I want to be a doctor, pretty sure about MD but don't know if I want to or need to do PhD as well...?

Question

Majoring in Biochemistry/Chemistry or Biology/Chemistry.
I am about equally well at Chemistry and Biology and I am very good at Calculus. No exposure to physics. My main academic interests are immunology emerging infectious diseases and genetics. My number one driving force for becoming a doctor is because my mom died of leukemia so i am interested in leukemia, aml in particular.

Answer 1

It really depends on whether or not you want to do research. If you just want to do practice, like treating patients, then you need an MD. However, if you just want to do research, then you need a PhD. If you want to do both, such as clinical research, then having both would be helpful. If you do decide to do both, try to find an MD/PhD program. This way, you'll get paid to go to medical school, instead of going into massive debt. It's very hard, of course, but if you find a good program, you'll have lots of support.

Answer 2

MD with a PhD is not a bad idea if you want to do research. If you just want to practice, the PhD may not be so important. Of course, you could also do research with just an MD. But good luck because medicine is very competitive. And there are other ways to do medicine.

Answer 3

Do you want to do research or do you want to practice medicine?

If research then a PhD would be a natural choice. You would probably want to get the MD first.

If you want to practice medicine then the PhD is less useful. Consider that med school is going to cost a lot of money. You will probably want to get your MD and start practicing as soon as possible to pay off your loans.

But be sure to talk to academic and financial aid counselors and plan a course of study that is going to work best for you.