Biomedical engineer/scientist and doctor

Can you become both a biomedical engineer/scientist and a doctor.If you have a msc biomedical engineering degree and a mbbs medicine degree.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 1

Lewis T K

Original post by yurfan123

Can you become both a biomedical engineer/scientist and a doctor.I have a msc biomedical engineering degree and a mbbs medicine degree.

Well yes, if you have an MSc and MBBS then you are both by title and degree

Reply 2

Lewis T K

It would be incredibly difficult to practice as a biomedical engineer while actively being a practicing physician, especially as a junior doctor. But it’s not heard of having both degrees. I am a biomedical engineer who is just now starting medical school, but apart from aiding in small amounts of research, I can not see myself doing very much in the biomedical engineering field for some time

Have you started your biomedical engineering degree, because if you have not and medicine is your main goal, it would be advised not to start the degree, but rather take a gap year and apply to standard undergrad medicine as GEM is far more competitive and expensive

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

The term "biomedical scientist" is protected in the UK and so the only way to be a biomedical scientist is to have an IBMS accredite biomedical sciences or healthcare sciences (life sciences) degree and to be registered with the HCPC after completing a professional portfolio while working in an approved NHS pathology lab. That process is then somewhat mutually exclusive with being a doctor, unless you then do medicine as a graduate. However, you wouldn't really be a biomedical scientist anymore at that point as you wouldn't be in s post with the NHS as a biomedical scientist.

To be a research scientist, in medical sciences or other bioscience fields, would generally imply you were an academic at a university, which would require normally that you completed a PhD and psordc and established yourself as an academic. There are routes in medical training to support a career in academia while training as a clinician.

To be a biomedical engineer would mean to work as an engineer. You couldn't work as an engineer while also being a doctor, the need for multiple separate and unrelated degrees aside, because they're totally different fields, even biomedical engineering. BMEs might work with clinicians at various stages but the roles are distinct and non-overlapping. This is also true of the biomedical scientist role as above.

Essentially there is a lot more to being a (biomedical) scientist or engineer beyond merely getting a degree in the area and it is fundamentally a full time profession which is separate from being a doctor. So just as you couldn't realistically simultaneously work as a doctor and a lawyer, you can't "be" both a doctor and a biomedical engineer or biomedical scientist (in the sense of the meaning as a protected term), although you could be a doctor and a researcher doing scientific research. You could get degrees in those areas before, after, or while getting a medical degree, but that by itself wouldn't make you a scientist or engineer as indicated.

Reply 4

Parisa Sattar

Original post by Lewis T K

It would be incredibly difficult to practice as a biomedical engineer while actively being a practicing physician, especially as a junior doctor. But it’s not heard of having both degrees. I am a biomedical engineer who is just now starting medical school, but apart from aiding in small amounts of research, I can not see myself doing very much in the biomedical engineering field for some time
Have you started your biomedical engineering degree, because if you have not and medicine is your main goal, it would be advised not to start the degree, but rather take a gap year and apply to standard undergrad medicine as GEM is far more competitive and expensive

I came across your post and noticed that it’s three years old. I find myself in a similar situation now. I’m a biomedical engineer with both undergraduate and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering. In addition, I recently completed my Ph.D. in neuroscience. However, I now feel a strong desire to transition into a career as a medical doctor, where I can make a direct impact.
I wanted to ask about your journey—how has it been so far? What challenges did you face during the transition, both academically and financially? Also, what would you consider a feasible pathway for someone making this shift?
I’d really appreciate any insights or advice you can share.

Reply 5

Lewis T K

Original post by Parisa Sattar

So far through medicine I have not had any notable issues. I think having a degree helped understand what study techniques work well for me, and this was great for medicine as I knew already how to study effectively, and didn’t waste time trying methods that don’t work well for me.
Biomedical engineering I think did help with my degree as I already had a background of biology and pathophysiology that I greatly increased through medicine. I would say that I was more interested in medicine than engineering, thus I found studying for exams in medical school easier and more enjoyable than in engineering.
My previous degrees I think were more helpful in preclinical than clinical phase, but my study techniques still worked well in clinical.
Regarding financially, GEM is a serious financial undertaking since it’s effectively taking 4-6years out of full paid work, but for me I was able to uphold part time work roles, especially during preclinical phase with the longer holiday periods.
In regards to applications for medical school there is a lot of information on what each medical school has for academic and work experience requirements as these vary from university to university. One thing I would say is don’t underestimate the UCAT and especially the GAMSAT. Even from doing exams in university I found the GAMSAT a tiring exam.
I do recommend applying to medicine if you have a great interest and want to do it, and I would say that having a background in biomedical engineering did help me a great deal. However medicine and engineering are so different so for me there was a lot to learn, but it has been an enjoyable time.

Best of luck with all your applications.