Deferring matriculation for NIH research?

[mmyou]

This entire year, I was on 2 waitlists, so I started applying for jobs. I applied to the NIH IRTA program, which allows recent graduates to do biomedical research at the NIH, and was offered a 2-year position in a translational research lab. I felt like this lab was a great fit for me because it would allow me to work with patients and do wet bench research. I also didn't have that much research experience, so I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to work at the NIH. I was also recently accepted off the waitlist to medical school. I'm super excited to start medical school, but part of me was super set on doing research at the NIH, and that part is thinking about requesting a deferral. Is deferring matriculation for research a "valid" reason? Do you guys think I should try and request a deferral, or should I just start medical school later this year? I'm very confused because me getting the research job and off the waitlist happened very recently and back-to-back. Additionally, the school I was accepted to is not very research focused, so a part of me is concerned that if I don't do research now, my opportunities to do research in the future are limited.

Also, if anyone has ever gotten a deferral in the past, I'm very curious to hear what your reasons were!

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[Goro]

Someone just posted a response to a question like yours in a different thread.

The answer from several random med schools is "no".

For someone who is interested in research, you should be able to dig this up yourself on med school admissions websites.

Frankly, trying to defer a med school matriculation for research says that you'd rather be a researcher than a doctor.

 

[littlefishbigpond3270]

This entire year, I was on 2 waitlists, so I started applying for jobs. I applied to the NIH IRTA program, which allows recent graduates to do biomedical research at the NIH, and was offered a 2-year position in a translational research lab. I felt like this lab was a great fit for me because it would allow me to work with patients and do wet bench research. I also didn't have that much research experience, so I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to work at the NIH. I was also recently accepted off the waitlist to medical school. I'm super excited to start medical school, but part of me was super set on doing research at the NIH, and that part is thinking about requesting a deferral. Is deferring matriculation for research a "valid" reason? Do you guys think I should try and request a deferral, or should I just start medical school later this year? I'm very confused because me getting the research job and off the waitlist happened very recently and back-to-back. Additionally, the school I was accepted to is not very research focused, so a part of me is concerned that if I don't do research now, my opportunities to do research in the future are limited.

Also, if anyone has ever gotten a deferral in the past, I'm very curious to hear what your reasons were!

Current IRTA, it’s WAY overrated in my opinion. It’s cool to say you work at the NIH but the pay is low and at the end of the day, it’s just research work. Go to school and do it there, it’ll be a much better gig.

 

[deleted480308]

This entire year, I was on 2 waitlists, so I started applying for jobs. I applied to the NIH IRTA program, which allows recent graduates to do biomedical research at the NIH, and was offered a 2-year position in a translational research lab. I felt like this lab was a great fit for me because it would allow me to work with patients and do wet bench research. I also didn't have that much research experience, so I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to work at the NIH. I was also recently accepted off the waitlist to medical school. I'm super excited to start medical school, but part of me was super set on doing research at the NIH, and that part is thinking about requesting a deferral. Is deferring matriculation for research a "valid" reason? Do you guys think I should try and request a deferral, or should I just start medical school later this year? I'm very confused because me getting the research job and off the waitlist happened very recently and back-to-back. Additionally, the school I was accepted to is not very research focused, so a part of me is concerned that if I don't do research now, my opportunities to do research in the future are limited.

Also, if anyone has ever gotten a deferral in the past, I'm very curious to hear what your reasons were!

A doctor can always do research, a researcher cannot always go to med school

Go to school

 

[mmyou]

Perfect, thank you all for your help and voices of reason!