Admissions blog: A Day in the Life of an MD/PhD Student

Physician scientists are critical in terms of being at the cutting edge of discovery and innovation leading to improved health and cures for patients. At U of T, students in the MD/PhD Program join the first year of the MD Program before commencing their PhD studies.  Once the PhD is complete, they switch back to the MD Program and complete the final three years of their degree in Medicine.

To find out more about opportunities in the MD/PhD stream, check out the website for the MD/PhD Program.

Here, Sachin Kumar shares his typical day as a first-year MD/PhD student:

7:30 a.m.The Marimba alarm goes off on my phone, and I begin swatting my arm in the direction of the sound. Minimum 3 snoozes before I get up.

7:45 a.m. Okay, I guess I actually have to move now. I drag myself out of bed and groggily check what day of the week it is – Tuesday. I brush my teeth, turn on the cold water for a shower and shock myself awake. The words “cremaster reflex” runs through my mind and I can’t help but feel like a dorky medical student. But hey it’s first year, I’m surprised I even retained that.

8:45 a.m. It’s snowing out as I walk to school. Even though I’ve been living downtown for seven years now, there is still something breathtaking about how it all looks. Either that or everything seems weirdly cool as I’m half awake without my morning coffee. Thankfully I’m going to pass three Tim Hortons and a Starbucks on my way to school.

9:00 a.m. Still not at class…we don’t start till 10 after at UofT!

9:10 a.m. I rush to my “spot” at the back of the class. Some say where you sit in class determines what type of specialty you are going to be. Surgeons in the back, dermatology gunners in the front. To be honest, I think it’s probably more accurate that students organize by eyesight, how much you like to doze off, and where your friends sit. Coming to class is as much a social thing as an academic one – otherwise I’m convinced that this lecture on lipids would be much better at at home, watching at 2x speed in my pajamas with a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

10:30 a.m. My stomach starts to grumble, loudly. The real reason I sit in the back of the class…

12:00 p.m. Finally, lunch! I hit up the cafeteria in the building for some chicken shwarma and rush back to the classroom. We have a class council meeting during the lunch hour. We receive some budgeting updates as well as brainstorm some activities we would like to plan for the remainder of the year. As one of the three class Social Reps, I present our idea for the upcoming post-exam party at SPiN, a table-tennis bar downtown. Something about a group of Type-A medical students competing at ping pong seems like a brilliant idea. We get the green-light to plan it!

1:00 p.m. It’s time for seminar, as part of our Metabolism and Nutrition block. Basically it is a two-hour session for students to work through some application type questions under the guidance of a physician who specializes in the field. It helps me learn how to think through scenarios, but more importantly reminds me to study harder – perpetually trying to catch up!

3:00 p.m. Class is done for the day, so I head down to the Meds student lounge to shoot some pool. There is an intense match of foosball going on right next to me. The lounge is usually busy with students just hanging out, or studying, or warming up food in the microwave. It’s an awesome place to kill some time when you don’t want to be in an ultra-quiet library setting.

5:00 p.m. It’s time to head upstairs for the bi-weekly MD/PhD seminars. I love getting to see what other upper-year students are working on, and the breadth of research that’s happening at the University. Typically, two students or a guest faculty speaker present for about an hour.

6:00 p.m. After the presentations are done, we head out to a nearby Italian restaurant for some dinner and drinks to catch up. I split my time between discussing the uses of CRISPR in gene therapy and the Raptors game on TV #WeTheNorth.

8:00 p.m. I head over to the Athletic Centre on campus, one of the three gym facilities we have. I get changed and run the track upstairs to warm up for our volleyball game. We are looking to extend our winning streak (we won 3-0 by forfeit last week!)

9:00 p.m. Intramural sports are my favourite part of the day. It’s a great way to burn some energy, and keep active with a group. Medicine offers a ton of sports teams (flag football, volleyball, soccer, hockey, ultimate Frisbee, just to name a few) and I do my best to play on as many as I can. After this I have basketball at 10!

11:00 p.m. Time to walk home and get organized for tomorrow. I have a solid 20 administrative emails and reminders to read from today (once they start sending you info they don’t stop!) and a lecture to catch up on.

12:30 p.m. To sleep, keep working, or watch a quick episode of Suits? Who are we kidding – one of the best parts about medicine is the flexibility to organize your schedule the way that suits you best. Lectures, shadowing, friends, sports, there is time for it all and more, so long as you make the time. Each day is unique, with its own balance of productive and hilarious, and that’s why I love medicine. But for now, I have a date with Rachel Zane!

Sachin Kumar is a first-year medical student at the University of Toronto (1T9). He is in the MD/PhD Program and plans to research the field of cancer immunotherapy for his PhD studies.