For Medical School: Research or Primary Care?

I'm a sophomore in college, and I'm looking through medical schools I'd like to apply to. As I'm sure most of you reading this question already know, there are two categories: Research, and Primary Care.


What exactly is the difference between the two? Also, does the type of school I apply to really have that much of an effect on my career path? (I would like to be a general surgeon.)





My guess would be no, because after all, it's just a school and I can learn what I want. I'm only asking this question to make sure, and because academic advisors here are essentially useless.

For Medical School: Research or Primary Care?
Look at the research rankings.
Reply:Primary care is clincial work (being a GP or doctor people go to), research is laboratory work finding cures for cancer and such





You learn both in medical school, but the thrust will be one or the other.





As a student you shadow on rounds 80% of the time in your last two years as a reseacher it would probably be more work in the lab on a research project.





You are expected to spend 20-25% of your time in research, even on a clinical major and get published





But for research medicine you'd probably spend 60-70% on reserach teams.





Since you want to be a general surgeon you'd want to go clincial or primary care





You graduate as an MD or general doctor (GP or primary care physician) and then intern and then go into surgical residency for 5 years
Reply:Both types of school will get you to your MD. But a research oriented medical school requires you to participate in a research program (usually done during the summer months) whereas it is an option in a school with a primary care focus.





You would also find a difference between instructors. Many med school instructors are PhD's who are more interested in their research and accept the obligation to teach as a means of getting access to research labs. As a result, their teaching can be skewed and, based on my own experience, more difficult than need be. My example is a genetics instructor who had mapped two genomes and he went way beyond what we needed to know. We didn't have a Director of Academic Medicine at the time (this position quality assures the medical education to make sure instructors stay on topic), but even in schools that do have somebody quality assuring the education, there's a lot of leeway given to instructors.





If surgery is your objective, then a primary care school is where you want to be. Most schools are now using Problem Based Learning which compels you to think outside the box. That's a sound foundation to build on for a surgeon.