Reflective Essay On Pursuing An MD Degree

Understanding the full development of a treatment provides unique opportunities to educate patients and lead academic discovery at the same time. Since May 2015, I’ve been working in an optometry clinic while balancing leading various genomic research projects within the Kane Lab. While walking to class or waiting in line for food, I read about the genetic basis of eye pathologies, or various conditions that could be treated with Cannabis, which began to satisfy my need to combine research with my clinical work. Looking to further my research while continuing my path to medicine, I contemplated possible degrees that would allow me to achieve the ability to directly treat patients through my research. Deciding to pursue an MD degree was a decision
Although when considering obtaining one first, I believed I would need to achieve the other to fully express my talents in both research and patient care. After being recommended to an MD/PhD program by Dr. Kane, I spoke with students in this program to learn more about their lives academically and personally. After meeting with a 4th year MD/PhD student, I was in awe of his research; however, his personal life was not balanced, which left me unsure of an MD/PhD degree. However, knowing that one opinion would not describe a degree, I found other students and graduates with whom to talk that greatly changed my idea of this degree. Talking with a Dr. Aggarwal, a MD/PhD studying cannabis helped me shape my desire to continue studying Cannabis, although with my focus on curing cancer. While researchers’ and a clinicians’ perspectives are different, blending these two viewpoints allows for ground-breaking research to be inspired by patients’ conditions. The synergistic blend of research and medicine provides me the background to compare and explain treatments, while also providing balance in my life and an exciting career of endless