Any advice for getting a summer research gig?

[xanthomondo]

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I've been trying and trying since about March, I've emailed countless people at numerous departments at many different schools, but no matter what I can't get a non-paid volunteer research position. I have even specified I'm not interested in money in every email. Any advice for getting one? It seems like most people in my class who got one had connections to get it.

I do have a quite a basic science research background, but I don't have clinical research experience. Is that really what my problem is?

fyi I'm between M1 and M2 years

 

[deleted263296]

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[WellWornLad]

If you've really put that much effort in, my gut says that something about your delivery is putting people off. Either that or your hospital just isn't very research-oriented, which would be bizarre at an academic institution. You can try other hospitals if there are some in your area.

 

[runx]

I'm in a similar boat... Started sending the e-mails about April-ish. After about 5 unanswered I gave up. These weren't just randomly selected people - they were all potential "leads" based on friends and factulty members that I spoke to. At first I figured these MD's were just too busy to deal with an MS1, which is undoubtedly true to an extent. But I couldn't help but feel like I was going about it wrong. My e-mails were perfectly polite as far as I could tell, but maybe they just weren't personal enough (eg didn't convey a sincere interest in the given department). So I went to the department and hung around for a while, met a few people, got a few more "leads". One person I met was one of the people that I had already e-mailed (haha). Finally, I introduced myself to a faculty/MD member and had a kind of awkward brief discussion about my interest in research. I wanted to laugh because it quickly came to him telling me that I should send him and email and he would look into things... So I went home and put in considerable time and thought into what I felt should be my last attempt... Perhaps it was too long. No response.

I'm bummed about this- hard to not take it personal. Its my fault for not setting things up earlier this year (actually my other plans fell through). If I don't find something to do its kind of going to close a door in a specialty that I'm interested in. Further, I am worried about my interaction with doctors in general and how it might play out in the all important (grade and letter wise) 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations. I feel pretty nervous/intimidated dealing with any MD that I don't know. I think that, if "delivery" really is my problem, that this is the primary force behind it. The ironic thing is that there is lots of MD in my family and I've always considered myself laid back and easy to get along with.

 

[CorazonDoc]

I've got two suggestions:

1) Email the department chair, let them know you're very interested in x specialty and research and were wondering if they could point you toward any facutly that would be willing to have med students get involved in their research (then you can always start out email with "Dr. So and so told me you would be a good person to contact"). Variation would be requesting a meeting with the chair in person so you can explain your interest and have them point you in the right direction directly. Chairs at many institutions are usually very happy to have brief meetings with students interested in their specialty. It's informally considered part of their job.

2) Meet some senior residents and have them point you in the direction of faculty that would be good to work with. In more research heavy specialties, residents will often have projects going on and might be able to introduce you.

 

[ghostdog]

i spent many years doing research, here's how i got involved (or some advice)

at the med school i worked in, most people started early. there were forms to fill out, and stipends, some programs even based on GPA. so fyi, may or march is the time to start looking ...

the other thing would be to ask profs at your school, if you haven't already...there must be some research going on, unless you're home away from your school..

because of grant issues, most places wont just take someone without pay. you also can't work in a lab with out some physical /tb tests or lab safety requirements. these things take time, which is why they may be lax to take someone on later in the year.

yeah, most people know Phd's and PI's personally. i've seen PI's family members work on projects. most of the lab experience however is delegated to tech type stuff that are given to high school students or something.

with all this in mind:


your best bet is to physically go to the place you want to do research. not everyone reads emails or what have you. ask human resources what opportunities they have for med students.

you could also find the PI you want to work with, go there and talk to the secretary. they may be able to schedule an appointment for you, and then you can state your case. especially if you have some lab skills (PCR, western blot, etc) find a PI that has a huge lab--the biggest labs always need people to do things..

keep in mind though that one summer of research won't do much to help you--you want to have some kind of consistent research where you (hopefully, ) at least get mentioned on a paper. not everything you may do will even go into a paper, and rarely do students get to co -author one (which is where research really counts).

if you are itching to do something, your last bet would be to volunteer in some kind of "street medicine" or community outreach that's health related (i.e aids clinic, mental health crisis center, etc)

hope this helps, and good luck