Are MD-PhD Programs Meeting Their Goals? An Analysis of Career Choices Made by Graduates of 24 MD-PhD Programs
Open accessAbstract
Purpose: MD-PhD training programs provide an integrated approach for training physician-scientists. The goal of this study was to characterize the career path taken by MD-PhD program alumni during the past 40 years and identify trends that affect their success. Method: In 2007-early 2008, 24 programs enrolling 43% of current trainees and representing half of the National Institutes of Health-funded MD-PhD training programs submitted anonymous data on 5,969 current and former trainees. Results: The average program enrolled 90 trainees, required 8.0 years to complete, and had an attrition rate of 10%. Nearly all (95%) of those who graduated entered residencies. Most (81%) were employed in academia, research institutes, or industry; 16% were in private practice. Of those in academia, 82% were doing research and at least 61% had identifiable research funding. Whereas two-thirds devoted more than 50% effort to research, only 39% devoted more than 75% effort. Many with laboratory-based PhDs reported doing clinical, as well as basic and translational, research. Emerging trends include decreasing numbers of graduates who forego residencies or hold primary appointments in nonclinical departments, increasing time to graduation, and expanding residency choices that include disciplines historically associated with clinical practice rather than research. Conclusions: Most MD-PhD program graduates follow career paths generally consistent with their training as physician-scientists. However, the range of their professional options is broad. Further thought should be given to designing their training to anticipate their career choices and maximize their likelihood of success as investigators.
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MD-PhD graduates benefit from a multitude of postgraduate routes that better blend clinical practice and biomedical research.
“Moreover, MD‐PhD graduates benefit from a multitude of postgraduate routes that better blend clinical practice and biomedical research, paving the way for successful physician‐scientist careers [8].”
From Bridging the Gap Between Training and Reality: A Dental Scientist Trainee Perspective (2026) · cites this paper as [8]
The Results (Trends over time) describe varied postgraduate choices among MD–PhD graduates, and the Conclusions say many remain on the physician–investigator career track. But the Discussion (Trends over time) notes that some increasingly popular residency fields have historically offered less protected research time; it does not establish that the available routes better blend clinical practice and research or lead to successful careers. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMD-PhD programs retain 67% of graduates in academic, 8% in industry, and 4% in research-oriented roles.
“MD‐PhD programs have demonstrated a remarkable ability to retain graduates within academic (67%), industry (8%), and research‐oriented (4%) roles following graduation, showcasing their effectiveness in preparing students for diverse career paths in biomedical fields [8].”
From Bridging the Gap Between Training and Reality: A Dental Scientist Trainee Perspective (2026) · cites this paper as [8]
The Results section (“Positions of program alumni”) reports 67% employed in academic centers and 8% in industry among alumni who had completed postgraduate training. Its 4% figure refers specifically to employment in research institutes, not to research-oriented roles generally; the paper also reports that many alumni in academia conduct research. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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Research works printed but not linked: 19
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Bridging the Gap Between Training and Reality: A Dental Scientist Trainee Perspective
Pax, K., Jang, S. J., Smith, C. M., Fischer, N. G., Astleford‐Hopper, K., Piña, J. O., Kulchar, R. J., Mody, D. P., & Hallett, S. A. (2026) · Journal of Dental Education · doi:10.1002/jdd.70038
- Authors
- Brass, L. F., Akabas, M. H., Burnley, L. D., Engman, D. M., Wiley, C. A., & Andersen, O. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Northwestern University (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- Venue
- Academic Medicine
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2010-04-01
- Volume
- 85
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 692-701
- ISSN
- 1040-2446 (ISSN-L)
- 1938-808X
- PMC
- PMC4441397
- OpenAlex
- W1982201557
- Cited by
- 220
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 11.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Academic Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM007170)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Health and Medical Research Impacts
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Diversity and Career in Medicine
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Innovations in Medical Education
- Keywords
- MD-PhD programs, physician-scientists, career outcomes, graduate medical education, residency training, academic medicine careers, research funding, program attrition, training program design, translational research
- MeSH terms
- Workforce, Career Choice, Education, Medical, Graduate, Humans, Medicine, Retrospective Studies, Specialization, Students, Medical, United States, Program Development, Biomedical Research
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