We have some doctors here that are 100% research based on the MD alone. It does happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooty Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 The advantage of having a PhD lays in the skills you learn after going through the process. You need to know how to write grants, run a lab, publish a paper, etc. Through practice and dedication, you can acquire those skills with an MD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shikimate Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Even though it's way down the road for me, I want to do 3/4 clinical work (doctoring) and 1/4 research eventually .... Is that even possible? Furthermore, are MDs limited in terms of the kind of research they can do compared to a PHD? Would a master's degree help? I think currently if you want an academic appointment after residency it's suggested you do a master's degree during your residency (and it makes your grant application more appealing I heard). However just because you are not in academic practice doesn't mean you can't do research per se. For example many non-academic physicians do research in education, or public policy. If you are more interested in lab research obviously MD/PhD would be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xkittens Posted November 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Not at all. I know a number of MD's who work in hospital settings and do ~25% research. This is only within psychiatry and neurology though- can't speak for other fields. You don't need a Masters or PhD. Also...have you even done research?? How do you know you'll like it? Not yet, I'm doing some clinical research project at sick kids this summer so we'll see how that goes. I do know that I would love research though, as I'm a massive nerd. The first words I spoke were "What's That?" for god's sake lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osteon Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Depending on the field, research from those with only an MD is frowned upon, and is read with a very cautious eye (ex. Engineering and probably some basic sciences fields). Purely clinical research is often done by those with just an MD so it's certainly possible for you, though I think that trend is shifting towards getting advanced research degrees as the unwritten requirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxime Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 You can do as much research as you want. Those with PhDs doing research in medicine are a minority, the majority just have MD's. I think having a PhD is a plus, especially for government funded grants, but definitely not a sine qua non. During residency, there's a big emphasis on research, and you'll be encouraged to present and publish your results, often internationally. If you do fellowship, you'll do more research there, and also present your results. This will have a much bigger impact on the grants you'll be receiving than the PhD you completed before starting year one of med school. Few people do research outside of academic centres however, since it's generally not financially advantageous to do so (some still do however). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 yeah, quite a few psychiatrists do research with just an md, but i think it's easier to do research in psych than say pulmonology since it isn't as procedural so you're easier able to pick up research skills in residency, also you're very valuable in research is you specialize in treating a specific disorder. in toronto we had a psychiatrist who told us that if you wanted to get big in psychiatry research to pick one of the more uncommon disorders and specialize in it and now she's one of the top ocd researchers in the world doing all kinds of research on ocd. if you look at adhd, the world expert is a guy name hallowell, who i'm pretty sure doesn't have a phd, and for hppd and effects of hallucinogenic drugs its henry abraham, he doesn't have a phd either, just started working with a lot that specific patient population. Not at all. I know a number of MD's who work in hospital settings and do ~25% research. This is only within psychiatry and neurology though- can't speak for other fields. You don't need a Masters or PhD. Also...have you even done research?? How do you know you'll like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 I do know that I would love research though, as I'm a massive nerd. The first words I spoke were "What's That?" for god's sake lol See, my first words were "And just HOW exactly is this in ANY way clinically relevant to my practice?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 See, my first words were "And just HOW exactly is this in ANY way clinically relevant to my practice?" Pure gold Jochi. *high five* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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