Advice regarding research opportunity

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Hey guys.. I'm looking for some advice regarding some research I could do this summer. I an MS1 about to finish up for the year and really need to decide if I'm going to take this opportunity or not. I've never done research before and I'm really not entirely sure that I'll like it. It is bench research and I really like the project/the mentor I'd be working with. At the same time, I'd rather just enjoy my summer to be perfectly honest. HOWEVER… I still don't know how big of a deal research really plays into matching. At this point I obviously have no clue what I want to do…. I'm not interested in the super competitive stuff, but am interested in gas, em, peds-im, etc. I'm also extremely interested in cardiology… Which brings me to my questions.

#1 does research in medical school play any sort of role when trying to get into a fellowship (cards/any other IM subspecialties)? Or will it just be about what you did in residency?

#2 is research really needed for things like gas and EM?

If this is something that will really help out later on down the road then I will definitely do it. It seems like a great time to get an idea of how to do research and whatnot, but I really just don't know how "worth it" it actually is. I guess my thoughts are that it could be a good time to learn how to do bench research, but am I going to be doing more clinical research later on and thus it won't matter anyways? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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I still don't know how big of a deal research really plays into matching.

It's a big deal, if you're trying for competitive academic locations. For fellowship: I'm told research done in med school does count. But more importantly, where you went to residency is huge. If you want a cards fellowship, you better be coming from a baller residency. And to get into those kinds of residencies, research will help.

As far as gas and EM, I'm not really an expert (no interest in either of these), but I know research matters for gas. Again, it's about the caliber of program you're looking for.
 
lol research does not matter for gas
 
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N=1 but one of the EM doctors at our school, who also happens to be involved in selecting residents for the program told me not to bother with research unless I was really interested in a project.

He said they look at class rank, and board scores, and told me to just enjoy this summer and try to do well in classes.
However, I did have a good bit of research experience from college, so he also felt one extra summer would add very little to my resume.

Nonetheless I did decide to do research this summer for other reasons. My priority this summer is hopefully to spend time with loved ones and relax, but I didn't want to do absolutely nothing for 3 months, so I tried to find a project that seemed a little more relaxed but still interesting. So I'm hoping to do it more for the experience and it probably can't hurt to have a project under my belt. If the research isn't stressful and gives you time to still enjoy the summer, and if it's something you'd like to try I can't imagine it would hurt. If you got a paper or poster out of it, that may even help.
However, I have a hard time believing that 3 months of research means that much to residencies...unless there's a publication or poster to show for it. That's just my personal opinion, though I could be wrong.
 
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