advice for an MS-2

[pantsuk]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post - I'm popping my SDN cherry so to speak. Anyway, I'm officially (starting July 18) an MS-2 and am looking for advice for what I should do/accomplish with my 2nd year. I got really high grades in my first year (though I heard that this doesn't mean sh**) but I'm pretty sure I'm in the top 2 (out of about 150) purely with respect to grades. However, I am really unbalanced in that I have virtually no extracurricular activities, and no research in medical school. I have done some clinical (data entry) research and bench research in my undergrad years, but I'm not sure how much this will factor in when I apply to residency, esp. because I have no publications from either of them.The only other things that I have done are going on a mission/clinic trip to the Dominican Republic and random volunteering for free clinics. The reason I feel like I have been unable to do more things is because my schedule consists of a large volume of studying + a large volume of running. Running is very important to me, often even at the expense of my cv. I don't know what specialty I want yet but I do not want something that I didn't do preclude me from a specialty. Is it possible to get (even competitive) residencies without research, leadership, and community service, if you are able to bust you're ass academically and pull of high Step 1 scores + good grades? I am looking to do more things, but for the sake of time management and out of fear of jeopardizing my grades, what things are MOST important?

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[mdeast]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post - I'm popping my SDN cherry so to speak. Anyway, I'm officially (starting July 18) an MS-2 and am looking for advice for what I should do/accomplish with my 2nd year. I got really high grades in my first year (though I heard that this doesn't mean sh**) but I'm pretty sure I'm in the top 2 (out of about 150) purely with respect to grades. However, I am really unbalanced in that I have virtually no extracurricular activities, and no research in medical school. I have done some clinical (data entry) research and bench research in my undergrad years, but I'm not sure how much this will factor in when I apply to residency, esp. because I have no publications from either of them.The only other things that I have done are going on a mission/clinic trip to the Dominican Republic and random volunteering for free clinics. The reason I feel like I have been unable to do more things is because my schedule consists of a large volume of studying + a large volume of running. Running is very important to me, often even at the expense of my cv. I don't know what specialty I want yet but I do not want something that I didn't do preclude me from a specialty. Is it possible to get (even competitive) residencies without research, leadership, and community service, if you are able to bust you're ass academically and pull of high Step 1 scores + good grades? I am looking to do more things, but for the sake of time management and out of fear of jeopardizing my grades, what things are MOST important?

You definitely can get into competitive residencies (most) without substantial research experience. Academic medical centers might look poorly on you for not having it, basically because they want to recruit residents who have potential to stay on as new faculty members who will conduct research. But, a lot of residency programs aren't at academic centers. And even then, some specialties don't value it as much as others. If you're going gunning for derm, rad onc, or some cardiology fellowship down the road....that might be a different story though.

Note that clinical research, bioinformatics, case reports, etc. can be relatively low time commitments. Might just be analyzing data/Excel files on your computer when you have free time. You'd still have plenty of time to study. Also, to be honest, doing other stuff besides studying keeps you a bit more sane. Running is a good priority, and to be honest, if that's all you want to do in your free time I saw go for it. I will say....I stopped going to class and just converted to 1.5x distance U videos online and I loved it. So much free time. I worked in lab 3-4 days a week in the mornings, breezed through lectures in the afternoon on my laptop (right after reading the corresponding boards review/syllabus material...so it sunk in better), got home, worked out, maybe did another 1 hour of studying or just chilled and relaxed with some good ole TV. I do other outside activities (some research, some non-research). Without it all, I'd go insane if I was just studying BS basic science material all day. Just make sure what you're doing is making you happy, find the right balance, and keep in mind that learning the material and getting a great Step 1 score will take you much farther than research pubs will. But, doing the research can be fun and a nice, productive break from studying in itself.