Clinical Opportunities during NIH Post-Bac Program

[SpanishMusical]

Hey everyone,

I'm seriously considering doing an NIH IRTA postbac for two years after graduation, but I want to make sure that I could continue to get clinical experience during my time there. Obviously, I know I will be doing research most of the time, but I also do enjoy interacting with people and I feel it would be a shame to lose that for two years (as well as not be great for the med school application).

Also, I was wondering if anyone could comment on their experiences in the program? I know this has been asked ad nauseum, but I was wondering what people's day-to-days looked like, if they got any publications, if they felt like they learned a lot, and how the social aspect of the program was (ie, if you ever felt lonely, bored, etc).

Finally, I don't plan on doing MD/PhD, but I would love to go to a strong research med school (Stanford is my dream) and maybe do a dedicated fifth research year there. Is such a postbac even necessary (I have pretty extensive research experience and a third-author publication on the way), both for scratching my research itch and being competitive for these schools, or could I apply directly to med schools?

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[cloudstar10]

I just saw this post while looking through SDN. This likely won't be relevant for you anymore, but hopefully if any potential IRTAs stumble to this post, it will be helpful.

You can continue to get clinical experiences at the NIH or at hospitals nearby / in the area. At the NIH, you can serve as a medical translator volunteer or shadow physicians (there is an ICU rounds shadowing and undiagnosed disease program). Within walking distance of the NIH, there is Suburban Hospital and Walter Reed Military Hospital, and you can volunteer there. Also, there are many clinical volunteering experiences in the DMV area.

While I can only speak for myself, I've had a really good experience at the NIH IRTA program thus far. People's experiences will vary depending on the lab that they are in. My day-to-day varies but I work in a translational lab and get to experience science from a wet lab but also clinical lab experience, and I've greatly enjoyed it. Publications will vary per lab as well. I'm helping out with a paper currently but I know IRTAs who are already published or those who did not work on a paper during their time at the NIH.

There are many learning opportunities, from lectures to FAES courses. NIH IRTA program has a Postbac Committee that puts together several events and organizes socials, so you have the opportunity to meet other people. There are also several clubs (similar to student orgs during college) to meet people (e.g. soccer club, running club, book club, etc.).

Postbac enhances your competitiveness and the gap year serves as a great learning experience to be independent (e.g. filing taxes, developing cooking skills, etc.). It isn't necessary to do a research postbac before applying to medical school, but if one wants to gain additional research experience to strengthen their application, the NIH postbac is a great program! Many NIH postbacs have been accepted to competitive medical schools, and admission counselors recognize the name of NIH.

 

[PigsHaveWings]

I just saw this post while looking through SDN. This likely won't be relevant for you anymore, but hopefully if any potential IRTAs stumble to this post, it will be helpful.

You can continue to get clinical experiences at the NIH or at hospitals nearby / in the area. At the NIH, you can serve as a medical translator volunteer or shadow physicians (there is an ICU rounds shadowing and undiagnosed disease program). Within walking distance of the NIH, there is Suburban Hospital and Walter Reed Military Hospital, and you can volunteer there. Also, there are many clinical volunteering experiences in the DMV area.

While I can only speak for myself, I've had a really good experience at the NIH IRTA program thus far. People's experiences will vary depending on the lab that they are in. My day-to-day varies but I work in a translational lab and get to experience science from a wet lab but also clinical lab experience, and I've greatly enjoyed it. Publications will vary per lab as well. I'm helping out with a paper currently but I know IRTAs who are already published or those who did not work on a paper during their time at the NIH.

There are many learning opportunities, from lectures to FAES courses. NIH IRTA program has a Postbac Committee that puts together several events and organizes socials, so you have the opportunity to meet other people. There are also several clubs (similar to student orgs during college) to meet people (e.g. soccer club, running club, book club, etc.).

Postbac enhances your competitiveness and the gap year serves as a great learning experience to be independent (e.g. filing taxes, developing cooking skills, etc.). It isn't necessary to do a research postbac before applying to medical school, but if one wants to gain additional research experience to strengthen their application, the NIH postbac is a great program! Many NIH postbacs have been accepted to competitive medical schools, and admission counselors recognize the name of NIH.

How many years is your program ? was it hard to get in after undergraduate school ?

 

[cloudstar10]

NIH Postbac is one to two years, with the option for a third year under special circumstances. It is a research training program designed to get to the next step in your career (e.g. graduate school, medical school, clinical psychology, etc).

I'm not sure about the acceptance rate since it isn't published (or at least to my knowledge), but from a webinar I watched while I was applying, it seemed that acceptance rate was somewhere between 10-30% (but don't quote me on this). Acceptance is done on a rolling basis, so the earlier that you apply, the better. People who want to start their research after a May graduation should submit their application in Nov / Dec to optimize their chance