Would you rather do basic science research with low/low-average chance of pub or write a review?

[Coldplayfan123]

Have the option to work on a systematic review over the summer. Professor has said it may be a tough review; however, the topic is neat. <side question: are literature reviews easy to publish/look good? I keep reading they are easy to do in a couple weekends on the forums, but everything we've learned in school state that reviews often take 1-2 years to publish...>

or

Do basic science research with PI, can get funding. I have little interest in the research but it is funded, and basic science research looks good from what I know.

This is for the summer between M1 and M2. I go to a mid-tier school in the NW US.

tl;dr

Review pros:

1. Build relationship with academic dermatologist.
2. Possibly (not sure how easy these are) publish review?
3. Interested in material.

Review cons:

1. Not funded by scholarship

Basic science pros:

1. Funded.
2. Can present poster at symposium(s).

Basic science cons:

1. Less Interest in material.
2. PI is a faculty member that does a lot of work in derm (not really a con)

What would you do?

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[PatsyStone]

Have the option to work on a systematic review over the summer. Professor has said it may be a tough review; however, the topic is neat. <side question: are literature reviews easy to publish/look good? I keep reading they are easy to do in a couple weekends on the forums, but everything we've learned in school state that reviews often take 1-2 years to publish...>

or

Do basic science research with PI, can get funding. I have little interest in the research but it is funded, and basic science research looks good from what I know.

This is for the summer between M1 and M2. I go to a mid-tier school in the NW US.

tl;dr

Review pros:

1. Build relationship with academic dermatologist.
2. Possibly (not sure how easy these are) publish review?
3. Interested in material.

Review cons:

1. Not funded by scholarship

Basic science pros:

1. Funded.
2. Can present poster at symposium(s).

Basic science cons:

1. Less Interest in material.
2. PI is a faculty member that does a lot of work in derm (not really a con)

What would you do?

You can do both.

This is how you do a reiveiw

Coldplayfan: "hey, um, what is the review on?"
Mentor: "scrotal LSC"
Coldplayfan: "Awesome. I'll work on it on the nights and weekends this summer, as well as when I have downtime in lab. Give me a few weeks, and I'll email you the draft to look over."
Mentor: "Sweet, this way I can focus on clinical stuff while you do all the grunt work"

Reviews can take a long time to publish, but they're not impossible. One of the problem with reviews is that very few derm journals take them, but even if your basic project ends up a glorified science fair project, you will still be able to find someone who will take it. Like anything in research, there is a steep-learning curve the first time you do a review, but they become easier

 

[asmallchild]

Have the option to work on a systematic review over the summer. Professor has said it may be a tough review; however, the topic is neat. <side question: are literature reviews easy to publish/look good? I keep reading they are easy to do in a couple weekends on the forums, but everything we've learned in school state that reviews often take 1-2 years to publish...>

or

Do basic science research with PI, can get funding. I have little interest in the research but it is funded, and basic science research looks good from what I know.

This is for the summer between M1 and M2. I go to a mid-tier school in the NW US.

tl;dr

Review pros:

1. Build relationship with academic dermatologist.
2. Possibly (not sure how easy these are) publish review?
3. Interested in material.

Review cons:

1. Not funded by scholarship

Basic science pros:

1. Funded.
2. Can present poster at symposium(s).

Basic science cons:

1. Less Interest in material.
2. PI is a faculty member that does a lot of work in derm (not really a con)

What would you do?

Agree with above. Why not both? The summer is a perfect time to really dive into research. Basic science research (particularly if derm related) is typically looked upon more favorably and if you are getting paid to do it, all the better. That being said, if you can get a literature review out there too at the only expense of a little more work, go for it.

 

[dermie1985]

Do you mean writing a review paper on a specific subject...or do mean a systematic review (i.e. meta-analysis) that actually involves statistical analysis of many prior studies (the latter is actually quite time intensive and can be incredibly high-impact)?

If it is just a literature review, I would do both. If it's the latter, I would stick to just the meta-analysis project. You honestly will be asked quite frequently about your research on interviews. While some attendings do like basic science, most dermatologists are not basic science researchers and would rather you talk about the type of research you'd actually want to do in your career (i.e. maybe epi or clinical?) and/or were passionate about, rather than something you don't care about(i.e. basic science).

 

[Coldplayfan123]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

It is indeed a meta-analysis! He has said that it will be quite laborious and I'm not sure if I could do both.

What would everyone do if they could pick just one?

 

[ratherbefishing]

My general rule to research is to do what you are interested in.

 

[dermie1985]

In that case, I'd definitely do the meta-analysis. Seems more interesting to you, and honestly, there is no point in doing basic science in medical school if it's not what you want to do for your career. Unless your working on a post-doc's project (in which case you won't be first author), the chances of publishing a basic science paper without a year-off for research are pretty low. Believe me, I've tried.

Even if it doesn't pan as a published paper, you'll have something interesting to talk about on interviews. I'd also ask your mentor if there are any literature review and/or case reports you can work on in addition to the meta-analysis (these are lower yield, but easier to publish so at least you have some publications in your name).