Do Med Schools Care If You Did Psych Research?

[IDoIt4Love]

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I've been working on my own experimental sensation and perception research (mainly with hearing). There's a good chance I may be able to get a publication out of this, or a chance to speak at an APA or APS conference, too. It's technically psychology research though, so would med schools even care? Would it carry any weight in the admissions process, or do they only care about bio/chem/physics lab research?

Anyone have any experience regarding this?

 

[aznb0y129]

I've been working on my own experimental sensation and perception research (mainly with hearing). There's a good chance I may be able to get a publication out of this, or a chance to speak at an APA or APS conference, too. It's technically psychology research though, so would med schools even care? Would it carry any weight in the admissions process, or do they only care about bio/chem/physics lab research?

Anyone have any experience regarding this?

Speaking as a psych major turned post-bacc pre-med, I think any research experience will be looked at favorably by adcoms, especially if you get to publish or present your findings.

I only have a poster presentation at the APA last year, but I've been on many different psych projects throughout my undergrad career and post-college as well (refer to MDApps for detailed info).

 

[pietachok]

NO. Doing psych research is worse than doing nothing at all with your free time. The only thing worse would be if you actually had a criminal record.

Seriously? Of course they take it into account. They take everything into account. Anything that reflects your ability to make a commitment, learn, persevere, or sacrifice is relevant in some way.

Is it going to be taken as an indicator that you know what doctors do with their daily life? No. This is where it is distinct from shadowing a physician or doing clinical research. However, research in tangential fields like epidemiology and psych is carried out similarly to those in medicine, and is often far more directly relevant to what you will encounter as a physician or medical student than bench research in a biomed lab. That fact will not be overlooked. It prepares you well just like bio, physics, chem, and math to become a doctor (and even to do med research)...even though it is not directly part of being a doctor.

Relax and do what makes you tick during your undergrad. It's not all about showing off for med school, is it?

 

[armybound]

Yes, it's a good thing.

 

[LizzyM]

At schools where having research experience is important, it will count as research experience.