pariah

I think there are quite a few scientists here, maybe they will know (couldn't find any relevant info on google), so....

What does it take to become an eminent medical researcher? Harvard? Johns Hopkins? If I come out of one of these medical schools research departments with an MD or PHD (which one do researchers get??) what kind of job could I expect to get? I want to be a scientist, damnit!

Wounded King

Ideally Becoming an eminent researcher woul involve being good at research and making a number of valuable scientific discoveries. Where you get your degree from should not really be relevant.

If your interest is solely in fundamental research then you are probably better off not doing a medical degree first as this will consume a lot of time and money and you will still need to do the PhD work. You might be as well to do a biology course at university and then do your PhD at Johns Hopkins or some such place. The places you mentioned undoubtedly have information as to the neccessary requirements to join their graduate programs somewhere on their websites.

If you are interested in research into novel surgical procedures or medical treatments, or most anything involving fiddling around with people, then an MD is obviously more of a requirement.

pariah

But going to a school like johns hopkins opens many more job opportunities (and much better ones) than your run of the mill medical school simply b/c of the people you will meet, doesnt it? and that gives you the opportunity to perform more significant research, if you are being provided with better funding and staff.

Wounded King

But alternatively you are unlikely to want to spend your entire research career in one institution, in fact this is positively discouraged. Certainly doing your undergrad, post-grad and a post-doc all in one institution would look a bit timid.

There are very specific criteria for applying for a graduate program, unless you chose a university which was so sub standard you could not reach those criteria it really shouldn't make that much difference.

I shouldn't expect to perform any significant research as an undergrad so it isn't until you are looking for a Graduate school that this should be a major factor, don't forget that the best researchers are not neccessarily the best educators, although by and large the richest schools should be able to employ the best educators.

pariah

Thanks for the info so far, I really appreciate it.

I have another question though. Who would I be looking for employment from after finishing school (and for speculation, let us say after attending a top ranked medical school and being in the top of class), and what kind of salary do they pay. Would I find my first job working under someone in a team, or leading a team?

Wounded King

I don't know how it works in the states but in the UK ther is no 'top of the class' as such for Graduate schools, it all comes down to how many papers you get out, preferably of high quality.

asgardhaven

parahSS

What ever institution you choose one of the easiest and most common ways of being premienent is by starting of in the lab of a preimemienet scienitist as your PI (pricipal investigator- ie the grant getting guy). Sometimes its good to do so because the PI is doing good science. More typical is that that's the type of PI that's got the money you need to do science, the clout to get your stuff published in the prominent journals, and the connections to land you a job. Or at least a good postdoc/internship that will set you on the path to a good job. Be aware that this method does not gaurantee your happiness, success, or that you couldnt have achieved the same ends in a less well known lab.

Good Luck whatever you choose!

pariah

Well it's a long way off now, a few years until I can even apply for medical school...but this isnt something I had seriously considered doing until very recently so I'm rather ignorant on the whole subject. Thank you for the advice. I'm curious, how important do you think the quality of the medical school is?

asgardhaven

As a bit of background let me state that I went to Graduate school not Med School, but it was on a Med school campus and that some of the researchers I worked with were MDs or MD/PhDs.

Keeping that in mind let me state that if what you're interrested is a research career via a Med school, the quality your looking for is the quality of research there putting out and not neccessarily how good a medical doctor they turn out. I'm not saying that the two things are mutually exclusive because I'm sure there are quality programs that do both. I'm just saying that money tends to be a finite resource so just pay attention to where the school spends its money.

Another thing to look for is the quality of any grad school programs that may share the same campus. Its not uncommon that a University might put a teaching hospital/med school on the same campus as grad programs. If these are good programs it will increase your opportunity to do research both because they'll be more material and people and because they'll be more variaty in the research going on.

It will even let you turn into alphabet soup if you like, ie MD/PhD with the possiblity of adding JD, MBA,etc. on later

AmbiguousUbiquity

Pariah,

Although I had no interest in going to medical school myself, as a biology major I encountered many people who wanted to pursue that route.

From what I understand, the main course of action to take involves getting into a good Natural Science program (one that is accredited at the very least), that gears you towards preparing for medical/professional post grad school. Ideally, I would think you would want to look into colleges that offer a Pre-Med program to be sure you take all the required prerequisite courses needed to be accepted into the program. Then you get as many 4.0 semester averages as possible, get in good with your professors as you will need recommendations from them (you might even want to consider asking for undergrad research involvement), prepare like hell for your Medical School admission test (out here in California it's called the MCAT), and pass with flying colors. Once you do all that, you need to start interviewing with medical schools to establish a good rapport to get into them.

As far as quality medical schools go.....I think that the less qualified schools will only allow you to get a DO, rather than an MD; you're still a doctor, but I think you are required to stay less specified (i.e., no brain surgeon is a DO). I've heard wonderful things about the UCLA med school program, as well as Johns Hopkins and Harvard. Here's a list I found of medical schools in the US:

Medical Schools

I would have to say that after talking to people who are involved in the medical field, that many doctors look down upon those who got their medical school degree from somewhere outside the country, let's use Guadalajara as an example.

Hope this helps.

Lauren