Monday, December 18, 2006

Difference between MD and PhD

I found this good, although not entirely accurate post, over on the SDN forums.

By ScottishChap
M.D. - harder to get into, easier to get through, science classes just scratch the surface, can get by by memorizing like a parrot, not treated as a colleague, expensive, independent thought is dangerous, program lasts 4 years, instructors can't mess with the class mean without repercussions, students whine a lot more, students assume all Ph.D. students are unhappy med school rejects. Overall: subject matter is one inch deep and 10 miles wide.

Ph.D. - easier to get into, harder to get through, science classes take it as deep as current knowledge permits, will fail if all you do is memorize, treated more as a colleague, inexpensive, independent thought is rewarded, program lasts 3-7 years, instructors can make exams hard enough that the mean is 40% without repercussions, students whine much less, students assume all M.D. students are snooty and arrogant. Overall: subject matter is 10 miles deep and one inch wide.


Now, where does that leave us MD/PhDs??

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're right to say that this is not an entirely accurate post.

It is obvious that the guy who wrote it, ScottishChap, is not a medical doctor and has an extreme prejudice against them. I would say that approximately 25% of this guy's comparison is based on fact, while the other 75% is based entirely on his own assumptions and beliefs.

Overall, I'd say this comparison is an interesting outlook on someone else's opinion, but basically useless to those who are looking for factual information.

Anonymous said...

This is funny. MDs are arrogant though, how many of them could get a PhD in pure math or theoretical physics? Most couldn't get a 3.0 inone of those majors IMHO.The pre meds I know are hard workers but not that smart.