Filed in Category Pediatric Care
Can anyone please explain the difference between Primary Care and Research medical schools? Also, in your opinion, which type of school would be best for an aspiring pediatric oncologist?
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Medical Schools: Primary Care vs. Research?
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Primary Care schools center their curriculum around Clinical Skills that prepare their students to deal directly with patients. Research Medical Schools have some Clinical Skills training, but also have a research component that Primary Care Schools don’t require (you can still do research at a Primary Care School, you just have to be proactive about it). The largest research requirements are through joint MD/PhD programs, during which students take 3 years in the middle of their Med School curriculum to complete a PhD level research project.
To become a Pediatric Oncologist, you could go to either. After graduation, you’d want to apply to a joint Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency (it’s a longer residency than either Internal Med or Pediatrics, but less time than doing them separately, and allows you to become Board Certified in either field). This would prepare you for a Fellowship in Pediatric Oncology.
There isn’t a required research component in many Med/Peds Residency programs, though you can also choose a Residency associated with a Research hospital instead of a straight up Teaching Hospital. The same is true for a Pediatric Oncology Fellowship – some are at Research Hospitals, some are not. The extent to which you want to include Research in your career is totally up to you.