I Wish to Be a Medical Analyst... Any Strategies on Why I Should Be MD, MD/PhD or PhD?

[MyInfoStride]

Okay.. .my advice is the fact that prior you decide to set yourself on one of these paths perform some clinical shadowing and several lab research. 

Some definitions first....

MD: Indicates Doctor of Medicine, a doctor's qualification in medicine
PhD: Is the highest education obtained at a college, usually requiring 3-5 years of original study in a particular field of study.
MD/PhD: refers to an education consisting of both the medical training of a doctor (MD or DO) with the rigor of a scientific specialist (PhD) 

You can also consider to get involved in some clinical research. This will likely provide you a taste of the different fields. Some MDs do clinical research, if you decide to discover yourself to be interested in that, you would not need an MD/PhD.

You certainly have to gain some quality exposure before you make any decisions. Neither clinical work nor lab bench job is what it really might seem like in theory. You need to get your hands dirty. Attempt to check around, learn about them, and obtain several tastes of each one.

I believe it's more easy to find a personality niche when you are pleased with the specific work you're doing each day, rather than attempt to enjoy doing work you hate, even if you fit the "typical profile" of the career. 

Generally a double degree is good for those who find themselves interested in both, basically. However, you will possibly not wind up doing a lot of the actual bench work if you are an MD/PhD. The MD/PhD that's the P.I. of the testing center I currently work for NEVER does some of the actual experiments we currently do, he simply manages administrational stuff and discusses problems/ideas together with his henchmen. 

All his time in the week is spent on clinical work. I am not sure this may be the way it always works, but this can be my own experience. In case you might be equally interested in both, then I would still think an MD/PhD may be worth considering. 

MD/PhD will place you at some advantage in grant-writing while you're a new researcher. (Eventually, the degree matters less because research interviewers assess you according to your actual accomplishments.)

Imagine that studying scientific research will be easier if you have been trained like a physician. This advantage isn't well worth the extra 3 years, but it's somewhat of an advantage. It provides the flexibleness to find out patients if you'd prefer. A slight majority of the MD/PhD's I've come across don't, but some do and in any case each will could. It may aid in the pursuit of an academic position too. 

So you? Exactly what are your positives and negatives of choosing a MD, MD/PhD or PhD career?

About the author: S. Ochoa is writing for the clinical research training courses blog, her own and non-commercial in nature hobby blog to produce free recommendations for clinical research training newbie's/experts to assist them get a new profession.