ArticleJCI insight2022
Gaps between college and starting an MD-PhD program are adding years to physician-scientist training time.
Article in JCI insight, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed.
- Supporting graduate medical trainees through parental leave: Best practices for program success.Journal of hospital medicine · 2026Article
- Navigating physician-scientist careers: insights from American Board of Internal Medicine Research Pathway graduates.JCI insight · 2026Article
- Academic Career Pathways in German Medicine: Current Structures and International Comparisons.International journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Training physician-scientists, a view from inside.Nature medicine · 2025Article
- A study of MD-PhD pre-health advising identifies challenges to building a robust MD-PhD applicant pool.JCI insight · 2025Article
- Admissions to MD-PhD programs: how well do application metrics predict short- or long-term physician-scientist outcomes?JCI insight · 2025Article
- Admissions to MD-PhD programs: how well do application metrics predict short- or long-term physician-scientist outcomes?JCI insight · 2025Article
- An Analysis of Curricular Structures in MD-PhD Programs in the United States.Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges · 2025Article
- The financial impact of MD-PhD training compared with MD training for academic physicians.JCI insight · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Dispelling the myth: comparable duration and impact of research training for MD-PhD and PhD graduates.JCI insight · 2024Article
- Is it time to reduce the length of postgraduate training for physician-scientists in internal medicine?JCI insight · 2024Article
- The National MD-PhD Program Outcomes Study: career paths followed by Black and Hispanic graduates.JCI insight · 2024Article
- Socioeconomic Diversity in Admissions to MD-PhD Programs, 2014-2019.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Sociodemographic factors and research experience impact MD-PhD program acceptance.JCI insight · 2024Review
- Attitude toward career development in Japanese medical students: a questionnaire survey.BMJ open · 2024Article
- A comparative analysis of the doctoral regulations at the medical faculties in Germany.International journal of medical sciences · 2024Article
- Physician-scientist trainees with parenting responsibilities need financial and childcare support.Nature medicine · 2023Article
- New insights into an old question: can the MD-PhD physician-scientist pipeline be improved?JCI insight · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The average age when physician-scientists begin their career has been rising. Here, we focused on one contributor to this change: the increasingly common decision by candidates to postpone applying to MD-PhD programs until after college. This creates a time gap between college and medical school. Data were obtained from 3544 trainees in 73 programs, 72 program directors, and AAMC databases. From 2013 to 2020, the prevalence of gaps rose from 53% to 75%, with the time usually spent doing research. Gap prevalence for MD students also increased but not to the same extent and for different reasons. Differences by gender, underrepresented status, and program size were minimal. Most candidates who took a gap did so because they believed it would improve their chances of admission, but gaps were as common among those not accepted to MD-PhD programs as among those who were. Many program directors preferred candidates with gaps, believing without evidence that gaps reflects greater commitment. Although candidates with gaps were more likely to have a publication at the time of admission, gaps were not associated with a shorter time to degree nor have they been shown to improve outcomes. Together, these observations raise concerns that, by promoting gaps after college, current admissions practices have had unintended consequences without commensurate advantages.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.