Getting into Research (MS3)

[hatteapear]

Hello!

I am an OMSIII, very interested in matching into OB-GYN and looking to get some more experience in OBGYN related research. However, the hospital I am at does not have much in the way to offer for research (community hospital, somewhat rural). Does anyone have any suggestions on where/how to go about this? I do have some research experience in the past (undergraduate and the summer between MS1 and 2, mostly laboratory research), but I have never published.
Thank you!

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[22031 Alum]

This will be tough to do without any research infrastructure. Do you know of any physicians at the hospital you're at who are involved in research? Does your school have a primary hospital or affiliated OB/GYN department/residency at all?

 

[hatteapear]

This will be tough to do without any research infrastructure. Do you know of any physicians at the hospital you're at who are involved in research? Does your school have a primary hospital or affiliated OB/GYN department/residency at all?

I've asked around, there's a research project at the hospital that I know of that's kind of stagnant without much funding and not related to OBGYN. Unfortunately my school does not have an OBGYN dept (our OBGYN course it taught by a FP doc with an OB fellowship) and neither my hospital or my school has an associated OBGYN residency.

 

[DrMidlife]

You won't be able to pull ObGyn research out of this hat, not in any useful sense. Don't try to compare yourself to the other kids who have pubs - it's pointless. Just make the best of it.

I suggest doing a very focused project that doesn't require IRB approval (which can take months, and you only have 8 of those). Funding isn't going to happen. Find a conference, locally or out of town, where you can submit a student poster. Doing a project on quality is actually pretty high yield, and your hospital might have some activities you could measure, or staff you could survey. Start at IHI.org for ideas (IHI has tons of conferences....)

Best of luck to you.

 

[22031 Alum]

@hatteapear FYI: Depending on the institution, some quality improvement projects will need IRB approval, or at least will need to go through the IRB to get the "Exempt QI project" stamp. But I definitely think that broadening scope from only Ob/Gyn, to clinical research in general is the way to go if you want to venture away from bench work. Specialty-specific research is a plus but not a necessity. You may consider trying to do away rotations as early as you can, and getting involved with a project at one of those places. But it is quite possible that at this point, halfway through MS3 without the resources of a home department, the research ship has sailed. On the plus side, you'll have the chance to do research in residency. Good luck!!

 

[hatteapear]

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it.

I'll definitely take a look into all these things and see if they're feasible for me. I'm also working on completing my MPH in the upcoming months so I can probably expand out the research I'm doing for that and try to get that publishable. I've also started working on setting up some early SUB-Is so I'll see if something can come from that.

If this ship has indeed sailed, I guess I'd feel silly talking about being interested in research in interviews next year without much to back me up experience wise.

 

[22031 Alum]

If this ship has indeed sailed, I guess I'd feel silly talking about being interested in research in interviews next year without much to back me up experience wise.

You didn't mention your MPH work before. So you have some experience to back you up, just not specifically in OB. You could absolutely talk about what you've done for your MPH, and how you might apply those concepts or methods to OB/GYN topics that have piqued your interest. Definitely keep seeking out OB opportunities, and fleshing out your MPH work.