Supporting PhD students entering medical school outside traditional MD pathways

To the Editor, Medical students who enter MD programs after completing a PhD, but outside of formal MD/PhD streams, face unique yet under-recognized challenges. These individuals often begin their medical training as fully qualified researchers, having completed doctoral work before entry into the MD curriculum. However, unlike their MD/PhD counterparts, they lack structured mentorship, protected research time, and programmatic support to help integrate their prior expertise into clinical training.1,2 This absence of institutional scaffolding can lead to a disorienting transition from expert to novice, feelings of social disconnection from younger peers, and limited opportunities to apply their research background within the rigid timelines of undergraduate medical education. Despite these obstacles, PhD-trained MD students are well-positioned to contribute to the physician-scientist workforce, a cohort that has been steadily declining in recent years and is critical for advancing evidence-based clinical innovation.3,4 At the University of Toronto, the lack of support for this group was particularly salient amid national concerns about the sustainability of clinician-scientist pathways and the underutilization of highly trained individuals within Canada’s healthcare and academic systems.3,4 To address this gap, we expanded the PhDs in MD Group at the University of Toronto, a student-led initiative for MD students who hold PhDs but are not enrolled in formal MD/PhD programs. The group includes students at various stages of medical training, from pre-clerkship to clerkship and electives, who learned of the group through peer networks, word of mouth, or social media outreach. Currently, there is no formal mechanism for identifying or onboarding such students, which contributes to isolation and missed opportunities for institutional engagement. The PhDs in MD Group aims to foster community, provide tailored peer mentorship, and advocate for structural support. We organized support meetings, academic events, and collaborative discussions with faculty to address the misalignment between our research training and the MD curriculum. A key outcome was the establishment of a Postdoctoral Award, modeled after summer research studentships, to provide protected time for scholarly work during medical training. This funding opportunity offered a concrete mechanism for re-engaging with research while reinforcing our dual identity as scientists and clinicians-in-training. Our experience highlights the importance of visibility, peer ­connection, and institutional recognition. The sustainability and impact of such efforts will depend on more formalized recognition and integration. We recommend that medical schools collaborate with academic affairs offices and physician-scientist training program coordinators to proactively identify PhD-trained MD students and offer them structured opportunities for engagement. This may include formalizing group membership, embedding the initiative within institutional reporting structures, and offering access to protected research time and mentorship. As the physician-scientist workforce continues to contract,3,4 supporting PhD-trained medical students represents a scalable and underutilized strategy for advancing academic medicine. Tailored support, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, is essential to ensure these nontraditional learners are empowered to contribute fully to clinical, academic, and systems-level ­innovation. None declared. The author would like to thank the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for supporting the first author’s research. Reported as not applicable. None declared. None declared. Reported as not applicable.

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