Anything wrong with doing nothing productive during M1/M2 summer?

[BeastInfection]

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I'll probably have a decent chunk of money left over by the time summer rolls around, and all I want to do is travel and hang out. No research, no work.

I really don't know what residency I'll shoot for, so I haven't ruled out the more competitive specialties. However, I really don't know what I could possibly accomplish in 8 weeks of research. I have years of bench research behind me without a single pub, so two months seems like nothing. If you do go for a competitive residency, would 8 weeks of research actually impress anyone? Does it look bad to have a two month hole in my CV?

 

[thepoopologist]

Go travel.

 

[Guillemot]

Many people will use the 8 weeks to start their research and then take a research elective later on etc...Depends on your school. Youre going to need more than 8 weeks to do something significant though probably.

It wouldnt hurt you to take the time off, but research is helpful. Decide if its worth giving up much of your summer to do research. There are certain benefits for either choice.

 

[projectlogic]

Have fun. You're going to be working the rest of your life.

 

[TAWS]

You are going to need research to apply to certain residencies (radiology, pathology, etc.). It's pretty much a pre-requisite as I haven't met someone doing rads that didn't do research over the summer.

If you don't do it over the summer, be prepared to do research during the school year if you really want to keep all of your residency options open.

 

[BeastInfection]

You are going to need research to apply to certain residencies (radiology, pathology, etc.). It's pretty much a pre-requisite as I haven't met someone doing rads that didn't do research over the summer.

If you don't do it over the summer, be prepared to do research during the school year if you really want to keep all of your residency options open.

Do most of the people snagging these residencies have research experience only during the summer, or do they usually have more in addition to this? I can't see how a month or two of research could make such a big difference.

 

[Mr hawkings]

Do most of the people snagging these residencies have research experience only during the summer, or do they usually have more in addition to this? I can't see how a month or two of research could make such a big difference.

Most of those people had significant prior research experience prior to the summer attachment (some in that specific lab they end up doing summer work in) and did not need very much direction. They are just assigned a side project that will eventually be part of a bigge project and are trusted to finish it without sup[ervision. so they hit the ground running.
If you dont have that xperience and the trust of the PI by either having worked with his before of recommended by a trused colleague, it will take probaly half of the summer for them to bring you "up to speed" with the way they like things done in their specific lab.
In that case, you're not poing to get any meaningful work done in an 8 week summer rotation.

 

[ijn]

You are going to need research to apply to certain residencies (radiology, pathology, etc.). It's pretty much a pre-requisite as I haven't met someone doing rads that didn't do research over the summer.

If you don't do it over the summer, be prepared to do research during the school year if you really want to keep all of your residency options open.

No. You don't need research to get a pathology or radiology residency. Those are two specialties in particular where research isn't very helpful. A good STEP 1 score and honors in your internal medicine and surgery rotations are what you need for a radiology residency. Maybe you mean radiation oncology?

 

[Top Gun]

Take the summer off and enjoy yourself. You have the rest of your life to work. When you're a resident or attending, you'll appreciate the little free time you have.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

It really depends on what field you're interested in pursuing. If it's something very competitive like derm, neurosurgery, radonc, plastics, etc, research almost seems like an unwritten requirement. Ultimately, it's up to you regarding what you want to do during summer.

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