Rightly dubbed ‘medical gladiators in the arenas of medicine and science’, Physician-Scientists use their lengthy, expensive dual training to deliver improved medical care and better health outcomes. Continue Reading
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Explore Career Rightly dubbed ‘medical gladiators in the arenas of medicine and science’, Physician-Scientists use their lengthy, expensive dual training to deliver improved medical care and better health outcomes.
What are the typical responsibilities of a Physician Scientist?
A Physician-Scientist would typically need to:
Most Physician-Scientists spend the better part of their workdays in a laboratory or clinical setting, but for the times they need to study data or reports in an office or teach in a classroom. Travel may be necessary to attend conferences and seminars and meet with important stakeholders.
Most Pharmaceutical-Scientists work full time on a regular schedule except when they have to meet urgent deadlines.
Finding a new job might seem challenging. Physician-Scientists can boost their job search by asking their network for referrals, contacting companies directly, using job search platforms, going to job fairs, leveraging social media, and inquiring at staffing agencies.
Physician-Scientists are generally employed by:
Healthcare associations, such as The International Consortium of Clinician Scientist Trainee Organisations (ICCSTO), provide unparalleled networking and educational opportunities. They offer all the certification courses members will need throughout their professional careers.
Affiliated Physician-Scientists may attend conventions, seminars, and dinners frequented by peers, mentors, and other industry leaders. The events help them keep up with the latest breakthroughs and developments in the field, including plum jobs.
To show their commitment to the long qualifying period, every applicant to a medical program needs work experience in their local hospital, doctor's surgery, nursing home, or mental health trust. It will help them understand some of the physical and emotional demands of a career in medicine.
Some teaching hospitals also offer work experience in their clinical medicine departments, specifically for secondary school students interested in a medical degree and a career as a Physician-Scientist. It can be a helpful way to gain insight.
While still at medical/graduate school, seek all possible opportunities to be invited to and participate in research programmes.
Your three- to seven-year-long residency programme in your speciality of interest will provide ample scope to receive hands-on training from experienced healthcare professionals, hone your skills and confidence, rehearse independent practice in a clinical or hospital setting, and qualify you to acquire board certification and licence to practice.
All residents get at least one year of focused laboratory practice; they can get more based on their decision to undertake a short-track or long-track residency programme and their choice of specialisation.
You may find a temporary postdoctoral research position an attractive alternative. A subsequent two- to three-year fellowship programme that prepares you for formal entry into the field may include full-time postdoctoral work in overseas laboratories and research institutes if you have a PhD. Both roles offer the opportunity to publish research findings and earn a permanent college or university faculty position.
Clinicians with an MD/DO/MBBS degree can expect more clinical and laboratory training in the area they determine to specialise in during their residency. In addition, they will be able to continue to develop or maintain their clinical skills by participating in clinics, on-call rotas, and clinical meetings per their clinical speciality.
Prerequisites for the Physician-Scientist fellowship programme usually include adequate research experience, identifying a suitable supervisor at the institute of their choice, and submitting a comprehensive research proposal to apply for funding.
Read about the profession, perform community service, undertake relevant research, and interview/ job shadow expert Physician-Scientists to prove your commitment to course providers and prospective employers. It helps document such experiences on letters of recommendation submitted with medical school applications.
Regardless of their path, aspiring Physician-Scientists acquire considerable experience in scientific research while treating patients in a clinical setting.
Some complete MD (Doctor of Medicine), DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine), DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery), MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery), or advanced nursing degrees training and then opt for fellowship training to undertake comprehensive research. Others choose to complete MD/DO/MBBS training before returning to graduate school and earning a PhD degree.
A few others may decide to enter medical school and earn an MD/DO/MBBS degree after earning their doctoral degree. All three options may take around ten years to acquire the MD/DO/MBBS and PhD degrees.
And a tiny number may work towards both degrees simultaneously in a shorter seven- to eight-year-long dual MD-PhD degree programme where students learn to conduct hypothesis-driven research in a mentored environment.
Medical school typically takes four to five years to complete. The first two years of course and laboratory work in biological and natural sciences, physiology, chemistry, medical ethics and the art/practice of medicine prepare the students for patient interaction.
They are followed by two years in a hospital or clinical setting with exposure to real-life medical issues via rotations through various medical specialities and settings under the supervision of experienced physicians.
As they complete rotations, students tend to zero in on certain specialities or environments that fit their particular interests and skillsets.
Upon passing through the program, the freshly-minted MD/DO/MBBSs usually complete three- to seven-year residencies, followed by a two- to four-year internship/fellowship in a speciality area of interest.
The PhD training usually focuses on molecular, cellular, or human/animal studies in biochemistry, cell biology and microbiology, immunology and genetics, neuroscience, pharmacology, and physiology.
Outside of the biomedical sciences, MD-PhD students may receive training in bioengineering, chemical biology, bioinformatics, public health, anthropology, and bioethics.
Some locations offer prospective Physician-Scientists the option to do a pre-med course or study subjects such as biology, physics, chemistry, anthropology, microbiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, physiology, bioinformatics, and public health at college.
In some locations, students appointed during their BSc (Bachelor of Science) undertake an abbreviated first clinical year soon after their BSc exams and learn about the basics of clinical medicine.
After formal enrolment, the student will work on their PhD research for three to four years, return to two years of clinical studies and graduate. Often students receive out-of-hours clinical tuition even during their PhD programme and maintain contact with their PhD lab after acquiring their doctoral degree.
The most common topics for research involve neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, immunology, infection, oncology, cardiovascular medicine, and development.
Take college preparatory courses in life sciences, physical sciences, and maths in high school. English and speech classes will help you develop your research, writing, and oral communication skills.
Potential Physician-Scientists must apply for their medical licence and board certification after completing a residency, particularly if they are going to administer drugs or gene therapy or otherwise practise medicine on patients in clinical trials or private practice.
A combination of education, experience, and testing is generally required to gain certification, though requirements differ from region to region. Successful certification programs protect public welfare by incorporating a Code of Ethics.
Individual government entities conduct the licensing process. It typically requires passing an examination and fulfilling eligibility requirements such as an MD/DO/MBBS degree and completion of residency.
Performance, experience, and the acquisition of professional qualifications drive the career progression of Physician-Scientists. Some opt for promotion as Administrative Leaders and advance their careers. They may become Professors, Group Leaders, Consultants or Postdoctoral Fellows in pursuing their primary dream to help improve human health globally.
In addition to effective communication, critical thinking, data analysis, decision making, and observation skills, candidates with doctoral and medical degrees have the best job prospects.
Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential for public wellbeing and career progression in the healthcare sector. It embraces several new learning objectives, educational methodologies, and novel technological developments, especially in education, management, and IT.
Reflective learning, interaction with peer groups, comprehensive inclusion, and professional publications serve to educate, influence, support, and foster lifelong enlightenment in all career-grade Physician-Scientists.
Following residency, enterprising individuals who have figured out the field they wish to specialise in can complete a fellowship programme that can be postdoctoral work if they have a PhD or more clinical and laboratory training. They will be set for a faculty position and an easy entry into their chosen field.
Professional development workshops, scholar seminars, retreats, opportunities to attend national conferences and join organisations, and mentoring for graduate and residency training also provide unique training gateways to develop you as a scientist and physician.
Physician-Scientists can expect support and additional training from the academic institution or from Vitae, a non-profit global leader with over 50 years of experience in enhancing the skills of researchers.
In partnership with governments, funders of research, professional bodies, trusts & foundations, universities, and research institutes, Vitae offers training, resources, events, consultancy, and membership.
A Brief History
By and large, physicians have been the acknowledged pioneers in medical science, fed by a healthy dose of intellectual insight and curiosity coupled with primarily informal scientific training.
A tradition that continues to garner popularity in Europe and the UK dictates acquiring an MBBS degree and holding a junior medical job until the incumbent obtains a postgraduate qualification and then breaks off into research culminating in a PhD degree.
The medically-qualified researcher aims for a judicious mix of clinical training and research until about 35 when they might hope for a senior research fellowship or a senior lectureship at the consultant level.
Despite its popularity, this process comes with a fair share of issues. The PhD completion rates for medically qualified graduates are abysmally low, notwithstanding the success of highly competitive and massively funded MRC (Medical Research Council) fellowships.
In addition, the number of individuals who finally enter an actual research career after completing the clinical and research qualification remains a matter of speculation. A job that includes precise and disciplined science would be pretty different from one steeped in the constantly active and urgent nature of clinical medicine.
In the 1950s, American universities came up with programmes wherein one could take up a PhD even while at medical school. Promising young candidates could choose to undergo rigorous, exemplary clinical medicine and science training without interruption, so they are well-equipped to further the boundaries of their chosen field.
The success of these early pilots promoted the US federal government to begin funding such ‘medical scientist training programmes’ (MSTPs) in the 1960s. Despite the highly competitive entry, these American schemes continue to contribute significantly to medical research because of the substantial number of MDPhD graduates who have made it through the undeniably arduous educational strategy.
The Current Scenario
Demand for Physician-Scientists is growing as the population ages, rates of chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, continue to increase, and a growing population travels globally and facilitates the spread of pandemics.
However, the number of younger Physician-Scientists applying for research support is declining, and the average age of these researchers, even first-time applicants, is rising.
In addition to traditional laboratory and clinical investigation, the areas of interest now include research on health services and implementation, population health, community engagement, health equity, and emerging data sciences.
Regardless, there is a global failure to adequately renew and advance the Physician-Scientist workforce due to a significant lack of support and guidance at crucial stages of their professional development. The lack of adequate government funds for medical research grants may also affect the availability of favourable opportunities.
Such an unfortunate state of affairs has been goading prominent medical leaders to raise questions on the odds of any individual being able to master the growing complexities of medicine and science while being adequately sustained by constantly evolving medical institutions and health systems.
There is an urgent need for universal replication of exemplary Physician-Scientist “homes”, which may range from formal programmes to networks and communities that support a sustainable and diverse clinical research infrastructure for the training and development of its members.
Most programmes offer financial support, including stipends, tuition waivers, and health insurance to help students cover the cost of their scientific and medical training.
Physician-Scientists are blessed twice. Their comprehensive clinical knowledge of human health and disease, in tandem with their scientific investigation and analysis skills, allow them to enjoy the illustrious and incredibly rewarding privilege of positively influencing many lives.
The journey of discovery is its own reward, and you must follow where the science leads you.
The global economy loses nearly $1 trillion yearly in productivity due to depression and anxiety.
What do Physician-Scientists do?
A Physician-Scientist would typically need to:
Accredited
$78,674
