Dual-degree MBBS–PhD programs in Saudi Arabia: A call for implementation

Engaging medical students in scholarly research activities and producing clinically competent and research-oriented medical workforces are essential demands, particularly in developing countries. Dual-degree MD-PhD programs offer simultaneous rigorous education in medicine and research, and train its graduates (physician-scientists) to successfully catalyze translational research evolutions. Literature fundamentally identifies dual-degree MD-PhD programs as the single most important, well-established, popular and influential programs toward commencing physician-scientist professions. While the physician-scientist population is alarmingly vanishing in the West with ongoing efforts to reverse this undesired trend, such population is largely nonexisting, unfortunately to start with, in Saudi Arabia. This is simply because no single dual-degree MBBS-PhD program is yet established in Saudi Arabia. Herein, we call on the Saudi Higher Education bodies to implement dual-degree MBBS-PhD programs with anticipated generation of competent physician-scientists in Saudi Arabia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ever report to call for such innovative implementation.