Clinical vs. basic science research?

[DoctorWannaBe]

I recently was offered a position in a clinical research project. Does anyone know if admissions committees care whether you do basic science or clinical research...is one more prestigious than the other? I'm not interested in basic science research, but the clinical research appeals to me because it is in an area of medicine I'm interested in, and I won't be stuck in a laboratory. I think I will be looking through patient charts and entering data into various computer programs to analyze. I don't know how impressive this would sound on a resume or application, but the PI and another student researcher said I would learn a lot about medicine by doing it. Any comments on how clinical research is viewed by admissions committees, and specifically the kind of work I'll be doing?

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[TRUE]

I really don't think it matters what type of research you do as long as you're actively involved in and are interested in it. It should be something you can ENTHUSIASTICALLY talk about in an interview. They want to see that you did something that required committment and responsibility, yadda yadda yaddda....

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by DoctorWannaBe
I recently was offered a position in a clinical research project. Does anyone know if admissions committees care whether you do basic science or clinical research...is one more prestigious than the other? I'm not interested in basic science research, but the clinical research appeals to me because it is in an area of medicine I'm interested in, and I won't be stuck in a laboratory. I think I will be looking through patient charts and entering data into various computer programs to analyze. I don't know how impressive this would sound on a resume or application, but the PI and another student researcher said I would learn a lot about medicine by doing it. Any comments on how clinical research is viewed by admissions committees, and specifically the kind of work I'll be doing?

Depending on the project, clinical and basic research can be of high quality or low quality. For example, one clinical research project that made a huge impact in medicine is The Framingham Heart Study:

http://www.framingham.com/heart/

For your purposes, completion and publication of any research work will be impressive.

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by Andrew_Doan

For your purposes, completion and publication of any research work will be impressive.

While the holy grail for any undergrad is to be published.. it also depends as Andrew pointed out, on the grade of research being done. Sometimes for an undergrad, it really is just not feasible to get published unless you've been working hard in a lab all four years of your college education.

But once again, it depends on the project you're working on and your PI. In the clinic I had the great opportunity to slap my name on two papers in a short time (of course did we ever finish them on revision? Nope.. being the lazy bums we are), though in LAB.. I had to quit because it severely got in the way of my academics due to the STRICT time table that the experiments required, not to mention the length of time involved for one round.

 

[Brickhouse]

Originally posted by DoctorWannaBe
I recently was offered a position in a clinical research project. Does anyone know if admissions committees care whether you do basic science or clinical research...is one more prestigious than the other? I'm not interested in basic science research, but the clinical research appeals to me because it is in an area of medicine I'm interested in, and I won't be stuck in a laboratory. I think I will be looking through patient charts and entering data into various computer programs to analyze. I don't know how impressive this would sound on a resume or application, but the PI and another student researcher said I would learn a lot about medicine by doing it. Any comments on how clinical research is viewed by admissions committees, and specifically the kind of work I'll be doing?

Hiya. I have spent the last 7 months doing clinical research in psychiatry at a fairly prestigious hospital and I must say it is a wonderful thing to put on a resume. At interviews, I've been able to talk about the work that I do and it always leads to more interesting conversation. Plus, clinical research is a huge part of medicine - all aspects of it, even the tasks I perform which are sometimes more administrative but often require lots of direct patient contact and judgement calls - and my P.I. often asks for my input as she discusses her findings with me - I've learned a lot. I wouldn't underestimate the power of such research when in intertwines the hard science of medicine while also requiring humanity and emotional intelligence.
The only caveat obviously is if you plan on doing basic science research in med school. Then I think the clinical aspect, although valuable, will not show that you have had enough exposure. all IMHO.

 

[DoctorWannaBe]

Thanks for the advice. I really am more interested in the clinical side of medicine, and am not interested in a research career (at least not in basic sciences). The PI said we will have the opportunity to publish (maybe a paragraph in the larger paper), but I don't know if I would be allowed to do that since I'm volunteering and not getting independent study credit. It sounds like it doesn't matter if I do basic or clinical research in my case, as long as I'm committed and enthusiastic about it (which I am, more than I would be with basic science research).

 

[Brickhouse]

Sounds like it's going to be just the thing for you!! Good luck!