My New Adventure: The Life of a Dual Degree Student!

1:24 PM

Author | Jeff Nadel

Hi everyone, thanks for reading about my new adventure! I am an M4 student currently on leave from the medical school to pursue one of the many dual degree opportunities available at the University of Michigan Medical School. In particular, I am a part of this year's Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) cohort.

After more than a year of spending my days traversing the hurried corridors of Michigan Medicine, this week I traded my stethoscope for pencil and sat down in a lecture hall of more than 200 students for the first day of the School of Public Health's orientation. Do you remember those first-day-of-school jitters that you always felt growing up? The excited apprehension and nervous energy?  Well unsurprisingly, those feelings were palpable among the incoming students who were starting MPH, MS and PhD programs this week. So many new faces eagerly embracing a common goal: to improve the public's health.

A view from Bonobo Winery in Traverse City, MI--a beautiful summer getaway spot for those yearning for an escape!

A view from Bonobo Winery in Traverse City, MI--a beautiful summer getaway spot for those yearning for an escape!

Since starting med school in 2014, I had been interested in the dual degree offerings at UMMS. With such a high concentration of exceptional schools and programs all on one campus, it seemed like a no-brainer to explore and take advantage. In the end, I was deciding between pursuing an MPH and the MSCR. The latter won!

The MSCR is an especially unique program. It is funded by a large training grant from the NIH in an effort to improve clinician involvement in research. We take classes in the School of Public Health ranging from biostatistics and epidemiology to translational research. We also have room to take fun electives! This semester, I'm learning how to use a statistical computer program (SAS) and also taking a health informatics class to figure out how to improve electronic medical records. Trust me, they need some work! One added bonus: since the program is funded by the NIH, there is money to cover tuition, living expenses, as well as academic and career development opportunities (such as attending conferences) for the year. Our cohort consists almost entirely of medical students, though previous years have included students from the dental school, pharmacy school, and others.

Beyond the classroom, we are also required to conduct yearlong, mentored scholarly research in our primary area of interest. That spells excitement for most of us in the program—dedicated research time is hard to come by in med school. I am doing a couple of projects in my intended specialty, neurosurgery. One project is using spatial epidemiology to map the incidence of rare skull base cancers in Michigan. I'm examining whether chemicals from large industrial plants or water contaminants might contribute to risk for some of the rare skull base cancers that we don't know much about. The other relates to clinical outcomes for surgically corrected congenital brain malformations. There are a number of conditions that kids are born with that may or may not require surgical intervention. We are interested in evaluating the ways that we treat those kids to determine how to improve to augment clinical outcomes. It's been really fun to immerse in an area that I'm excited about—and the best part is that what I learn in my classes has direct application to how I conduct my research.

Now I won't lie, there is another enormous benefit to taking a 'year-on' (rather than a year-off) from medical school. While many of my classmates are shoulder deep in residency applications, the rest of us are enjoying this lovely Ann Arbor summer! I took several trips to Traverse City, MI (one of the northernmost points in the lower peninsula), went home to Colorado, attended weddings, read books for pleasure (imagine that!), and caught up on sleep. This year will be just the recharge I need before cranking out those residency applications and moving on to the next step.

From what I have heard, almost 1/3 of my class is taking a gap year this year—many are pursuing dual degrees, though others are conducting high quality research either here on campus or with international programs abroad. There are so many unique opportunities to augment your medical education here at U-M. I feel so fortunate to be taking advantage of this one.

Thanks for keeping up with my new adventure. Now, it's time to get back to writing a conference abstract so that I'm free to watch Thursday night football tonight! Who said that the life of a medical student can't be fun?

Michigan Summer Sunsets!
Media Contact Public Relations

Department of Communication at Michigan Medicine

[email protected]

734-764-2220

Stay Informed

Want top health & research news weekly? Sign up for Health Lab’s newsletters today!

Subscribe
Featured News & Stories Aerial view of the U-M medical campus in Ann Arbor
News Release
United Physician Assistants of Michigan Medicine workers reach tentative agreement with University of Michigan Health
United Physician Assistants of Michigan Medicine (UPAMM) workers have reached a tentative, three year agreement with the University of Michigan Health.
Graphic of food to include in a diabetic diet
Health Lab
Healthy good tidings: 20 ways to manage your diet this season
Staying healthy during the holidays can be a tall order, but arranging your plate and your plans with these tips can help.
syringes three in a row with one with a shot going into it on a light teal background
Health Lab
TNF inhibitors prevent complications in kids with Crohn’s disease, recommended as first-line therapies
Early treatment of pediatric Crohn’s disease with anti-tumor necrosis factor medications can substantially reduce the risk of perianal fistulas in Crohn’s disease. Michigan Medicine researchers confirmed this finding using prospective data. 
child looking at family outside of kitchen area
Health Lab
Encouraging spirituality in teens without forcing participation
Among parents who plan to attend religious services this holiday season, nearly half would insist their teen join even if they didn’t want to, a poll suggests.
headshot of Carrie Ferrario
Department News
ORTDD career development spotlight featuring Dr. Carrie Ferrario
ORTDD career development spotlight featuring Dr. Carrie Ferrario
Health Lab Podcast in brackets with a background with a dark blue translucent layers over cells
Health Lab Podcast
IUD 101
IUDs are becoming one of the most popular forms of birth control for all ages. In this episode, we cover a recent Health Lab article Q&A on IUDs with Dr. Monica Rosen of University of Michigan Health.