Asking Fellows/Residents for Remote Clinical Research a Bad Idea?

[LabCoatLlama]

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Hey guys! This is my first ever post, so sorry if it's in the wrong place! I’m a student at a remote liberal arts college (so no med school on campus, or really anywhere nearby) who would love to get involved in clinical research; I'm especially intrigued by fetal medicine (prenatal diagnosis, fetal therapy, fetal cardiology, etc.) and was considering reaching out to some fellows and asking if they could use volunteer help remotely.

That being said, I do get that residents and fellows are slammed, and I don’t want to be a burden or come across as naive. I know this isn’t the “normal” research pipeline (like joining a formal lab or working with a PI), but I’ve seen some people mention that trainees sometimes appreciate extra hands, especially since they need to publish more often, although I believe the help usually comes from med students who know a lot more than I do.

So my question is: Would it be weird or inappropriate to cold email a fellow or resident asking if they could use remote help on a project? Would it be better to go through a clinical research coordinator? Or just... not do this at all?

If anyone has any thoughts, I’d really appreciate the advice.

Thanks!

 

[Med Ed]

Do not waste your time cold emailing trainees.

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[pigsinacloth]

Residents and fellows do the work for the research, but it all stems from the attending. You would need to cold email attendings to ask. Also most will ignore your email and the majority that reply will say no. Neither is personal, it's just hard to get people from outside the organization on projects. Also the government funding cuts don't help anyone so it honestly might be even more difficult than I am aware of right now.

But also agree with the above poster. Apply to summer programs and ask to stay on. That way you're in the organization and thus easier access.