I have enjoyed all the faculty talks that we’ve had during this program, but I’m going to reflect on Dr. Anne West’s talk. Her discussion about the MSTP program was especially interesting to me. Before this summer, I was sure I wanted to only attend medical school. However, after conducting research, I was questioning whether I should do an MD/Ph.D. program. I appreciated that Dr. West emphasized her broad academic interests during her undergraduate studies. Indecisiveness can have a negative connotation in academia, so it was comforting to see that she spoke about having multiple interests and not being sure which career she wanted to pursue.
After listening to her talk, I realized I didn’t want to do an MD/Ph.D. program. While I enjoy working in a lab, I want more patient interactions rather than spending most of my time in a lab. What stood out to me the most was when Dr. West mentioned that many MDs at Duke do research later on in their career. I didn’t know that was an option; I thought you had to receive a Ph.D. to conduct research. I may not want to work in a lab at the beginning of my career, but maybe later on I will. Dr. West’s talk was enlightening, and I appreciated the advice she gave us.
