MD/PhD in med-peds?

[mercaptovizadeh]

How do MD/PhD applicants do in the med-peds match? Is basic science research something residency program directors care about? What sort of "special things" are needed to indicate a strong interest in med-peds, other than electives in both medical and pediatric subspecialties? Would I need AIs in both? Recommendation letters from med-peds faculty?

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[kutastha]

I applied for Med-Peds with an MD/PhD - did not get into #1, but my #2 choice. The places I interviewed seemed somewhat intrigued, but not terribly interested. If the residency is affiliated with a university with a strong research background, they will likely have more interest. At the places that didn't, I was only asked "What was your PhD in?" and sometimes, "What do you plan to do with it?" Unless they've done research, program directors may not have any idea what it entails.

You will want to do extra electives in both medicine and pediatrics. Get letters from M/P faculty if you can.

Nevertheless, the combined residency made me nuts and I ran for the hills to neurology. Good luck.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

I applied for Med-Peds with an MD/PhD - did not get into #1, but my #2 choice. The places I interviewed seemed somewhat intrigued, but not terribly interested. If the residency is affiliated with a university with a strong research background, they will likely have more interest. At the places that didn't, I was only asked "What was your PhD in?" and sometimes, "What do you plan to do with it?" Unless they've done research, program directors may not have any idea what it entails.

You will want to do extra electives in both medicine and pediatrics. Get letters from M/P faculty if you can.

Nevertheless, the combined residency made me nuts and I ran for the hills to neurology. Good luck.

Yikes. Thanks for the insightful post. My worry was that med-peds was more primary care oriented than straight med or peds. I'm guessing that the "top" programs like Penn, Harvard, etc. might be more amenable or even interested in researchers.

What made the combined residency make you flee to neurology? I'm guessing both specialties were irritating, because you easily could have just switched to med or peds only rather than neurology...

 

[kutastha]

I just saw the road as a dead end. I had started out thinking I could do a combined fellowship, but my road was already so long, once residency began and I was doing the combined residency, that dream died. I also didn't see myself doing a specialty in either one of them, so I looked into neurology, which I found fascinating. The primary care aspect also turned me off greatly.

 

[group_theory]

Yikes. Thanks for the insightful post. My worry was that med-peds was more primary care oriented than straight med or peds. I'm guessing that the "top" programs like Penn, Harvard, etc. might be more amenable or even interested in researchers.

What made the combined residency make you flee to neurology? I'm guessing both specialties were irritating, because you easily could have just switched to med or peds only rather than neurology...

According to NRMP (source NRMP - Charting Outcomes in the Match, 2011)

Roughly 3.3% of applicants who matched into Med-Peds have PhDs (n=302). None of the people who went unmatched have PhDs (n=43).

Roughly 8.3% of applicants who matched into Med-Peds have graduate degrees. 11.6% of the unmatched applicants have graduate degrees

Mean USMLE 1 Score for US Applicants who matched into Med-Peds = 230
Mean USMLE 1 Score for US Applicants who went unmatched into Med-Peds = 219

Mean USMLE 1 score for independent applicants who matched Med-Peds = 217
Mean USMLE 1 score for independent applicants who went unmatched into Med-Peds = 218



As for Med-Peds being more primary care than the categoricals - since you are trying to combine two 3-year residencies into 4, ultimately you will have fewer electives than your categorical friends, and will end up doing more ICU rotations and wards than your friends (if you count medicine and pediatrics rotations together). You'll also have fewer electives.