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After digging around, I have found that many are / have been very frustrated with the dual degree - especially the PhD half. It seems that it is difficult to utilize it as many had intended. It seems that many drop it altogether and end up MD-ing their career. During training, and while trying to match a residency (I may not be using this lingo properly - please forgive), and even after graduating, I have seen people question the practical value of their PhD at various times on SDN.
BUT - I really want to know from a personal development standpoint. Do you think the PhD training has made you a better person? A worse person?
I haven't been there yet. I don't know what it is like to live a life that has experienced those ~4 years of training. I don't know what it is like to think those thoughts. So I would really like to know how some of you feel after (or during) the experience. Here are a few ways I figure it could be approached.
1) Is there something about experiencing life after years of research that is valuable? Does life feel different? Does the world look different?
2) Assuming the MD and PhD both sharpen your thinking and decision making skills, which one helped more?
3) Do you feel that it is easier to consider the world more fully and have a deeper understanding of everything around you? Is this enjoyable?
(This is rooted in what I heard via a philosophy lecturer. It was suggested that the Simpson's is enjoyable but so is, for example, a very sophisticated musical piece. Arguably, the Simpson's would be enjoyable to a wider range of audience because it plays to a lower common denominator. A sophisticated piano piece would be lost on me and many others because we do not play the piano. But it may still be a higher level of enjoyment if we but only knew the true complexity, talent, and genius of the melody.)
4) Are you capable of generating thoughts that you would otherwise be unable to even consider (Besides your specific research interest. That is a given.)
5) Some say ignorance is bliss. The only ones that could know that are those who are not ignorant. When I learned algebra, I thought it was largely unnecessary and tedious. Now, I would fully regret a life without algebra. Even if not using it for a career, would you regret it if your PhD training was taken from you and replaced with years of [insert whatever]?
6) Would you largely still be the same person today if you had not undergone that experience?
7) Did it help you grow as an individual and caused you to live a more fulfilling life having gone through it?
Or however else you might think to address the question. Ultimately, is it of some significant value to you just by the merits of the experience and the personal growth incurred during the process?
(I should make a special note: when I say "better person" I don't mean more valuable member of society, inherently more important, or whatever than anybody else. I mean, for you, compared against yourself before and after, do you feel like a better person.)
BUT - I really want to know from a personal development standpoint. Do you think the PhD training has made you a better person? A worse person?
I haven't been there yet. I don't know what it is like to live a life that has experienced those ~4 years of training. I don't know what it is like to think those thoughts. So I would really like to know how some of you feel after (or during) the experience. Here are a few ways I figure it could be approached.
1) Is there something about experiencing life after years of research that is valuable? Does life feel different? Does the world look different?
2) Assuming the MD and PhD both sharpen your thinking and decision making skills, which one helped more?
3) Do you feel that it is easier to consider the world more fully and have a deeper understanding of everything around you? Is this enjoyable?
(This is rooted in what I heard via a philosophy lecturer. It was suggested that the Simpson's is enjoyable but so is, for example, a very sophisticated musical piece. Arguably, the Simpson's would be enjoyable to a wider range of audience because it plays to a lower common denominator. A sophisticated piano piece would be lost on me and many others because we do not play the piano. But it may still be a higher level of enjoyment if we but only knew the true complexity, talent, and genius of the melody.)
4) Are you capable of generating thoughts that you would otherwise be unable to even consider (Besides your specific research interest. That is a given.)
5) Some say ignorance is bliss. The only ones that could know that are those who are not ignorant. When I learned algebra, I thought it was largely unnecessary and tedious. Now, I would fully regret a life without algebra. Even if not using it for a career, would you regret it if your PhD training was taken from you and replaced with years of [insert whatever]?
6) Would you largely still be the same person today if you had not undergone that experience?
7) Did it help you grow as an individual and caused you to live a more fulfilling life having gone through it?
Or however else you might think to address the question. Ultimately, is it of some significant value to you just by the merits of the experience and the personal growth incurred during the process?
(I should make a special note: when I say "better person" I don't mean more valuable member of society, inherently more important, or whatever than anybody else. I mean, for you, compared against yourself before and after, do you feel like a better person.)
