First-year Med Student summer volunteer research position worth it or waste of time?

[futuredo2021ihope]

question for med students past MS1 or grads - i'm currently a first year med student trying to figure out plans to keep myself occupied over the summer. ideally i would have wanted to become involved in a legitimate research project, but as of now all that I have been offered is a position as "volunteer" in a research facility for a med school in washington, DC. is this a waste of time (should i look into using my summer doing something different) or should i take it? (i guess a part of my question also includes the worth of this work i would be able to put on my resume for residency apps in the future)? thanks!!!

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[shisong]

if you can get a paper out of it then go for it, it sucks that its volunteer instsead of getting paid tho.. and if u just want primary care stuff then u can just play and still match somewhere in primary care world

 

[doc05]

Sounds like a waste of time. Take a real vacation.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Unless you're getting a paper out of it, then it's a waste of time. I wouldn't do it unless there was a guaranteed paper at the end. This is time you wont be getting back.

 

[TypeADissection]

Sounds like a waste of time. Take a real vacation.

Agreed. It's the last summer you'll ever have for the rest of your life. Unless you're going to publish something out of it, which is unrealistic with an 8-week project, you're better off just enjoying your summer. Workout. Drink. Do debacherous things. Rinse and repeat. By week 6 of summer break, you'll be ready to get back into the grind. I know that sounds crazy but it's true. Cheers.

 

[Lnsean]

Either actually hop on a legitimate project or don't. This seems like something wishy washy that is middle of the road iffy stuff. I wouldn't take it. You could email them and ask directly what you will be involved with.

 

[Osteoth]

Depends on 1. What you're interested in, 2. How you're going to use this position in the framework of your entire medical school experience.

You can work hard for a summer in a competitive specialty and not get **** out of it, but at the same point make connections that you can expand longitudinally and can become fruitful over time. Really depends on the first two questions though.