2006-2007 NIH-CRTP Fellows?
Started by tlt
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
do programs look at NIH-CRTP fellows favorably? to my understanding, a person takes a year off between third and fourth year to do research...is this it or is there more to it?
lets say person xyz doesn't match into derm, but then goes out and does one year of NIH-CRTP...will he have a better shot?
lets say person xyz doesn't match into derm, but then goes out and does one year of NIH-CRTP...will he have a better shot?
GuP said:
Of course. I did CRTP, great program. It's not just doing research like an IRTA. There are a lot of enrichment activities and benefits built into the program (which seemed to be a lot more relevant to med students than the enrichment activities at cloisters) and there is some overlap with HHMI cloisters activities if relevant to clinical research. There is quite a bit more name recognition of the Cloisters, but i feel this is due more to CRTP being a newer program, and will probably start to equalize soon. On interviews I found myself often having to decribe CRTP to interviewers not familiar with the program, and I basically described it as a program analogous to cloisters but with a clinical research focus. If it says anything, CRTP has had top notch match lists, with lots of matches in derm, rad onc, top IM programs (e.g. Brigham), ophtho, ortho, etc. You can check em out yourself in the online brochure. So most definitely does not hurt, and may even have helped.
I personally did the year out of interest in research (the field I applied for doesn't compel applicants to have research), but if you're trying to boost your CV for a competitive residency, what will help most are the actual work you do, abstracts you write, posters you present at meetings, contacts you make and the LORs you get out of it, and if you're lucky, authoring publications in journals. Whether you do CRTP, HHMI-Cloisters, a generic IRTA, Doris Duke, or just stay at your home institution for a research year, matters less. CRTP, Cloisters, and Doris Duke may have a little more prestige because getting in is competitive so being able to participate in those programs is kinda also an award to boot. But in the larger scope of things, it's entirely possibly to not accomplish anything in these programs, in which case it wont help all that much. conversely, if you end up being productive at one of the labs at your school, even with a generic less competitive grant, it will help you much much more than not being productive at one of the "prestigious" research programs.
btw, here is the CRTP brochure for more details on the program and what it involves. http://www.training.nih.gov/crtp/NIH_CRTP_Brochure_p5.pdf
chicamedica, thanks for the detailed response.
are these programs open to med students from caribbean?
are these programs open to med students from caribbean?
GuP said:
I actually have no idea. You can get in touch with CRTP (contact info should be in the brochure) and find out. These programs are hard to get into though so it helps to have a strong background (am not going to make any assumptions about yours).
chicamedica said:
thanks buddy. i will poke around and see what i can find. if not, i will be sure to pm ya. 😉
