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A Matter of Health

Insuring the next generation of scientists

by Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Each year, a handful of the graduates at the annual Baylor College of Medicine ceremonies reflect a special commitment, not only to the field of medicine but to science as well. They are MD/PhD students, and their education has been extended to about six years - the time it takes to earn both of those coveted degrees and take the next step into the world of academic medicine.

Attending the dissertation defenses of these special students - when they defend the research on which they have worked so hard - is a special experience. Despite the youth evident in their faces, they exhibit both the poise and erudition of men and women much older. The mutual respect between them and the members of the audience as well as the committee that judges their work is evident. These are people everyone wants to succeed.

These fledgling physician-scientists still face a long road as they finish their specialty training in residencies and begin their chosen paths that include both clinic and laboratory. Yet their contribution is key to the future of medicine. Across the nation, these physician scientists are the next generation that will take the lead in a variety of fields - but particularly the area of translational medicine.

Translational medicine has become a buzzword in the medical field, but to desperate patients for whom normal treatments do not work, it provides hope. It is up to these physician scientists to understand the problem at the patient's bedside, take the problem into the laboratory, come up with a solution and bring it back to the patient.

Schools such as Baylor College of Medicine and others across the country value all their students, but they recognize a responsibility to educate this special breed. Talk to those who have nurtured such programs, and you will understand both the work that goes into graduating these students and the promise they hold.

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