Research Experience

[cheathac]

Ok so I looked through some old threads and couldn't really find an answer. I went onto the AVMA website and the definition was "Research should include any experience in a research environment." I was told by a coworker to confirm if my job currently counts as research for vet school. I tried to contact my school admissions but didn't receive a response back. I work in a Histopathology lab, the focus of the lab isn't research though some is done for pathologists/grad students. The primary focus is diagnostics. We get samples of tissues in from vet clinics, etc and make slides of them. Then we send to the pathologist to determine what the animal has. We also do several IHC for pathologists that consists of special stains that bring out specific cells in the tissue. It's very useful information, especially since the vet students do their necropsy/histo rotations here . I hope to build a relationship with the pathologists as well who work upstairs from the lab. Just let me know if I'm right in thinking that this would be considered research experience. Thanks.

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[HowIMetYourPet]

yes, I would count this as research. Even though you aren't working on a direct project, I think laboratory experience is important, and something a decent number of people don't have.

Don't focus too much on where things fit. I'm not convinced the category really matters all that much, anyway.

 

[Lupin21]

Ok so I looked through some old threads and couldn't really find an answer. I went onto the AVMA website and the definition was "Research should include any experience in a research environment." I was told by a coworker to confirm if my job currently counts as research for vet school. I tried to contact my school admissions but didn't receive a response back. I work in a Histopathology lab, the focus of the lab isn't research though some is done for pathologists/grad students. The primary focus is diagnostics. We get samples of tissues in from vet clinics, etc and make slides of them. Then we send to the pathologist to determine what the animal has. We also do several IHC for pathologists that consists of special stains that bring out specific cells in the tissue. It's very useful information, especially since the vet students do their necropsy/histo rotations here . I hope to build a relationship with the pathologists as well who work upstairs from the lab. Just let me know if I'm right in thinking that this would be considered research experience. Thanks.

Even though you couldn't find an exact match for your question, if you are applying this cycle, Class of 2020 is also a good thread to pose these questions. Also, as long as the experience is recorded, it will be looked at. I think there is too much over complication involved in the thought process of exactly where an experience should go. Did you work in a capacity with animals that didn't involve a veterinarian? Put it in animal experience. Did you work in some fashion directly with a vet? Put in in veterinary experience. Did you work in a lab? Put it in research. I understand that there is some crossover, but as long as you put these experiences in a logical place, there is no worry. Another aspect I believe of getting through the application process is simply to see if people can problem solve. Rules are generally somewhat vague, so it is going to be up to you to interpret them to the best of your ability and be confident in your decision.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I have to disagree here (although caveat - I am by no means the expert). I don't think this really counts as research because OP is not working under a PI (that is, a funded researcher usually with a PhD at least) or in a research lab - this job is support staff in a diagnostic setting. You can still definitely include it in your application though, maybe in terms of general work experience. I would contact VMCAS about it when the times comes to a clear answer.

 

[Lupin21]

Oh yes! And the general work experience is a marvelous spot to put some oddities.

 

[cheathac]

OK then I guess that means working in the gait analysis lab isn't either bc an RVT runs it... though it's for sure clinical research.

 

[cheathac]

Actually, come to think of it.. the section head of the lab is a pathologist that has a DVM and PhD.

 

[cheathac]

yes, I would count this as research. Even though you aren't working on a direct project, I think laboratory experience is important, and something a decent number of people don't have.

Don't focus too much on where things fit. I'm not convinced the category really matters all that much, anyway.

Thank you! It's a vital skill learning about the tissues and stuff. And we do specific projects for pathologists, I'm hoping to get more understanding of that the more I work there.

 

[Country_roads]

Actually, come to think of it.. the section head of the lab is a pathologist that has a DVM and PhD.

Just because they have a DVM/PhD doesn't mean it's research. From what you describe, it's diagnostics not research. A good experience, no doubt, but not research.

Your gait analysis work depends...how/by whom is it funded? How is the data collected and where does that data go? Where is it published? etc. etc.

The way I split up my hours in undergrad & grad school:
As an employee for a professor I listed my hours as animal experience (likely where your gait analysis would go). I cleaned stalls and fed the cows on trial. Not research.

During my internship, half of it was basic stockmanship and half of it was me running my own trial. Split that half & half between animal & research experience

Grad school, most of my time is spent collecting, analyzing & writing about my data. That's research experience. The other part of the time, I'm doing basic animal husbandry for my test subjects. That's animal experience

 

[cheathac]

Just because they have a DVM/PhD doesn't mean it's research. From what you describe, it's diagnostics not research. A good experience, no doubt, but not research.

Your gait analysis work depends...how/by whom is it funded? How is the data collected and where does that data go? Where is it published? etc. etc.

The way I split up my hours in undergrad & grad school:
As an employee for a professor I listed my hours as animal experience (likely where your gait analysis would go). I cleaned stalls and fed the cows on trial. Not research.

During my internship, half of it was basic stockmanship and half of it was me running my own trial. Split that half & half between animal & research experience

Grad school, most of my time is spent collecting, analyzing & writing about my data. That's research experience. The other part of the time, I'm doing basic animal husbandry for my test subjects. That's animal experience

Sigh.. well now I don't know what to do. I was thinking this would be research since the DVM/PhD is known internationally for his research of Immunochemistry (IHC). I'm going to talk to my supervisor about it more to try and fully understand. The gait lab we get the dogs, walk them, and analyze the data given and give that to the clinician for the patient. I don't know what it's funded by but I know it has to be research since a vet research scholar is in there during the summer that I'm assisting with their project.

 

[Country_roads]

Sigh.. well now I don't know what to do. I was thinking this would be research since the DVM/PhD is known internationally for his research of Immunochemistry (IHC). I'm going to talk to my supervisor about it more to try and fully understand. The gait lab we get the dogs, walk them, and analyze the data given and give that to the clinician for the patient. I don't know what it's funded by but I know it has to be research since a vet research scholar is in there during the summer that I'm assisting with their project.

Sorry, but neither one of these to me sounds like research. One sounds like general diagnostic experience & one sounds like animal experience (because you're analyzing a pet dog's gait for a vet to look at). When you help the vet summer scholar on her project, those hours could probably be categorized as research.

Ask your school, I could be wrong but that's how I would break it up

 

[dyachei]

We had a gait lab for research at UTK - it could be similar. But we were compiling the data for arthritis research (my cat was in the study)

 

[cheathac]

I'm going to count the gait lab as it because of the vet scholar research position in there. She's doing the same exact steps as I did. We get dogs that fit the particular study, fracture, amputation, etc. I have to get some type of experience and I'm just bummed the lab doesn't count even though it's in a research environment like AVMA classifies.

 

[Country_roads]

I'm going to count the gait lab as it because of the vet scholar research position in there. She's doing the same exact steps as I did. We get dogs that fit the particular study, fracture, amputation, etc. I have to get some type of experience and I'm just bummed the lab doesn't count even though it's in a research environment like AVMA classifies.

Oh, I see. I misunderstood. That sounds like research.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Sigh.. well now I don't know what to do. I was thinking this would be research since the DVM/PhD is known internationally for his research of Immunochemistry (IHC). I'm going to talk to my supervisor about it more to try and fully understand. The gait lab we get the dogs, walk them, and analyze the data given and give that to the clinician for the patient. I don't know what it's funded by but I know it has to be research since a vet research scholar is in there during the summer that I'm assisting with their project.

Otherwise, anyone who works for idexx or antech in the diagnostic histopath lab would be considered a researcher... You can bet the pathologists who work there publish things.

It anyone who works for banfield would be considered a researcher because their electronic records get used for many retrospective studies...

If you're not actually doing the research or affiliated with research, it's not what you're doing. It gets kinda murky because someone who goes in and essentially cleans glassware for a lab as a research "intern" would count what they do as research. But for those people, it would be very evident in their description that their experience sucked.

 

[cheathac]

Otherwise, anyone who works for idexx or antech in the diagnostic histopath lab would be considered a researcher... You can bet the pathologists who work there publish things.

It anyone who works for banfield would be considered a researcher because their electronic records get used for many retrospective studies...

If you're not actually doing the research or affiliated with research, it's not what you're doing. It gets kinda murky because someone who goes in and essentially cleans glassware for a lab as a research "intern" would count what they do as research. But for those people, it would be very evident in their description that their experience sucked.

Yeah I'm definitely not cleaning glassware. I do a lot of lab maintenance things but now I'm starting to look at tissue during the microscope, watch the tissue being cut, embed the tissue, cover slipping. I'm hoping soon I will start on the immunochemistry slides. We make tissue slides for the pathologist for their research and use microscopes to look at the tissue too. So even though I'm not doing research, I'm in a research setting. Maybe after awhile of working there I can help the pathologist with their projects? They actually teach at the vet school and I love learning about the tissue and things so I don't to just stop working here because it's not research.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Sigh.. well now I don't know what to do. I was thinking this would be research since the DVM/PhD is known internationally for his research of Immunochemistry (IHC). I'm going to talk to my supervisor about it more to try and fully understand. The gait lab we get the dogs, walk them, and analyze the data given and give that to the clinician for the patient. I don't know what it's funded by but I know it has to be research since a vet research scholar is in there during the summer that I'm assisting with their project.

Ramos-Vara?

(yes, pathology is a small field )

Have you met Peg Miller at ADDL? She is very nice, maybe she could set you up with some pathology shadowing experience if that's the type of thing you're into.

I still have to disagree, though....a histopath lab is a diagnostic setting, not a research setting.

 

[cheathac]

Ramos-Vara?

(yes, pathology is a small field )

Have you met Peg Miller at ADDL? She is very nice, maybe she could set you up with some pathology shadowing experience if that's the type of thing you're into.

Yes!!!!! Peg Miller is such a sweet lady! She knows my name and thanks me whenever I come to her office. I've only started working at the lab a few weeks so I'm not sure when I will come up with the courage to ask her. I just found out last week that her and Ramos-Vera are married.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I still have to disagree, though....a histopath lab is a diagnostic setting, not a research setting.

Yup

 

[cheathac]

Well looks like I have a lot of thinking to do... the lab manager at the histology research lab at the vet school wants me to work for her... but I like working at the diagnostic lab. It seems like people who got accepted have tons of research experience.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

@VMCASSTAFF

Could we potentially get your opinion here? Would working in a histopathology lab at a veterinary school count as research experience? Or would it be more of a general work type of thing (but still a unique one that I am sure would benefit the OP!)

 

[DVMDream]

Well looks like I have a lot of thinking to do... the lab manager at the histology research lab at the vet school wants me to work for her... but I like working at the diagnostic lab. It seems like people who got accepted have tons of research experience.

I had zero research hours when I applied. I still have zero research hours and I will most likely die with zero research hours.

Research is just not an interest of mine. You don't have to have it. It does look good, but so do many other things.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Well looks like I have a lot of thinking to do... the lab manager at the histology research lab at the vet school wants me to work for her... but I like working at the diagnostic lab. It seems like people who got accepted have tons of research experience.

I understand wanting to categorize things correctly, but I dont see why your experience doing histopath is any less valuable. That's an important part of vet med, and if anything pretty unique. If you can start shadowing some of the veterinary pathologists there, you can get veterinary experience too.

Plenty of people get in without research experience, and a majority of people with "research" experience have some token experiences that aren't that meritorious. So do things that interest you, and work hard at it as long as it fits in with your future goals, not just to check off some boxes.

 

[cheathac]

I understand wanting to categorize things correctly, but I dont see why your experience doing histopath is any less valuable. That's an important part of vet med, and if anything pretty unique. If you can start shadowing some of the veterinary pathologists there, you can get veterinary experience too.

Plenty of people get in without research experience, and a majority of people with "research" experience have some token experiences that aren't that meritorious. So do things that interest you, and work hard at it as long as it fits in with your future goals, not just to check off some boxes.

You're so right.. and I really mean that. I love working here and it's opened my eyes to a part of vet medicine I didn't know about. Maybe I'll ask one of the patholgist; like I said there's one lady that is very very nice. I just don't know how to go about asking her... I'm assuming just ask hey can I shadow you?

 

[Minnerbelle]

You're so right.. and I really mean that. I love working here and it's opened my eyes to a part of vet medicine I didn't know about. Maybe I'll ask one of the patholgist; like I said there's one lady that is very very nice. I just don't know how to go about asking her... I'm assuming just ask hey can I shadow you?

Yeah, say exactly that.

"Hi, I'm interested in becoming a veterinarian, and since working here it's really opened my eyes to a part of vet medicine I didn't know about, and would love to learn more about veterinary pathology. Could I set up some shadowing with you or figure out ways that I can get involved with your work?"

 

[cheathac]

Yeah, say exactly that.

"Hi, I'm interested in becoming a veterinarian, and since working here it's really opened my eyes to a part of vet medicine I didn't know about, and would love to learn more about veterinary pathology. Could I set up some shadowing with you or figure out ways that I can get involved with your work?"

That would be so awesome!! I just started working there so give it maybe another month so I get to know her better?

 

[Minnerbelle]

I don't see why you need to wait... But whatever floats your boat

 

[cheathac]

I don't see why you need to wait... But whatever floats your boat

True.... next time I go to her office I'll work up the nerve to ask. I'm a bit shy but trying to change that. Thanks for sharing the awesome idea of shadowing her. I believe she's also a professor for my IS vet school as well? Would definitely help later on if I do get accepted.