I whole heartily disagree. Medical school and graduate school are two completely fields. The requirements for medical school are quite high but the requirements for grad school are taken lightly either. Also, there is a clear distinction between the work, even research, that occurs. A PhD is a massive specification into a field, your an world expert in the research you conduct, as compared to medical school your a licensed physician. Clinical research is also vastly different from academic research. The distinction between medical school and graduate is enough that most individuals that apply only apply for one type of school. Also there is a gradient in the quality of schools a person applies to, thud many medical school applicants usually have a safety school that has lesser requirements. DO schools and PA programs also allow for alternative to practicing medicine. A PhD and an MD is hugely different and an applicant doesn’t usually switch between two just because they can’t get in, there are many other avenues to reach a person’s dreams.