PhD after Intercalated BSc during Medical School?

Hi guys. I'm currently in 2nd year of our 5 year medical course. After 3rd year, I am planning on doing an Intercalated BSc should all go well. After that I was hoping to do a PhD. And then return to my medical school to complete my two years of clinical. My medical school does not offer an MB/PhD degree so I couldn't pursue that route. I really want to pursue an academic/clinical career and would be very happy if I could complete my PhD in between medical school. UCL offers the MBBS/PhD degree however I would need to transfer to there which I don't really want to.

I was wondering if tha is advisable/suggested or if anyone knows anyone who has done this?

Thank you very much.

Reply 1

Becca-Sarah

Original post by Makhib19

Is there a reason why you want to do a PhD before finishing med school? Most clinical academics obtain their PhD alongside postgraduate training (i.e. via an ACF job).

Reply 2

Asklepios

It will probably be possible to get leave of absence for 3-4 years to do a PhD if you really want to. But I would argue it's best to wait till after medical school to do it. Start specialty training then take a few years out for it then.

Two main reasons for this:

1. Your PhD should really be in something related you want to for the rest of your life. It can be hard to have definite research interests at such an early stage.

2. Financial reasons. If you do a PhD right now you'll get the standard stipend of 14k or whatever. If you wait and do it after starting specialty training, you can get funded to do it with a full clinical salary. Furthermore, after you finish your PhD you'll get better pay progression than if you do it now. It can also count towards a CCT as out-of-programme research experience, which is a lot more hassle (but still possible I think) to get in retrospect.

The counter argument is that it'll help boost your CV for applying to AFP and ACF posts and the like. But really, both these are specifically designed as 'pre-doctoral' academic positions.

Reply 3

Makhib19

Original post by Becca-Sarah

Is there a reason why you want to do a PhD before finishing med school? Most clinical academics obtain their PhD alongside postgraduate training (i.e. via an ACF job).

Thank you for your time. It's because I really want to pursue a clinical career with an academic research focus. Given the fact that I will have just completed my BSc before embarking on the PhD, I feel like it would be a great run on as well as experience. I wasn't particularly fancying taking a big time out of clinical training/during work to pursue a PhD but I am quite confused at the moment.

Reply 4

Makhib19

Original post by Asklepios

Thank you very much for your reply. I see the dilemma. Especially the choice of subject to study and the financial. Do you know if it's looked more favourably doing a PhD further down a career than now? Can I ask why the pay progression gets more if you do the PhD in later years?

Thanks so much!

Reply 5

Asklepios

Original post by Makhib19

You get a pay supplement for having a PhD but only if you did after your medical degree. Not sure of the ins and outs, this is just what I heard when asking the same question!

In terms of how it looks applying for academic posts, it doesn't matter when you did your PhD. But obviously it's a toss up between having a PhD in something you're more interested in vs having done one early

Reply 6

themedicalgeek

Original post by Makhib19

I would say just take one step at a time. Even intercalating is a completely different world to normal medical school - some people realise within that year that research is not for them whilst others thrive.

Get a taste of intercalating/research with summer studentship then consider applying for PhD but honestly the points above about pay and truly understanding your primary research interest are strong enough reasons to just leave it until you qualify.

Ask some of the doctors on placement what speciality they wanted to do in med school and what they are training in now. Very few people even stick to the same speciality and that is a testament to the importance of taking your time to gain an informed view before committing to another 3 years of research in a field that you may not fully know the ins/outs of.

Reply 7

Emma9050

Hi,I'm actually doing this and am in the final year of my PhD so feel free to ask any questions

Reply 8

aleksandraxo

Original post by Emma9050

Hi,I'm actually doing this and am in the final year of my PhD so feel free to ask any questions

Hey! I'm about to start medical school and I'm interested in doing a PhD at some point. Do you have to have a BSc to do a PhD??

Reply 9

Asklepios

Original post by aleksandraxo

Hey! I'm about to start medical school and I'm interested in doing a PhD at some point. Do you have to have a BSc to do a PhD??

Not necessarily, you could do your medical degree (MBChB or equivalent) and go into a PhD after since you have still go a Bachelor's degree. In terms of doing an intercalated PhD without doing a BSc first, it's a bit more difficult but I do know at least one person who has done that!