Clinical Research as an MS1?

[FBurnaby]

Has anyone done a chart review, case study, etc. as an MS1? I haven't been able to find this type opportunity, and am not really interested in bench research with a phd. I've seen poster presentations of modest findings done by med students, were these just from opportunities in MS3/4?

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[WedgeDawg]

Why not your first summer when you'll have more time?

And there are always opportunities, but you'll have to seek them out and show the department/PI that you'll be working with that you're interested and will follow through with the work.

 

[FBurnaby]

@WedgeDawg my school doesn't have much of a summer break, but either way I'm trying to figure out how to go about finding these opportunities. It seems like all of my classmates either have no interest in research or assume these opportunities aren't available. I cold called/emailed some departments and clinical faculty this week but nothing sounds promising.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

Keep sending emails, someone will enlist your help. You can also try emailing the residents. Many of them have small projects going on but don't have the time to collect the data, thus they love when students can help them with that.

When you are sending an email asking for research, always keep it short and sweet as the recipient will be more likely to respond and help you out. They don't need to know your entire backstory and motivations. "Hi Dr X, I am a first year medical student and would like to get involved in research. I see that your research has focused on Y, and this is something I would definitely be interested in participating in. I am looking to get started in the near future and continue through my summer before 2nd year. If you have any opportunities for a student to help out with, please let me know as I would love to get involved.

Thanks for your time,

Signature"


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[FBurnaby]

Cold email/calling has been unfruitful, any other wisdom? Seems like every student (even those that would never be described as a "researcher") somehow has multiple presentations by the time they apply to residencies. I want to do general/sub-specialty peds so one would think the opportunities would be less competitive.

 

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

Try talking to some M3/M4 to see who they might have worked with or who they're currently working with. They might better know which faculty tend to publish more. Also, newer/younger faculty will probably be more apt to publish as they try to build up their own resume for tenure


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[751866]

Keep sending emails, someone will enlist your help. You can also try emailing the residents. Many of them have small projects going on but don't have the time to collect the data, thus they love when students can help them with that.

When you are sending an email asking for research, always keep it short and sweet as the recipient will be more likely to respond and help you out. They don't need to know your entire backstory and motivations. "Hi Dr X, I am a first year medical student, and I'm much better prepared than my peers, as I had X.XXXX GPA in my undergraduate studies. I would like to get involved in research, and you certainly want my involvement as well. I see that your research has focused on Y, and this is something I would definitely be interested in participating in. My crystal ball says this is something I can start in the near future and I can continue the project through my summer before 2nd year. If you have any opportunities for a student to help out with, please let me know as I would love to get involved.

Thanks for your time,

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Yawn...part of me wonders if your avatar is your real picture...the OP could also spice up that email to grab the attention of the reader...see my bold adjustments. Notice, I used 4 decimal places to make the reader believe there was extreme precision in measuring your GPA. The next key item is that you should give yourself a vote of confidence by telling the reader you are undeniably worthwhile. Lastly, I thought the reader would appreciate the sense of humor we tossed into the mix. It'll help them notice that you're not just a boring pile of brains behind that incredibly precise GPA we mentioned earlier.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

Yawn...part of me wonders if your avatar is your real picture...the OP could also spice up that email to grab the attention of the reader...see my bold adjustments. Notice, I used 4 decimal places to make the reader believe there was extreme precision in measuring your GPA. The next key item is that you should give yourself a vote of confidence by telling the reader you are undeniably worthwhile. Lastly, I thought the reader would appreciate the sense of humor we tossed into the mix. It'll help them notice that you're not just a boring pile of brains behind that incredibly precise GPA we mentioned earlier.

?????

your inhibitory centers must not be properly activated


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[751866]

?????

your inhibitory centers must not be properly activated


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Your boring centers must have been up-regulated due to the misfiring of the inhibitory neurons that act on the anti-disinhibition centers of your brain.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

Your boring centers must have been up-regulated due to the misfiring of the inhibitory neurons that act on the anti-disinhibition centers of your brain.

you seem like the kind of guy who thinks he is so baller because of his 39 page résumé


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[doyouhaveaflag]

I did research throughout M1. I talked to the chair of the dept of my specialty of interest and he set me up with someone who does a lot of research. He's known for enjoying working with med students though, I have no idea if that's common or not for department heads or if it would be appropriate to reach out to yours. I wrote a review article during the year rather than a case report or chart review like you mentioned, but I think those would be feasible as well. However, summer after M1 was definitely more productive than during the year given all the free time. I only had two months off, so some of it did end up trickling into the beginning of M2. Free time became too scarce after that to continue.

My school also sends out an email a few months before summer of names of people who want to take on med students on their projects, maybe yours does something similar?

 

[Goro]

IF you are really good at time mgt, it can be done.

Has anyone done a chart review, case study, etc. as an MS1? I haven't been able to find this type opportunity, and am not really interested in bench research with a phd. I've seen poster presentations of modest findings done by med students, were these just from opportunities in MS3/4?

 

[Redpancreas]

Has anyone done a chart review, case study, etc. as an MS1? I haven't been able to find this type opportunity, and am not really interested in bench research with a phd. I've seen poster presentations of modest findings done by med students, were these just from opportunities in MS3/4?

You will find a plethora of opportunities. DO NOT feel inadequate for any lack of research. All techniques/skills involved can be easily learnt. Seek opportunities, be entitled while searching, and then when you're satisfied with one that you feel will allow to use critical thinking to contribute to a meaningful publication, settle for it and commit!

 

[failedatlife]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Study for Step 1. NOOOOOOOO. Don't do it kid, it's not worth it. Don't make the ghost of "Failedatlife" haunt you two years down the road when that Step 1 score is subpar because you tried to multitask. Research isn't worth it, don't try to re-invent the wheel. Step 1, that's ALL that counts. That's what your gunner classmates and gunners across the country are doing. Take a year off if you need to. Now you study like there is no tomorrow. FA should be your patient database.

 

[mcworbust]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Study for Step 1. NOOOOOOOO. Don't do it kid, it's not worth it. Don't make the ghost of "Failedatlife" haunt you two years down the road when that Step 1 score is subpar because you tried to multitask. Research isn't worth it, don't try to re-invent the wheel. Step 1, that's ALL that counts. That's what your gunner classmates and gunners across the country are doing. Take a year off if you need to. Now you study like there is no tomorrow. FA should be your patient database.

+1 this, FML. I weighted research and studying as equal importance, as I was equally interested - but in retrospect I should have been way more interested in step 1.

 

[FBurnaby]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Study for Step 1. NOOOOOOOO. Don't do it kid, it's not worth it. Don't make the ghost of "Failedatlife" haunt you two years down the road when that Step 1 score is subpar because you tried to multitask. Research isn't worth it, don't try to re-invent the wheel. Step 1, that's ALL that counts. That's what your gunner classmates and gunners across the country are doing. Take a year off if you need to. Now you study like there is no tomorrow. FA should be your patient database.

Definitely have this at the forefront of importance and time distribution. I'm not looking to get published in Nature, but I do have a sincere interest in doing some sort of small project. Didn't the match stats show the average med student has like 4 research experiences?

 

[mcloaf]

Definitely have this at the forefront of importance and time distribution. I'm not looking to get published in Nature, but I do have a sincere interest in doing some sort of small project. Didn't the match stats show the average med student has like 4 research experiences?

Take his admonishments with a grain of salt, he didn't get the step score he wanted and his form of therapy is trolling this forum telling people not to do research.

It's not unreasonable to do a small chart review project or something during M1/M2 years, though obviously your first priority is class and boards. Since you want to do peds I'd just email the dept chair or your program director to set up a meeting, tell them you're interested in peds and would like to get involved in research. They probably have a good idea of people in the department with active research going on who might be interested in working with you.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Definitely have this at the forefront of importance and time distribution. I'm not looking to get published in Nature, but I do have a sincere interest in doing some sort of small project. Didn't the match stats show the average med student has like 4 research experiences?

Look at the breakdowns within each specialty of 2016 Charting Outcomes. Some are skewed, like EM I believe, with a big chunk having 0, but then another big chunk at 5 or more.


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