Question:
want to do research in allergy/immunology ?
Answer:
I just found this website. I'm about to ask some -very-
naive questions about medical school and careers so please bear with me!
I'm a grad student at Yale right now, in my fourth year, but in the field
of -linguistics.- Additionally, i have 3 health conditions that are (or
are related to) autoimmune diseases: Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroiditis,
hypoglycemia, and mastocytosis (I'm waiting on tests to confirm
this last one). After going through my mother's death from SLE,
struggling to continue on in grad school while sick a lot of the time, and
meeting many, many others with autoimmune disease (mostly over the
internet), I've felt a keen desire to go into medical research,
specifically in the field of autoimmune disease, to increase knowledge and
treatment options in this area.
And I suddenly realized the other day that I was spending far more time
reading medical articles and
on the internet searching for information than I was spending on my
own graduate work! And given that i have always wanted to go into a
profession where i could help people, i'm starting to try to figure out a
way i could fulfill this dream despite my health problems. Which is what
i wanted to ask about.
I have heard so many stories regarding the fact
that medical school is notoriously stressful. And as luck would have it,
i have to absolutely avoid stress of any kind because it triggers mast
cell degranulation and that's not a good thing. I already was wondering
if i'd have to leave grad school here before the oral defenses because
i'm not sure that i'm physically capable of doing them.
So some things I was wondering are: are there medical correspondence
courses? Or is this unheard of? Does one have to do residency as a doctor
just to be a researcher? Would i be always rejected from programs
because of my status as sick a lot the time, which is somewhat different
from being handicapped/disabled? And, if i were to be admitted to such a
program, is funding given (i.e. a stipend like a get now)?
no coorespondance courses that I know of Jennifer. With your interest you may
wish to pursue an MD/PhD program which typically is longer than the MD path but
stresses the research side of medicine in a much more structured mannor. The
alternative is to restructure your aim toward a basic science/research field by
obtaining a doctorate in a specific field. I am a MD and researchers in the
basic sciences are the folks who make it possible for me to bring the new
treatments to my patients. I wish you success in your career.
