Publication question

[Drhigh]

I was recently named as an author in a paper that is going to be published. I worked principally under the postdoc and it was the two of us doing experiments and we finished our project. However we both left the lab before the paper got published and 2 other postdoc and the pi wrote the manuscript which got accepted.

My question is it okay for me to be named as an author on that paper and tell med school about it even though I didn't "write" the paper? Also is there a difference between being listed as third and fourth author?

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[zurc2014]

I was recently named as an author in a paper that is going to be published. I worked principally under the postdoc and it was the two of us doing experiments and we finished our project. However we both left the lab before the paper got published and 2 other postdoc and the pi wrote the manuscript which got accepted.

My question is it okay for me to be named as an author on that paper and tell med school about it even though I didn't "write" the paper? Also is there a difference between being listed as third and fourth author?

I left my college lab months ago and my name will go on a paper they're working on now because of the work I've done. You do not need to write the paper (and as a premed chances are you wouldn't anyways...the PI will) to be listed as an author. For premed purposes it doesn't matter if you are 3rd, 4th or 5th listed. That's more important for post docs. Congrats and enjoy the pub.

 

[Heplayer92]

When you talk about it...just say that you were "published"...or "put on the paper"...etc instead of saying that you wrote it. You contributed to the data, and in turn, to the paper product itself, which is why you are published =D Congrats, and good luck!

 

[SN12357]

I was recently named as an author in a paper that is going to be published. I worked principally under the postdoc and it was the two of us doing experiments and we finished our project. However we both left the lab before the paper got published and 2 other postdoc and the pi wrote the manuscript which got accepted.

My question is it okay for me to be named as an author on that paper and tell med school about it even though I didn't "write" the paper? Also is there a difference between being listed as third and fourth author?

Authorship in academia doesn't mean actual writing. It means a substantial intellectual contribution to the paper. It is understood that probably one or two members of the author list did the actual writing. You can say you are an author on the paper and you should be able to discuss it and explain your exact contribution. It does not matter that you didn't write the actual words on the page.

There is little practical difference between 3rd and 4th. First and last are most important, and second slightly better then other middle positions. Beyond that, it's pretty much the same.

 

[IslandStyle808]

OP take a research ethics class. You will learn all the gray areas of publishing. Everyone else pretty much answered your question. You have the right to be an author.