Ok. 2013 thread. What to do during summer between M1 and M2?

same as we say every year: nothing

if you seriously have a hard-on for doing something, find a research project.

Get a job with the school doing some research............what some of my classmates are doing. Review M1 material for Step 1...........volunteer at some medical facility........shadow some docs...........

Just chill..............

Don't do anything! One of your few remaining chances to just relax and take it easy. It's why most everyone who is past that summer says to not do anything.

monkeyMD said:

What should I do during summer break between year 1 and 2?

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Two chicks at the same time, man

Is research not necessary for the competitive residencies (ortho, derm, etc) ? What about for the competitive fellowships in non competitive specialties (like GI/cards)?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

research or nothing

monkeyMD said:

I wish I could just lay back and party all summer but we all know that that is not the best option realistically.

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Yes it is.

I did research after M1. It's a waste. I felt it wasn't a good use of my time, and my classmates who did research all felt the same. The summer is short, and you don't really have time to accomplish anything of any significance. If you want to do research, take some time during M1 and M2 and do it then. Enjoy your last summer off!

I would try to get some research done even if its part-time or for part of the summer. When you are filling out residency applications in 4th year, you're going to regret having nothing to write down under that section of your application.

If you feel easily burned out, you might take it easy since M2 has lots more volume of material.

I'm doing research. It really is a requirement for some top specialities which I'm not interested in now, but who knows if things will change. Also I get paid for it and I need to pay rent somehow. Plus a bunch of my classmates will be hanging around for the summer to do research at school and I think it'll be a blast to be able to hang out with them without any tests or studying to do.

-Research (summer research grant=nice monthly stipend)
-Travel + research (pretty sweet gig if you get paid, know some friends who did this in Hawaii, Australia, and Europe)
-TA summer courses (minimal hrs + usually good for some extra spending money)
-Clinical externships

or just spend all summer drunk on the beach...

I don't want to close any future doors (and need to pay my summer rent) so I am going to do like 10 weeks of research, followed by a trip to Vegas.

Do some chill research. Take time to travel and relax. But you should probably do something. I don't understand people who could travel and do all kinds of crazy stuff in their M1/2 summer. Where do you people get this kind of money if you're a traditional student? I did research because I didn't have any money and I got a stipend which put some $ in my pocket and allowed me to do some fun things. But the people who used that summer as an extensive expensive vacation baffle me.

I travelled all summer and had the time of my life. As of right now, I don't regret it one bit, but I'll get back to you when I'm applying for residency .

My classmates who did research all seemed to enjoy themselves and did minimal work. A solid chunk of my class also did volunteer or language programs abroad which sounded fun.

Do something that pays you money so you can enjoy your last summer. Preferably paid research, so you get paid, plus you can pad your resume.

monkeyMD said:

How can you find summer research opportunities? It seems that they are competitive to get into, especially if they are not at your home med school.

Any tips?

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Why not just do research at your home school?

There are a bunch of opportunities to do research as a med student... If you google around you should be able to find plenty. You might have to submit a few applications, but surely you'll find at least one that will accept you.

I took a cruise with just my husband, went to the movies a few times and played a lot of video games.

It was freakin' awesome.

alpinism said:

-Research (summer research grant=nice monthly stipend)
-Travel + research (pretty sweet gig if you get paid, know some friends who did this in Hawaii, Australia, and Europe)
-TA summer courses (minimal hrs + usually good for some extra spending money)
-Clinical externships

or just spend all summer drunk on the beach...

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Um, details on this?

Kaputt said:

Do some chill research. Take time to travel and relax. But you should probably do something. I don't understand people who could travel and do all kinds of crazy stuff in their M1/2 summer. Where do you people get this kind of money if you're a traditional student? I did research because I didn't have any money and I got a stipend which put some $ in my pocket and allowed me to do some fun things. But the people who used that summer as an extensive expensive vacation baffle me.

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Fox800 said:

Um, details on this?

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It's usually to Latin America or Africa or some such place. Our school operates clinics in a few foreign countries and you can get a travel stipend to spend time there doing a type of internship or research or whatever.

I say enjoy your summer. If that involves research, more power to you. If you would rather be traveling, then do it.

I went to Alaska and have had no regrets during interviews.

Slack3r said:

It's usually to Latin America or Africa or some such place. Our school operates clinics in a few foreign countries and you can get a travel stipend to spend time there doing a type of internship or research or whatever.

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This too.

Our school has certain departments/clinical profs who are involved w many joint research projects w places like U of Hawaii, U of Syndney, U of Edinburgh, etc...

You basically pay for your flight over there and then spend 8-12 wks doing paid clinical research. Housing and meals are provided. The hours are chill (like 9-3 M-F at worst) and you get lots of time off to go sightseeing/exploring. Many will stay an extra week or two afterwards on vacation.

Ask around at your school (global health dept, clinical depts, residency programs)

jack off, bang bitches, play video games, drink beer, smoke weed.

I'm looking for a job, preferably one related to my undergrad degree, but anything that makes me some decent money would be nice. I moved my whole family to the city where my medical school is and the money dries up over the summer. I need about $6k to stay afloat for the ten weeks. Most research fellowships only pay about $2-4k.

Slack3r said:

It's usually to Latin America or Africa or some such place. Our school operates clinics in a few foreign countries and you can get a travel stipend to spend time there doing a type of internship or research or whatever.

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When people say they "travelled" over the summer, what they mean is they dicked around Europe, not that they spent time deworming orphans in Somalia. From my experience at least.

Do something with your summer... research, clinical exp, etc. I'm sure just 'relaxing' sounds great in theory but imagine going from how busy you are now to having nothing to do all day for 3 months.. I guarantee you that you will get bored to death in a matter of weeks if you don't have anything at all lined up.

Whose vacation is 3 months long? Mine is no more than two, and my winter break was 11 days long. Then again we get 9 days off for spring break. Woo!

fly higher said:

Whose vacation is 3 months long? Mine is no more than two, and my winter break was 11 days long. Then again we get 9 days off for spring break. Woo!

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Our M1 summer is May 9 - Aug 10 or something.. 3 months. But we don't have a spring break.

I did research between my ms1 and 2 years and am quite glad I did. Be careful about not doing anything. You might find out during 3rd year that you actually do want to go into a competitive field and doing nothing during that summer will come back to bite you.

On another note absolutely do not study for step 1 that's just ridiculous and a complete waste of time.

Spnaish language programs abroad. I did it before MS1, it was one of my better life experiences: www.ecela.com

I wouldn't do research unless you're signing up for a project that can reasonably result in a publication, or at least a poster, by the match. Genearlly that means a small scale data mining project, and even then it would mean writing the IRB now so that you're approved to do the actual research when the summer starts. Don't waste a summer on a long term bench research project unless you want to commit to continuing it long enough to see it completed and published (which probably means starting now and working through the end of MS2). Just a personal opinion.

monkeyMD said:

I wish I could just lay back and party all summer but we all know that that is not the best option realistically.

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That is exactly what I did.... and it was freaking awesome! No regrets.
Here was my justification:
1. I hate research. Not gonna spend my free time doing something I despise.
2. I go to med school halfway across the country from my family/best friends. When else will I ever get to see them?
3. Clinical experiences? Awesome. Thought about it. Realized that's what M3/M4 year are for.
4. If your grades are where they should be, you get a good board score, you volunteer/serve on a few committees, you will be competitive for residency anyway.
5. PARTY. TRAVEL. ENJOY LIFE.

I used to be in the camp that would be in the camp of advising people to do nothing between M1 and M2. But it is actually something that some programs look at in evaluating candidates. It's not a major criteria, but when someone is trying to advocate for ranking a candidate a few spots higher (or if you're on the bubble for being offered an interview slot), being able to point to something interesting or productive (or both) they did between M1 and M2 can sometimes be a nice asset.

So it's not going to push you from a mid-tier ranking to a top-tier ranking, but may mean you get ranked 38 instead of 41, for example, which could make the difference between matching at one program versus another.

Research isn't the only thing you can do. Almost anything that involves some level of effort or demonstration of interest and initiative to do SOMETHING between first and second year is probably all you need to do.

How do residency programs look upon an internship in Africa or India for say 4 weeks? I've heard that they frown upon it because you are doing things that you are not qualified to do.

Any input?

Wolf11 said:

How do residency programs look upon an internship in Africa or India for say 4 weeks? I've heard that they frown upon it because you are doing things that you are not qualified to do.

Any input?

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They don't care. Don't do stuff to impress others. Do stuff that you want to do. You won't get such an extended break again.

AlexMorph said:

They don't care. Don't do stuff to impress others. Do stuff that you want to do. You won't get such an extended break again.

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Truth.

armybound said:

same as we say every year: nothing

if you seriously have a hard-on for doing something, find a boyfriend.

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ftfy

I gotta echo those in favor of just chilling. If you are not going for a super competitive specialty than this is your best option. This is what I did and I don't regret it for a single moment.

Survivor DO

If you can get clinical experience, I highly recommend it. That is, if it is foreign too you. I got to shadow for 1 month and it was phenomenal.

Other than that, really just relax. It's said a lot because it's true. Your only true benefit would be research for a field that wants research.

CuttingCorneas said:

Two chicks at the same time, man

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rofl

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A939QRRSNV4[/YOUTUBE]

John Lannister said:

If you can get clinical experience, I highly recommend it. That is, if it is foreign too you.

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So in another words, do go on that 4 week trip to Africa. You'll get to do a lot more versus a mere preceptorship in the states!

MedBound1 said:

Do something with your summer... research, clinical exp, etc. I'm sure just 'relaxing' sounds great in theory but imagine going from how busy you are now to having nothing to do all day for 3 months.. I guarantee you that you will get bored to death in a matter of weeks if you don't have anything at all lined up.

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Peter Gibbons disagrees

Find research and ask your future PI if there are any SMALL projects that will be publishable. This is a LEGIT question. Obviously, the trick is finding a lab that knows how to publish and what's feasible in a short time frame!

I did this and DO not regret it all. Yeah, fine, you can travel. But, I think having published research sure made a difference while applying for residency (yes, even in IM).

Research is really the only thing that will help your residency application. If you do anything else, do it because it's fun and something you're interested in.

Donald Juan said:

Peter Gibbons disagrees

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awesomeness defined.

Donald Juan said:

Peter Gibbons disagrees

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Peterrrr.................what's happenin?

I have a few day research gig thing in epi that i am interested in...but I did three years of medical research after college and got a paper out of it....do I really need to pretend to do something significant for 8 weeks? I really want to just chill....

doodle1 said:

I have a few day research gig thing in epi that i am interested in...but I did three years of medical research after college and got a paper out of it....do I really need to pretend to do something significant for 8 weeks? I really want to just chill....

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What specialty are you interested in?

Not derm, optho, surgery

Probably IM Fam Psy Path are things that I match well and have been interested in for a long time....mainly IM and fam

Our school really stressed us into doing research..other than that I will go on a weekend medical mission but I just don't want to close any doors. I can't stand the pressure sometimes...oh well.