If you are in the process of applying to medical school, you may have received information from prospective programs about the possibility of applying to a dual-degree or joint M.D. track. Dual-degree programs typically combine your pursuit of an M.D. or D.O. with another master's or doctorate degree, such as an MBA, Master of Education, Master of Health Administration, Master of Public Health, J.D. or Ph.D. Some students pursue dual-degree programs if their interests lie outside of clinical medicine, while others might gravitate toward a joint M.D. if they're interested in a particular niche of medicine where skills from both degrees are heavily used. Enrollment in a dual-degree program typically results in students pausing their medical education – usually after the second or third year – to complete the second degree's requirements. Students may then return to the medicine school on a full-time basis. Though pursuing a dual degree is a tremendous amount of work, students who are committed to certain careers may find that a joint M.D. is their best option. Here are three types of students who should consider choosing a dual medical degree. 1. Students who want to start their own medical practice upon completing medical training. The standard of medical practice once saw physicians manning their own individual offices, but the current trend involves multiple doctors working in the same practice, often under the direction of an overarching health care system. With this change in structure, the business of medical delivery has become more complex, and insurance reimbursement remains fraught with complications that often can best be untangled by an individual trained in specific business practices. Students who envision themselves directing or founding a medical practice with physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, phlebotomists, billing personnel and office assistants may find that a dual MBA-M.D. degree suits them perfectly – it will provide them with the management tools necessary to direct the business side of a complex medical practice. 2. Students who want to work in medical law. Medicine has many intersections with law, including the development of health care policy. Our health care climate has undergone significant change in recent years with the introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and it promises to continue changing as the needs of our country's population shift. Prospective medical students who see themselves as part of this change may be interested in an M.D.-J.D. or M.D.-M.P.H. These dual-degree programs cultivate legal knowledge and an understanding of how legal policy develops, which may help these students effectively develop health care policy or otherwise play a role in the medical law field. 3. Student who want to specialize in medical education. Like health care law and medical practices, medical education has undergone a shift in recent years, with many medical schools now combining traditional lecture and lab practices with active learning in small groups, case studies, flipped classrooms and the like. Students who are interested in becoming medical educators or who would like to work in community education may be interested in a dual M.D.-M.Ed. degree, which combines medical training with an understanding of effective teaching practices, individual lesson plans and how different types of students learn. This joint concentration may best serve students who imagine themselves working as medical school instructors or in positions that educate the public on issues like flu prevention. While the option to earn a graduate degree is also available to practicing physicians, a joint M.D. can enrich your medical school experience by providing aspiring doctors with additional intersections and lenses through which to view medicine. Whether to opt for a dual-degree program is a uniquely personal decision, but the three students described above may find it a difficult but rewarding path to pursue. Source
