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Started by X0001234
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I guess you can mention it. Some secondary prompts may welcome you to discuss how research fits into your purpose as a physician. If you want to do translational research, few prehealth students have it, so you don't need to convince us. I also can say most prehealth students know nothing about translational research. You can be open to opportunities.

You don't have to continue your undergrad research in medical school. You probably would have no time for thatl
 
X0001234 said:
Really? I'd assumed most premeds' research is translational stuff. Maybe my perception is skewed d/t the school I went to. Also, off the top of my head, Feinberg/Yale both require med students to do some sort of research project prior to graduating.
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Yeah, that's skewed, but so would the representation of student research among applicants, many come from similar R1 institutions with medical schools, or health science centers. Applicants from SLAC's, MSI's, or HBCU's usually have more molecular biology, genetics, chemistry, or animal-related research. A few may have plant-associated research.

Medical student research also comes in a variety of flavors, as some will do education/curriculum research, social science/public health, or clinical education/service/quality improvement.
 
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X0001234 said:
Really? I'd assumed most premeds' research is translational stuff. Maybe my perception is skewed d/t the school I went to. Also, off the top of my head, Feinberg/Yale both require med students to do some sort of research project prior to graduating.
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You assumed very wrong on that. Last application I just read was for somebody who did ecological research
 
X0001234 said:
What do you think of an applicant who attended a T10 undergrad but didn’t really take much advantage of the lab research opportunities there (but has other research)? Would they seem lazy/unmotivated?
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No. Maybe they didn't like the lab environments or PIs at the T10. Maybe they liked doing other ECs more.

In reality most oremeds do research because most premeds do research.
 
X0001234 said:
I'm applying this cycle and looking towards more research-heavy schools (still have a pretty balanced list IMO though), and am using some of the secondary essays to discuss my interest in continuing the research I did as an undergrad during med school. Most of my research background is in health services research (sort of niche but has been super insightful re: factors that impact how physicians deliver care, etc.) with ~1000 hours here, and I also have a little bit of translational lab research (300 hours).

One issue I'm having is that I really want to get involved in translational research when I go to med school, but I don't have a very strong background in it as indicated by my low hours there, and I don't think I can speak in-depth about what I did in my lab: I was dealing with some personal stuff throughout most of college and I was honestly not very present in the lab-work I was doing such that I probably wouldn't be able to answer an interviewer's questions if they were to grill me on the topic of my research. I really regret not making the most of my lab experience and would totally go back and do everything differently if I could.

Would it be okay in secondaries to mention that I want to explore lab research again, even if I don't have a super strong foundation in lab research?
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Something to reflect on: if you want to do translational research in med school, shouldn’t you consider applying for MD-PhD?
 
X0001234 said:
I was thinking about it, but again I don’t think I have enough lab research experience to be a competitive candidate for MD/PhD programs
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You can get the needed experience if you feel it is the more appropriate educational path for your goal. Research that MD only students do seems to be mostly case reports and chart reviews from what I have seen, although you can always find exceptions.
 
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