Cold-calling Residencies for Summer Research after First Year

[sunealoneal]

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I'm sorry if this topic has been done to death, but I swear that I searched before posting! You can skip to the final line if you want to just read my questions.

I go to a DO school and there is not an academic center in my area. I made a plan to work with a radiation oncologist working at a private clinic on a case report this summer. I spoke to another rad onc a couple weeks ago and he wasn't sure if that was the correct thing to do.

He advised me to contact a place where I hope to be a resident and ask if they had any research opportunities available. I emailed Cleveland Clinic since they seemed to be "the best" (maybe, I don't really know enough to say that) place that accepted DOs. The person I contacted didn't seem turned off by my request to do research, but eventually told me that they couldn't accommodate me.

My questions:

Is it wise for me to go down the list and email programs about summer research? Or will I come off as pushy/presumptuous?

Would a case report over the summer seem inadequate to many/most programs?

Can a case report be stretched into many "research experiences" for when they ask about it in ERAS? I don't know the particulars about presenting research, getting published, or research at all in the first place really.

 

[sunealoneal]

I have family vaguely in that area, but I'm actually in the South. Honestly at this point I'm willing to eat the cost of living somewhere far from home for the summer if it means I can get a quality experience, so I've emailed a few places since I made that first post. So far nobody has been overtly negative, but a few places said they simply don't have room. I probably waited too long for many of these places, but I didn't have doubts about the case report opportunity I have in town until this past week.

I've never done research before and the doctor hinted that the case report was just a start to get my feet wet, but I'm concerned about the amount of time such a report would take. If it only takes several full time days of work then I wouldn't mind if that led to better experiences. If it takes up half of my summer then it may not be the best use of my time...

 

[itom37]

Hrm... you're kinda jumping the gun if you ask me. First summer is a good time to do research, but it doesn't have to be rad onc specific. A case report is something... should be a pub. It shouldn't take you long. You could do any number of things this summer. You can do clinical research with a private practice (data mining kinda stuff). You can write a review article... this is an underrated way to get a first author pub and learn a heck of a lot about a topic. I'd say any sort of oncology related bench work or clinical work would reflect well. You can (and should) take a killer vacation. A case report, review article, and a tan would be an incredibly productive MS1.5 summer.

Cold calling programs... I dunno man. Just my opinion, but I don't imagine this working out too well. It's low yield for anyone to show interest in an MS1.5, especially out of the context of an already set up program.

One thing you should think about is getting a mentor... I dunno how you should go about this. Does your school have resources for people who want to do things they don't offer? A private practice person is a start. Doing aways early (and as many as you can for that matter) is also hugely important for you.

The DO thing is gonna be a hurdle. Make your app sparkle as much as you can: boards, volunteer/leadership, grades, LORs from aways, and yes, research.