MD vs MD/PhD — How to Decide Which Is Right for You | Ask Dr. Gray: Premed Q&A

Should you go MD/PhD? Or just MD? That's the question we're tackling on today's Ask Dr. Gray: Premed Q&A! We discuss the differences between MD and MD/PhD, and who each path is really meant for.

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Our student this week is a premed who had a research experience she really loved. Now she's looking into MD/PhD programs. However, she's not super competitive for those programs yet, and she's looking for some feedback on her plans going forward.

She's interested in having a career where she practices in the hospital a few days each week and works on research a few days each week.

It's always worth considering that MDs can do research, too—you don't need a PhD in order to do that. The MD/PhD dual-degree programs are mostly for students who are super interested in research and focusing their career around that specifically.

Our student is a bit concerned about her 3.4 GPA if she's applying to MD/PhD programs, so we talk a bit about that. Fortunately, she has an upward trend in her grades, finishing undergrad with close to straight A's, so her 3.4 GPA may not appear as weak as she's worried about.

However, I do encourage her to pursue a Master's program that allows her to get more research experience and gives her some more time to make the decision.

We also discuss some of the other differences between the MD and MD/PhD admissions process.

At the end of the video, I also answer a question about shadowing: What kind of doctors should you be trying to shadow in order to get a full view of the different specialties available in medicine?