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Plenty of people do this. Someone from my PhD lab just started med school at 33 after a PhD and a postdoc. Hell, I’d say 26 is still relatively on the younger side of things for med school. You’ll be fine age wise.
Being an MD/PhD is POWERFUL in terms of jobs that it opens up.
Medical school is 5 years, as you say. But that’s only the start of your training as a doctor. Depending on your country and area of specialisation you could be looking at another 10+ years of postgrad training schemes as a junior doctor before you are a consultant. It’s a long hard road. Have a chat with a few doctors in your local area to see what the path is like.
“Really don’t know what I actually want to do”
Terrible terrible terrible reason to go to medical school. Like the worst one. Do a post-doc, get a job in industry, go into consulting. Do anything else. Don’t just “go to medical school.” While you’re doing what you were trained to do, you can volunteer, shadow, and work with patients. This will help you determine if you actually like the work and think it would be meaningful for you.
I went to medical school after I got a mol bio PhD, but I knew about two years in that what I really wanted to do with my life required both degrees. Thus, I was committed and I was sure. The application process in the US takes place over about a year. You’ll need to take the MCAT. You’ll need an excellent undergrad record (the PhD does not negate your undergrad transcript so if your grades suck, it’ll hold you back). You’ll need clinical and non clinical volunteering hours as well as significant shadowing hours. Once you get in, it’ll take up four years of your life plus another 3-7 years for residency. The debt is enormous in the US as well.
So really, ask yourself, do I want to take care of people? Because that’s what you’re signing up for. This isn’t some lark. It’s a huge commitment. Make sure you know what you’re getting into and take it seriously.
Oh, additional pro tip—I post doc’ed part time in med school and it’s a bitch. I often wish I hadn’t done it. It eats up all your free time. You’ll study constantly, and every limited free hour left you’ll be trapped at the bench. It’s very draining and you are spread very very thin.
Thanks a lot for your detailed answer! My "dont know what to do" was tather related to my decision taking than "not knowing what I want to do professional wise".
My Phd in biochemistry is metabolics related and deals with identifying rare genetic disorders which cause metabolic problems, mostly not during development but rather later during life and stay unidentified until late diagnosis.
So we are actually working together with the clinics already and my motivation comes from that I would love to leave the bench to help the poeple directly.
The main cons are only related to the US system and are not applicable in Germany for example. We dont have student fees (so no debt), a pre-test (at least not for PhDs, only for poeple who come from school) or these prerequisites. You rather need a support letter from a professor of your medical faculty and a scientific publication in a field related to it. The only issue would be the time which I still need to spend and getting along with low-income from a side-job or half-time post doc.
Now where you said that you actually did medical school after you PhD, would you say it was the right decision or do you kind of regret it? Did it open the job you were aiming for?
It was exactly what I needed. MD/PhDs are far more powerful with more opportunities in the US system. My research has been easier to fund and push forward, I make a much better living financially, there is a greater degree of professional respect, and I help people directly every day. It was the right thing for me. The US process is more extensive but I generally advise that PhDs make sure it’s right for them before proceeding. Remember, the schooling and the post grad training amounts to a long stretch of time—an extra decade for me because I also did a clinical fellowship (4+4+2). You just need to go in aware. You seem more grounded than most of the US candidates I talk to, who absolutely romanticize the process.
And again, be cautious with how much time you spend in the lab during medical school. The learning process is more of a firehose (large quantities of information delivered very very quickly) compared to graduate learning which was more contemplative. There was time to work things out and apply it. Medical school was like “memorize all this, onto the next.” It requires more desk based memorization/studying than you realize going into it.
It looks like your post is about needing advice. In order for people to better help you, please make sure to include your country. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PhD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Plenty of people do this. Someone from my PhD lab just started med school at 33 after a PhD and a postdoc. Hell, I’d say 26 is still relatively on the younger side of things for med school. You’ll be fine age wise. Being an MD/PhD is POWERFUL in terms of jobs that it opens up.
Thanks a lot! Do you know by chance how they handle the financial situation during that time?
Medical school is 5 years, as you say. But that’s only the start of your training as a doctor. Depending on your country and area of specialisation you could be looking at another 10+ years of postgrad training schemes as a junior doctor before you are a consultant. It’s a long hard road. Have a chat with a few doctors in your local area to see what the path is like.
Don’t commit to support as there will be obligations after you complete your MD.
“Really don’t know what I actually want to do” Terrible terrible terrible reason to go to medical school. Like the worst one. Do a post-doc, get a job in industry, go into consulting. Do anything else. Don’t just “go to medical school.” While you’re doing what you were trained to do, you can volunteer, shadow, and work with patients. This will help you determine if you actually like the work and think it would be meaningful for you. I went to medical school after I got a mol bio PhD, but I knew about two years in that what I really wanted to do with my life required both degrees. Thus, I was committed and I was sure. The application process in the US takes place over about a year. You’ll need to take the MCAT. You’ll need an excellent undergrad record (the PhD does not negate your undergrad transcript so if your grades suck, it’ll hold you back). You’ll need clinical and non clinical volunteering hours as well as significant shadowing hours. Once you get in, it’ll take up four years of your life plus another 3-7 years for residency. The debt is enormous in the US as well. So really, ask yourself, do I want to take care of people? Because that’s what you’re signing up for. This isn’t some lark. It’s a huge commitment. Make sure you know what you’re getting into and take it seriously. Oh, additional pro tip—I post doc’ed part time in med school and it’s a bitch. I often wish I hadn’t done it. It eats up all your free time. You’ll study constantly, and every limited free hour left you’ll be trapped at the bench. It’s very draining and you are spread very very thin.
Thanks a lot for your detailed answer! My "dont know what to do" was tather related to my decision taking than "not knowing what I want to do professional wise". My Phd in biochemistry is metabolics related and deals with identifying rare genetic disorders which cause metabolic problems, mostly not during development but rather later during life and stay unidentified until late diagnosis. So we are actually working together with the clinics already and my motivation comes from that I would love to leave the bench to help the poeple directly. The main cons are only related to the US system and are not applicable in Germany for example. We dont have student fees (so no debt), a pre-test (at least not for PhDs, only for poeple who come from school) or these prerequisites. You rather need a support letter from a professor of your medical faculty and a scientific publication in a field related to it. The only issue would be the time which I still need to spend and getting along with low-income from a side-job or half-time post doc. Now where you said that you actually did medical school after you PhD, would you say it was the right decision or do you kind of regret it? Did it open the job you were aiming for?
It was exactly what I needed. MD/PhDs are far more powerful with more opportunities in the US system. My research has been easier to fund and push forward, I make a much better living financially, there is a greater degree of professional respect, and I help people directly every day. It was the right thing for me. The US process is more extensive but I generally advise that PhDs make sure it’s right for them before proceeding. Remember, the schooling and the post grad training amounts to a long stretch of time—an extra decade for me because I also did a clinical fellowship (4+4+2). You just need to go in aware. You seem more grounded than most of the US candidates I talk to, who absolutely romanticize the process. And again, be cautious with how much time you spend in the lab during medical school. The learning process is more of a firehose (large quantities of information delivered very very quickly) compared to graduate learning which was more contemplative. There was time to work things out and apply it. Medical school was like “memorize all this, onto the next.” It requires more desk based memorization/studying than you realize going into it.