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  • Voiceover: Top Test Prep.

  • Will: So what exactly is a physician scientist?

  • Well, since you clicked on the link,

  • I'm sure you're very interested in becoming both

  • an MD and a PhD.

  • And just as the name suggests,

  • the MD part of it is more clinical,

  • so you'll be seeing patients about once or twice a week,

  • and then you'll be in a scientific lab most of the time.

  • And as a physician scientist,

  • you're really bridging that gap.

  • So you're seeing a lot of the science being,

  • hopefully applied transitionally to the clinic

  • and also vice versa.

  • Now this process is very long.

  • It will take around seven or eight years depending

  • on the program, and sometimes even nine years.

  • You'll spend two years in medical school

  • just learning your basics, and then you'll spend

  • about three or four years, and sometimes even five years

  • to grab your PhD in whatever scientific field

  • that you're interested in.

  • Mine is neuroscience, yours might be immunology.

  • And then you will spend your last two years of medicine

  • or of medical school earning that MD degree,

  • and that is spending time in a clerkship

  • and doing your rotations.

  • Now, figuring out if you want this path is very, very,

  • very important.

  • You will have to love research.

  • And that means you have to get into the research lab

  • as soon as possible.

  • I started in my freshman year and I started seriously

  • in my sophomore year of college,

  • and I have over, I think, around four or five years

  • of experience in the lab.

  • You might also want to take some time off.

  • For example, working at the NIH,

  • or working in a research lab at your home institution.

  • In all, this process takes a very long time,

  • and it includes more than just your MCAT,

  • your GPA, your extracurriculars that will get you

  • into medical school, but also,

  • research is the foundational part of the MD PhD.

  • If you're more interested, please visit us

  • at www.TopTestPrep.com.

Voiceover: Top Test Prep.

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