Masters+Medicine or Phd+Medicine?

W

Hello Everyone


I have a question - I finished BSc Pharmacology at Newcastle University, now I'm finishing my MRes in Molecular Biology at Nottingham Tren University.

However at the moment I am concerned about my future - i.e. I plan to either commence PhD in Germany/Austria or start 6 year Medicine.

I am more interested in dealing with patients and not working in the lab - therefore I'm thinking about starting medicine now, and ommiting Phd - life is not forever ane time is passing ,)

Therefore is it better to do 6 year medicine or try to do 3 year Phd (if im lucky to finish in 3 years) + 4 year medicine in the UK ?

Is it true that after Phd in science and medical degree it is much easier to get well paid job in clinical trials?


Thank you! :)
Andy

T

Could you not get onto the accelerated 4 year medicine course straight from your masters?

W

No in this year as application deadline passed long time ago (in september as far as I remember).. :(

And to be honest as I heard from my friends it is very difficult to get into 4 year medicine in the UK.

T

======= Date Modified 02 Jun 2010 19:49:37 =======
True, it is difficult. But I know several people who've gotten in with just a good BSc, the key for them wasn't further degrees, it was relevant work experience. All of them worked in hospitals before getting accepted. Not saying that's the answer, but it might be worth considering.

W

hm, you are right about that. But I lack enough hospital work experience and haven't got my BSc results as good as I would like to. Medicine in Lwow, Ukraine is cheap, taught in English and closer to my home city, Krakow, Poland. And after 1st or 2nd year it is possible to move to Jagiellonian University in Krakow. The disadvantage is that it lasts 6 years.

If I would life 200 years I would probably do Phd and Medicine but unfortunately being 23 now, I need to think realistically.

E

If you're sure that being a doctor and working with patients is what you want to do, then I wouldn't advise spending 3+ years on a PhD (unless you really do want to do a PhD for your own reasons).  I wouldn't do it just as a way of getting you onto a UK medical degree course (which it might not anyway), a BSc and Masters should be more than enough in terms of academic qualifications for graduate medicine. I agree with others that you might need to start thinking now about gaining relevant practical experience, and how to demonstrate that you have a real commitment to studying medicine and becoming a doctor, and an understanding of what that will involve.

W

Thank you for your advice. I think its reasonable to start medicine without spending 3+ years on Phd if working in the lab is something I dont really enjoy :)

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