With an MD earned from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, could I get a good job?

Question

I'm still in high school, but I have plans to get into the guaranteed admission program at the University of Pittsburgh. (You have to keep a certain GPA while getting a bachelors degree there, and then they keep a spot open for you at one of their graduate schools) If I were smart enough to get into the program and I successfully earned my MD, how would I go about getting to work at a prestigious research hospital? I'm thinking a hospital like the John Hopkins hospital.

Answer 1

I believe it is Johns Hopkins Hospital.  It is in Baltimore.  Networking is very important.  As you go through med school, talk to the profs and docs at U of P to find out what you need to do to ultimately work at Johns Hopkins. Find out if they have any 'pals' that work there or know someone who knows someone who works there.  Good luck!

Answer 2

After your MD degree, you'll need to choose a specialty and apply for residency training.  After your MD from U of Pitt, you can certainly apply for a residency at Hopkins

Answer 3

If I'm understanding your question correctly, you are interested in doing medical research.  If that is the case, then the combined degree program isn't the best approach for you.  Most medical researchers are either PhD or PhD/MD's.  

Also assuming that you intend to complete your residency and then apply to an institution such as Hopkins for a research job, then you need to narrow your field of interest and begin networking with the folks doing that research.  My best advice is to visit--I've worked at Johns Hopkins and their research facilities are very cramped.  It may not be what you thought it was.

Answer 4

Be aware that these combined programs are very competitive to get into since there are only a small number of spots.

In my opinion, I do not like the idea of these programs. How does a high school student truly know that he/she wants to become a doctor without even going through the process of self exploration during college? I knew of several people who dropped out of medical school after going through the traditional route because they didn't enjoy the practice of medicine. I've also know several people who dropped out of these combined programs because the didn't enjoy their pre-med requirement courses.

Off my soapbox and back to the question at hand.

First you have to complete your residency training after finishing medical school in whatever field you are interested in, which requires an additional 3-5 years after finishing medical school.  After completing residency, you can then apply for jobs, unless you want to subspecialize further.  

If you want to work at a research hospital like Hopkins, you have to first decide if you want to work solely as a clinician, researcher, or both.  I'm not sure if they require all of their academic faculty to participate in research.  If that is the case, then you will need to do a good deal of research during your residency and get publications in major journals to build up your name in the academic world.  It may even help if you do your residency training there as well since you can make contacts.

Unless you plan on going into academic medicine and really like research, there really is no need to work at a research hospital.  If you don't want to go into academics, then go to whatever medical school you can (preferably in the U.S.) and go to the residency training program you will learn the most from and be happy in. Another thing to keep in mind is that academic medicine usually does not pay as well as private practice clinical medicine.

Here is some additional information on what to expect if you go to decide to become a doctor:

You must first complete an undergraduate program (usually 4 years) during which you will apply for medical school, which is another 4 years. However, you will need to have a good undergraduate GPA (at least 3.5 to have a fair shot), take your pre-med requirement courses, and good MCAT scores (standardized exam that tests your reading comprehension, writing skills, and knowledge of physical and biological sciences) to even be considered for medical school.

During medical school, you will take courses in the core curriculum with numerous exams during the 1st two years covering different areas of basic science, pharmacology, physiology, and anatomy. You will also have to take two more big standardized exams during medical school. Then during your last year in medical school you will apply for residency training in whatever field you are interested (internal medicine, surgery, radiology, etc.), which can range from 3-5 years of additional training.

Unless you have financial support from your parents or you're independently wealthy, you will need to take out student loans or get scholarships for both undergrad and medical school. However, you will get paid during your residency but it is a meager salary ($42,000 - $54,000 depending on geographic location and years of training) for the large amount of work and stress (60-80 hours per week).

After completing residency, then you can practice as a doctor. However, if you want to subspecialize in cardiology, interventional radiology, or cardiothoracic surgery for example, you need to apply for fellowship and complete an additional 1-3 years trainng.

So basically, becoming a doctor is hard and a huge committment. Most people will finish their residency training by 28-30 years old at the earliest (if you go directly to medical school after college without any breaks in between) with about ~$100,000-200,000 debt in student loans. However, if you truly love the practice of medicine and helping people, then it may be your calling.

Hope this helps.