Derm chances for MD/MBA students

[med21]

I am very concerned about applying to the MD/MBA degree because many of the narrow residency fields (like derm) all require basic research. With the extra time spent taking business classes and being involved in internships, there is not really any time to do that. Plus, that would send a strange signal to residency programs (research or administration, make up your mind!)

In addition, I've heard that most MD/MBA students match into more general practices (med, obgyn, surgery) because they are expected to have a broader view of medicine. A specialty like derm has no interest in administration...they want people who can do research well. If you look at most hospital administrators, they are from a large field in medicine.

This is the impression I got after talking to some people. Does anyone agree with this? Or is this attitude changing among residency directors?

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[ny skindoc]

I am very concerned about applying to the MD/MBA degree because many of the narrow residency fields (like derm) all require basic research. With the extra time spent taking business classes and being involved in internships, there is not really any time to do that. Plus, that would send a strange signal to residency programs (research or administration, make up your mind!)

In addition, I've heard that most MD/MBA students match into more general practices (med, obgyn, surgery) because they are expected to have a broader view of medicine. A specialty like derm has no interest in administration...they want people who can do research well. If you look at most hospital administrators, they are from a large field in medicine.

This is the impression I got after talking to some people. Does anyone agree with this? Or is this attitude changing among residency directors?

I dont think having an MD/MBA in itself would hurt an application for Derm residency,assuming the rest of your credentials are competitive.You will need to explain the relevance of this combined degree to dermatology.An important aspect of Derm application is showing a strong and unique interest in the field by doing research and getting to know people so if you apply without having done any of this it may be a problem.