Field specifc letters/research?

[Tritleb]

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Gents and ladys,

I finished my MS1 year this past April and am currently doing research in orthopaedics for my summer break. I've also spent a lot of time shadowing/other research projects with ortho surgeons.

The focus on ortho sprouts from the fact that I used to be dead set that this was the field in which I would practice (I think being a 6'4" college athlete affected my judgement), but now I'm having second thoughts...

I'm currently waiting for one paper to be accepted for publication and am writing another one, both in ortho. My quesiton is, if I do decide that this field isn't what I want to do, has all this research/shadowing been for naught? I know how ortho is viewed by other specialties, would residency programs laugh when I threw a few ortho papers at them as my research?

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Program directors for residencies appreciate students change their mind all the time, so applying to, say for example, General Surgery when you have ortho research is not going to be looked at as a negative. It will show you're a hardworking, dedicated student who does his best to succeed. If you publish in Ortho, you can publish in other fields as well.

However, sometimes the most competitive fields DO like to see some work in their field because it shows dedication. For example, let's say you did a bunch of work in neurosurgery and then suddenly decided you hated the lifestyle and want do dermatology or ENT. Those fields (and this is hearsay) want to show you do something IN their field to show it's not a passing fancy.

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

Program directors for residencies appreciate students change their mind all the time, so applying to, say for example, General Surgery when you have ortho research is not going to be looked at as a negative. It will show you're a hardworking, dedicated student who does his best to succeed. If you publish in Ortho, you can publish in other fields as well.

However, sometimes the most competitive fields DO like to see some work in their field because it shows dedication. For example, let's say you did a bunch of work in neurosurgery and then suddenly decided you hated the lifestyle and want do dermatology or ENT. Those fields (and this is hearsay) want to show you do something IN their field to show it's not a passing fancy.

I don't think this would necessarily apply to research. There simply may not be enough time to get quality research done in one of these fields after discovering your passion for it. As long as you have been involved in quality, medically-related research, and have received strong evaluations from your clinical rotations in your desired field, I don't think you would need research in that specific field to be competitive.

Just the opinion of another med student...

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

I don't think this would necessarily apply to research. There simply may not be enough time to get quality research done in one of these fields after discovering your passion for it. As long as you have been involved in quality, medically-related research, and have received strong evaluations from your clinical rotations in your desired field, I don't think you would need research in that specific field to be competitive.

Just the opinion of another med student...

I agree, I phrased my original post a bit strongly.

You don't have to do research, and definitely don't need to make a comparable amount of work in the field you're now interested in, but I do think you need "something" that shows your passion for your new field: that could be a strong letter of rec or maybe even a short case report.

 

[Tritleb]

Thanks to both of you

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

Thanks to both of you

No problem - I have been dealing with very similar concerns!

 

[Blade28]

In general, research is research. Ortho research would be fine on your app whether you're applying to Ortho, G Surg, IM, etc.

It is true, though, that for the more supercompetitive fields (e.g. Derm and Plastics) they'd rather see field-specific research. This is also helpful because you get to meet people in the field who can help make calls for you, write you letters of recommendation, etc.