istudyhard

I understand that you need a bachelors in pre-med courses as a minimum to go to medical school, but I wanted to know if receiving a masters or doctorate will better your chances in being admitted to a good medical school? Once I am admitted into med school I know it will take four years there then one or two years of residency to finalize my education. I want to become a primary physician specializing in sports medicine, a physical therapist, or a primary physician specializing in pathology. I will get a PhD if it will better my chances before applying to medical school. Thanks for your help.

zapfino

It won't necessarily improve your chances of admission.

If you're interested in sports medicine, then you'll probably do a residency in orthopedics or internal medicine (or, less commonly, in family practice, pediatrics, physical medicine & rehab or emergency medicine). A good undergrad major would be anatomy/physiology.That also would be a good major for physical therapy.

If you're interested in pathology, then you'll probably do a residency in pathology or internal medicine/infectious diseases (or possibly, genetics or oncology). Good undergrad majors would include microbiology or molecular biology (or genetics or cell biology). If you had any interest in forensic pathology, a double major in a bioscience field + biological anthropology would be a good combination.

(Re-reading your post, I see you mentioned you want to be a primary physician in sports med or pathology. In that case, you'd do a residency in family practice, internal med , or pediatrics with a subspecialty.) If you did a residency in family practice or pediatrics, a double major in a bioscience field + psychology or human development wiuld be good, or maybe a bioscience field + anthropology (biological anthro, medical anthro).

It'll take more than 1-2 years of residency.

If you want to go the PhD route, consider a joint MD/PhD program. I think at some point you might need to decide on a clinical or research pathway.

istudyhard

Thanks for the clarification. I was confused from reading different explanations of becoming sports medicine physicians on the internet, I originally meant the first kind you mentioned (a non-primary care physician) or a pathologist or physical therapist. What are the benefits of getting a masters or PhD if it won't improve my chances of being accepted at medical schools, perhaps an increase in salary? Thanks a lot.

curmudgeon

Nope. No increase in salary.

astults13

Perhaps a better understanding of the topic, and the chance to do research? Don't go through life always looking for how something will earn you money.

kristin5792

Most physical therapists go to PT school and are not MDs. Perhaps you mean PM&R (physical medicine and rehabilitation)? PM&R docs work with patients who have pretty intense therapy needs and typically refer them to a PT (rather than providing the PT themselves). As an example, the PM&R doc I worked with worked in a rehab hospital, and worked mostly with kids who had suffered traumatic brain injuries, have cerebral palsy, or have seizure disorders. His day-to-day clinic work involved surveillance and maintenance of their medication pumps, performing injections to contractures, performing EMGs and nerve conduction studies, etc. One of is partners is a pain specialist and helps adult patients with chronic pain through a variety of modalities (eg injections, nerve ablations, referrals to PT...)

From the AAPMR website: "A physiatrist, or rehabilitation physician, is a medical doctor who has also completed residency training in the medical specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R). This physician is a nerve, muscle, bone and brain expert who diagnoses and treats injuries or illnesses that affect how you move. The physiatric approach to patient care looks at the whole person and not just one symptom or condition. Rehabilitation physicians do not perform surgery."

istudyhard

Thank you for your responses. Didn't know PT school was different. I decided I would go down the normal route with a bachelors then apply for med school and go from there. Thank you for your help.