Highly ranked research schools.

[histidine]

If you want to pursue research in medical school, does it matter if you go to a medical school ranked highly in research? From talking to students and faculty, it seems like the only time students actually conduct research in medical school is during the summer after MS1 and maybe during a fourth year elective. Barely anyone does research during the academic year, which makes sense given the rigor of medical school. During the summer, many students go abroad, to other schools, to the NIH, or to research programs at hospitals like HSS or CHOP. Given the fact that you can leave your home institution for these research opportunities, does it even matter if you go to a research oriented school or not? Of course, there are some programs, like Cleveland Clinic or the PSTP at Pitt that would be the ideal platform, but those opportunities are rare and competitive.

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[kyamh]

From talking to students and faculty, it seems like the only time students actually conduct research in medical school is during the summer after MS1 and maybe during a fourth year elective. Barely anyone does research during the academic year, which makes sense given the rigor of medical school.

Nope, this does not have to be true. There are plenty of schools that take research very seriously and understand that good science isn't done in a short little block. I have visited several schools - Yale, UPenn, University of Michigan, Pitt - where a good number of students I met were involved in research year-round. Certainly, it's a tough balance and students have to prioritize based on their current workload, but there culture of research is definitely there. At Yale, for example, I visited a coffee shop after my interview day and overheard several medical students chatting with other students or with their PI's about the research they were about to go and do during the afternoon. At least at the schools I have mentioned, my faculty interviewers have assured me that more than just a few students find time to be seriously involved in research and more than just a few students choose to pursue research during their MS1, MS2, and MS4 years. I've also asked this question of all my student interviewers and 3/4 times the student interviewing me was actively involved in research and has been since MS1.

I think that a critical component in a medical school that accommodates research is flexibility. At Michigan, you choose when you take your weekly quizzes. At UPenn, tests only come every few weeks so you can schedule research around studying over a longer period. Those are just some examples. I don't know as much about this program since I don't have an interview there, but graduates of the Harvard HST program have told me that plenty of students participate in research year-round there as well.

Bottom line: I think it does matter where you go to school for research. You want a school that has money for your research and money to fund you. You want to go to a school where the PIs are well funded and thus happy to take time to mentor students, even medical students. Plus, if you have a good idea about what you want to research, you certainly want to end up at a school that has a strong host of PIs who study the thing you are interested in.


Edit: When I ask about research, I specifically don't ask about the experiences of students who take extra time through a special program to do research. I am interested in the straightforward 4 year MD
Edit2: OP, I now realize that we both interviewed at Pitt and at Michigan...so I guess we just got very different students/faculty by chance.

 

[histidine]

Nope, this does not have to be true. There are plenty of schools that take research very seriously and understand that good science isn't done in a short little block. I have visited several schools - Yale, UPenn, University of Michigan, Pitt - where a good number of students I met were involved in research year-round. Certainly, it's a tough balance and students have to prioritize based on their current workload, but there culture of research is definitely there. At Yale, for example, I visited a coffee shop after my interview day and overheard several medical students chatting with other students or with their PI's about the research they were about to go and do during the afternoon. At least at the schools I have mentioned, my faculty interviewers have assured me that more than just a few students find time to be seriously involved in research and more than just a few students choose to pursue research during their MS1, MS2, and MS4 years. I've also asked this question of all my student interviewers and 3/4 times the student interviewing me was actively involved in research and has been since MS1.

I think that a critical component in a medical school that accommodates research is flexibility. At Michigan, you choose when you take your weekly quizzes. At UPenn, tests only come every few weeks so you can schedule research around studying over a longer period. Those are just some examples. I don't know as much about this program since I don't have an interview there, but graduates of the Harvard HST program have told me that plenty of students participate in research year-round there as well.

Bottom line: I think it does matter where you go to school for research. You want a school that has money for your research and money to fund you. You want to go to a school where the PIs are well funded and thus happy to take time to mentor students, even medical students. Plus, if you have a good idea about what you want to research, you certainly want to end up at a school that has a strong host of PIs who study the thing you are interested in.

I guess I have just gotten unlucky with meeting students who do research. Even at UMich (waitlisted so I'm not going anyways) I didn't meet anyone who did research during the year. Of the faculty I've asked, all have told me that students focus mainly on academics, and those that pursue research during the school year are the exception. Of course, I then get asked why I didn't apply MSTP if I'm so interested in research....

Yeah, Harvard HST fits into the Cleveland Clinic/Pitt PSTP category. Those are ideal places but tough to get into.

Well I guess that's good to know that there is time/opportunities to do research during the academic year.

 

[GoPelicans]

You can do meaningful research at any medical school. The research rankings are just a euphemism for prestige rankings.

 

[nemo123]

Well, beyond that, some schools also have protected research time during the third year. Mayo and Duke come to mind and Mayo has some selective time set aside for research during the first two years within the curriculum. Of course, they don't recommend that you do research for all of your selective time during the first two years, but it's possible to do it. When we asked the Dean at Mayo how involved students get involved in research, he said it depends on the student. He basically said that if someone emails him asking to do research with him during the first year, they will meet up, discuss possible projects, and make a long term plan to get that research up and running. But for most schools, I've seen that most students do research during the summer between M1 and M2 and if they're going into a harder-to-match speciality like optho or derm, they will take a year off to do research to improve their credentials (because often times the research they do between M1 and M2 isn't exactly the field they are trying to match into).

 

[IlDestriero]

Nope, this does not have to be true. There are plenty of schools that take research very seriously and understand that good science isn't done in a short little block. I have visited several schools - Yale, UPenn, University of Michigan, Pitt - where a good number of students I met were involved in research year-round. Certainly, it's a tough balance and students have to prioritize based on their current workload, but there culture of research is definitely there. At Yale, for example, I visited a coffee shop after my interview day and overheard several medical students chatting with other students or with their PI's about the research they were about to go and do during the afternoon. At least at the schools I have mentioned, my faculty interviewers have assured me that more than just a few students find time to be seriously involved in research and more than just a few students choose to pursue research during their MS1, MS2, and MS4 years. I've also asked this question of all my student interviewers and 3/4 times the student interviewing me was actively involved in research and has been since MS1.

I think that a critical component in a medical school that accommodates research is flexibility. At Michigan, you choose when you take your weekly quizzes. At UPenn, tests only come every few weeks so you can schedule research around studying over a longer period. Those are just some examples. I don't know as much about this program since I don't have an interview there, but graduates of the Harvard HST program have told me that plenty of students participate in research year-round there as well.

Bottom line: I think it does matter where you go to school for research. You want a school that has money for your research and money to fund you. You want to go to a school where the PIs are well funded and thus happy to take time to mentor students, even medical students. Plus, if you have a good idea about what you want to research, you certainly want to end up at a school that has a strong host of PIs who study the thing you are interested in.


Edit: When I ask about research, I specifically don't ask about the experiences of students who take extra time through a special program to do research. I am interested in the straightforward 4 year MD
Edit2: OP, I now realize that we both interviewed at Pitt and at Michigan...so I guess we just got very different students/faculty by chance.

This is true. I went to a research heavy school and there were many students that started a research project during or the summer after first year and continued through to graduation off and on. Obviously, they often has several presentations, posters, 3rd author papers, etc. Often one project leads to others as they get to know and trust your work. The advantage of a research heavy school is an abundance of projects and more opportunities that are fairly easy to obtain. Anyone can do case reports, etc. but that's not what the OP is referring to.