Why do you want To Be an PhD and an MD?
During an interview, a hiring manager might ask a physician-scientist why they chose to be a physician-scientist. They usually ask this to find out why the candidate wants to work in that field and to see if they are a good fit for the job they are applying for. If you are a doctor who is also a scientist, knowing how to answer this question could make you look confident and ready for an interview. In this article, we explain why employers ask, “Why do you want to be an M.D.-Ph.D.?” and give you steps to help you answer this question. We also show you answers that you can use as models.
Why do employers ask, “Why do you want to be an M.D.-Ph.D.?”
Employers might ask you why you want to be an M.D.-Ph.D., also called a physician-scientist, to find out why you want to work in this field. Companies usually look for candidates with experience and a strong desire to care for patients and do research. If you have specialized skills and a lot of knowledge, you may be qualified to be a physician-scientist. However, employers also look for people who are interested in the field. If you care about your job, a hiring manager will be able to see how successful you could be at their company.
Hiring managers may talk to more than one person about a job, so they may be looking for certain things in your answer. For example, they might ask you why you want to work in the field you’ve chosen. They may also ask how you use research and medicine. You could tell a story that shows how much you care about both areas to give a good answer. Think about telling them what you’ve learned and why they should get an M.D.-Ph.D.
How to answer “Why do you want to be an MD-PhD?”
Here are five steps you can take to give a good answer to this question:
1. Write a sentence to start.
To come up with an introduction, think about your first answer to the question. Your introduction can answer the question in one or two sentences. Most of the time, candidates use their introductions to talk about why they chose the careers they did. For example, you could say that you wanted to study medicine because when you were in high school, you were interested in medicine and research. It’s also important to be honest, since employers want to hire people who patients and medical staff can trust.
You are the only one who knows why you want to be a physician-scientist. Here are some reasons why other people have chosen this career:
- The candidate learned about the two programs when they were in college.
- They were interested in medicine and research when they were kids and teens.
- They learned at a career fair that they could both do research and be doctors.
- After working with a doctor who was also a scientist, they decided to go into this field.
2. Give your reasons for thinking that
After your first answer, give more details about why you chose your job to help the hiring manager understand why you chose it. By telling them your explanation, you also show them that your first answer was correct. For example, if you said that you were interested in science and medicine in high school, you could tell a story to explain your answer. Use a few sentences to talk about something that made you want to be a doctor-scientist.
If you want to do this well, try telling a story. Make a list of reasons that relate directly to your first answer if you need help coming up with an answer. For example, you could think about why you were interested in science and research in high school and then make a list of the classes and teachers who helped you find your interest in medicine and research.
3. Make it relevant to your business
Next, you can talk about how the company relates to your experience and why you want to be a physician-scientist. For example, if you’re applying for a job at a children’s hospital, you might talk about the research you’ve done on diseases that affect kids. This can show the person in charge of hiring that you understand what the company stands for. You can also say why you want the job and how that fits with the mission of the organization.
Think about how your personal and professional goals compare to those of the company interviewing you. For example, when you answer this interview question, you could talk about how your formal education or work experience fits with the company’s goals. Try to find out more about the company to see if you can use its values in your answer.
4. Explain how you help yourself with medicine and research.
Since medicine and research are both important parts of this field, it’s important to talk about how much you care about both. This proves that you can use what you learned in your M.D.-Ph.D. program in your job. It also shows how skilled you are as a physician-scientist, which can convince the hiring manager that you’re a good candidate.
For example, if you just finished college, you could talk about how you used medicine and research while you were in school. On the other hand, if you have more experience, you could talk about how you used your skills in medicine and research at your previous jobs. Tell a story from work or school that shows how your medical and research background has helped you.
5. List your qualifications
In your answer, try to talk about any skills you have as a physician-scientist. This can help your skills and qualifications stand out even more and show an employer that you have a lot of experience. If you’re new to the field, you might want to talk about your education and what you learned in the program that gave you a credential, license, award, or certification. Even if you have a lot of credentials, you should focus on the ones that show you are qualified to be a physician-scientist.
When you talk about your qualifications, you should always try to tie them back to the interview question. To do this, you could talk about how your education or work made you want to be a physician-scientist. You could also talk about how winning a prize inspired you to get your PhD.
Answers to the question “Why do you want to be an MD-PhD?”
Use these answers to this question as examples to help you prepare for an interview:
Example 1
Here’s an example of how to answer this question in an interview by talking about something you’ve learned:
“I was always interested in science and health class when I was in high school. I didn’t find out that my university had an M.D.-Ph.D. program until my first year of college. This made me happy, so I joined the program. I think that my ability to do research and my broad knowledge of medicine can help this hospital do what it needs to do. By taking care of my patients and learning about their illnesses, I can give them good care. I chose to be a doctor-scientist in the end because I wanted to help people.”
Example 2
Here’s an example of how to answer this interview question with a personal story:
“Since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to help people. I worked in hospitals and helped take care of my sick grandmother. I wanted to learn more about diseases because of her illness. I became a doctor-scientist because I wanted to help people like her and keep my promise to study the diseases that hurt them. During my M.D.-Ph.D. program, I did a lot of research on diseases that affect older people and focused on epidemiology.”
Example 3
Here’s an example of how to answer this question in an interview by connecting your skills and experience to what the company needs:
“My anatomy professor told me that after I got my master’s degree, I should look into doctoral programs. After looking at a few programs, I decided to get an MD-PhD because I could get two degrees at once, improve my research skills, and learn more about medicine. I want to help people in the best way possible with my advanced research skills. I think I can help people at this clinic because of the research I did at my last job.”
