MD in the Pharmaceutical Industry

[PathtoDrM]

Hi! I will be starting medical school this upcoming summer and was curious about MD's in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Three questions:

1) Is it realistic to practice clinically (even if it's one or two days a week) AND also be involved in drug development research?
2) If so, what steps would I have to start taking during medical school in terms of research, internships, dual degrees?
3) What are the various careers for MD's in the pharma industry?

I would also love to hear from any MD's in pharma and what their work involves/how they got there.

Thank you in advance!

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[LookForZebras]

Congrats and good luck with med school! Yes, it's realistic to practice clinically for certain pharma positions. Most physicians in pharma that I've met, though, are no longer doing clinical work on a regular basis. Probably the most common way to combine clinical work and drug development research is in academia. Many university-based specialty physicians are involved in clinical trials. These doctors are typically employed by the hospital or academic institution, though, rather than the pharma company itself.

Here's an article from my blog about pharmaceutical career options for physicians. I think one of the neatest jobs for physicians in pharma is in drug safety and pharmacovigilance - it really uses your medical knowledge and requires you to apply it to a clinical situation.

 

[PathtoDrM]

Congrats and good luck with med school! Yes, it's realistic to practice clinically for certain pharma positions. Most physicians in pharma that I've met, though, are no longer doing clinical work on a regular basis. Probably the most common way to combine clinical work and drug development research is in academia. Many university-based specialty physicians are involved in clinical trials. These doctors are typically employed by the hospital or academic institution, though, rather than the pharma company itself.

Here's an article from my blog about pharmaceutical career options for physicians. I think one of the neatest jobs for physicians in pharma is in drug safety and pharmacovigilance - it really uses your medical knowledge and requires you to apply it to a clinical situation.

Thank you very much! The article you have linked was excellent. I appreciate the information.

 

[oncomine]

following up on the above as I soon hope to transition out of academia.

 

[Yoyomama88]

Will someone that has industry experience comment on lifestyle. Is it a typical 40 hour work week? Do you often work on weekends?

I also don't see why everyone claims its so lucrative - the starting salaries are less than what a hospitalist typically makes.

Probably depends on stock options, also upper level management can make you a millionaire

 

[Dave1980]

Hi! I will be starting medical school this upcoming summer and was curious about MD's in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Three questions:

1) Is it realistic to practice clinically (even if it's one or two days a week) AND also be involved in drug development research?
2) If so, what steps would I have to start taking during medical school in terms of research, internships, dual degrees?
3) What are the various careers for MD's in the pharma industry?

I would also love to hear from any MD's in pharma and what their work involves/how they got there.

Thank you in advance!

In my experience this is not realistic. Med school and residency do not give you skills that you need to work for pharma. It's funny how often this needs to be said but

DONT GO TO MED SCHOOL IF YOU DONT WANT TO PRACTICE MEDICINE.

 

[nicesecrets]

Will someone that has industry experience comment on lifestyle. Is it a typical 40 hour work week? Do you often work on weekends?

I also don't see why everyone claims its so lucrative - the starting salaries are less than what a hospitalist typically makes.

I am sorry if I am posting late for you, but I am a PhD who works in industry with several MDs and DOs. From my experience it is mostly 9-5. Of course there are longer days when you have filings or board meetings to prepare for. There are also many opportunities to travel for conferences/regulatory meetings.

As for the pay, I guess the reason it is thought to be lucrative is that you can start as a director in pharma right after residency and make about 300 in just the salary and then extra with stocks and options. I don't know how this compares with the salary of a hospitalist or academic physician, since it is speciality specific but most of the big money in industry tends to be in the stocks and options.

 

[Dave1980]

This wrong and likely stems from ignorance of what actually happens in a Pharma setting.

The medical field is one very applicable way into industry. I use my clinical knowledge (and skills I learned from medical school to residency) daily when serving on an industry team looking to design practical and move clinical trials

do you work in pharma? what kind of compensation do you get?

 

[oncomine]

do you work in pharma? what kind of compensation do you get?

Biotech. Based out of Europe.
The starting salary is about 1.5 - 2 times that of academia.

 

[Dave1980]

Biotech. Based out of Europe.
The starting salary is about 1.5 - 2 times that of academia.

Ok well that is basically meaningless.

Is there one standard salary for all of specialties in academia for all countries in Europe?

 

[oncomine]

Ok well that is basically meaningless.

Is there one standard salary for all of specialties in academia for all countries in Europe?

Sounds like you need additional help. f you are an academic physician, write your salary down and multiply by the factor I gave you. This general rule applies anywhere you live.
Similar to the academic variation in salaries, industry compensation is not uniform throughout the world.

 

[Dave1980]

Sounds like you need additional help. f you are an academic physician, write your salary down and multiply by the factor I gave you. This general rule applies anywhere you live.
Similar to the academic variation in salaries, industry compensation is not uniform throughout the world.

well once again. thank you for adding no information.

salaries in europe are heterogeneous and dont compare to the salaries in the US.

 

[oncomine]

well once again. thank you for adding no information.

salaries in europe are heterogeneous and dont compare to the salaries in the US.

"This general rule applies anywhere you live."