Congratulations to self-designed anthropology major Emmanuel Martinez Alcaraz, who was accepted to the MD-PhD program at Rutgers University. He will be studying medical anthropology for his PhD. Emmanuel’s experience is evidence of great opportunities for our self-designed majors.
Here is a Q & A with Alcaraz about his acceptance into this prestigious program:
What does the Robert Wood Johnson/Rutgers/Princeton MD/PhD program entail?
“The purpose of the program is to train and mentor physician scientists to excel in collaborative research in the clinical and basic science aspects of medicine. I will be matriculating in the program this August 2013. During the first two years, I will complete the first two years of medical school, 2-3 rotations with potential PhD mentors in the summers, and take the USMLE Step 1 Exam (The Boards). In the following years, I transition to the working to earn the PhD degree in anthropology (Critical Interventions in Theory and Ethnography track) which will take 5-7 years (aiming for the earlier number). Anthropology PhD programs tend to be one of the lengthier ones; the national average for the time to completion is around 7.5 years. I will be taking graduate classes for a least 2 years, then taking the qualification exams, working as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for a bit, and finally conducting my research and defending my dissertation in the following years. Lastly, I complete the last 2 years of medical school, which include the core and elective clinical clerkships, taking the USMLE Step 2 exams, and applying for residency programs. After graduating from the program, most students go to a residency program, then complete any other specialties, fellowships, or postdoctoral training programs.”
What was the application process like?
“If you are pursuing traditional PhD programs like molecular biology and other biomedical sciences, the application process is straightforward. I completed the AMCAS application and designated the RWJMS MD/PhD program on it, which requires you to write 2 additional essays (one on why MD/PhD and the other on your research experiences). Then, I received and completed the RWJMS secondary application. In late November/early December, I received an interview invitation for the MD/PhD program. I attended my interview on December 17-18. On the 17th, I toured the RWJ University Hospital, and ate dinner with current students and the Director of the program. The next day, I completed three interviews in the morning with MD/PhD admission committee members including the Director, and then in the afternoon, I completed the RWJ medical school interviews as well as orientations to the medical school and the MD/PhD program. In late January, I received word from the Director, Jim Millonig, that they accepted me into the program. They usually only interview around 36 students and then accept about 12 of them so the whole process was pretty stressful.”
What do you hope to accomplish professionally with this unique degree?
“I am seeking to complete this combined degree program because it will prepare me to treat the individual patient and also resolve community-level issues that affect the health of those members through research. I want to become an effective physician-investigator, working to discover and apply new knowledge about the experience of patients’ illnesses and the complex structural challenges in treating them. I would emerge from the program as a physician whose skills and interests are informed by my anthropology training as an investigator, and also emerge as an investigator whose research interests are informed by my deep understanding of people, their illnesses, and the suffering the illness causes on the patient, family, and community. Medical anthropologists have been able to figure out the ways that social inequality and economic policies that disadvantage the poor, for example, influence health, the experience and distribution of illness. When coupled with the profession of a physician, I’ve realized that medical anthropology can be an incredibly powerful tool to figure out how to prevent and treat illness because anthropologists look at health problems from the perspective of the patient and his or her family and community, as well as from the perspective of physicians and other health care practitioners. In the future, I will seek a career in academia to be able to serve as a clinician as well as an investigator and teacher. I want to contribute to the field of medicine through my clinical work in the community and also through my research in medical anthropology by helping clinicians and healthcare institutions better serve and reach out to immigrant communities. Through this work, I would add to our understanding of the changes in health behavior and attitude immigrants experience. Given the inherent complexity of medicine, I will use these studies to help reduce the healthcare disparities in this marginalized and underserved US population. Additionally, I will collaborate with fellow clinicians to be more involved in policy and societal changes for the better health of our communities. I will also have joined fellow colleagues seeking to integrate anthropology and other social sciences and humanities in the medical education curriculum. Besides teaching in academia, I want to serve as a mentor for young minority students seeking a future career in medicine and/or medical anthropology.”