How can a med student squeeze time to do research?

[longhorn09]

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Hi all,


First of all, I'm a pre-med curious about the life in med school. I know (or I've heard that) med school's curriculum is harsh, and a med student's schedule is tight. I have also heard that doing research (and hopefully being able to publish) is critical for competitive residencies. So my question is, how a busy med student can squeeze time to do research? Do they usually do research in a "gap year", or they do it during the weekend, or some other time? Thanks.

 

[longhorn09]

Plus, in the first year, you want to adapt to the new environment,
in the second year, you want to prepare the board exam
in the 3rd year, you are busy doing rotation...

 

[Antibodies]

One way is to get a lot of it done during the summer (between 1st and 2nd year) and then take a few hours each week during the 2nd year to finish it up.

 

[Mr hawkings]

Hi all,


First of all, I'm a pre-med curious about the life in med school. I know (or I've heard that) med school's curriculum is harsh, and a med student's schedule is tight. I have also heard that doing research (and hopefully being able to publish) is critical for competitive residencies. So my question is, how a busy med student can squeeze time to do research? Do they usually do research in a "gap year", or they do it during the weekend, or some other time? Thanks.

1. I wouldnt call research critical. The #1 most important factor would be a good step 1 score. That follows you for the rest of your life and is the only thing i would describe as critical.
2. You should not do research just because you heard it will make you competetive. Its a miserable existence if you have no interest in it.
3. Contrary to what you hear on SND, it very hard to do an 8-week project over the summer that leads to a meaningful publication unless if you've done a lot of research in the past and dont need to be trained very much. Sure it happens but its no where near as common as it looks and sounds. If this is going to be the first time that you would be doing more than running, its unlikely that you would get anythng out of it other than experience and contacts.

Remember that people on SDN are a special subset of the medical student population so be careful about guaging what you think med school should be like based on what you read here.

 

[XRanger]

Most people will do their research the summer between 1st and 2nd year, and during their elective rotation 4th year. or you can also take a year off to do research.

 

[Mr hawkings]

One way is to get a lot of it done during the summer (between 1st and 2nd year) and then take a few hours each week during the 2nd year to finish it up.

Agreed. This is how most people do it.
There are also a few brave souls (i know one) who do a second summer of research after 2nd year while studying for step 1.

 

[longhorn09]

Thanks you all for your timely and insightful opinions =]

I have done some research during undergrad, while I am not so much into it, I don't hate it either.

I wonder, if the med school provides a 1 month research opportunity immediately before MS1, should I go for it?

 

[Mr hawkings]

Thanks you all for your timely and insightful opinions =]

I have done some research during undergrad, while I am not so much into it, I don't hate it either.

I wonder, if the med school provides a 1 month research opportunity immediately before MS1, should I go for it?

Do it only if you really love it. Dont do it cos you think it will give you a leg up 4 years from now.
Besides, everyone is going to tell you to enjoy the summer before you start. You dont need to start working on that residency app b4 you start med school

 

[drizzt3117]

Hi all,


First of all, I'm a pre-med curious about the life in med school. I know (or I've heard that) med school's curriculum is harsh, and a med student's schedule is tight. I have also heard that doing research (and hopefully being able to publish) is critical for competitive residencies. So my question is, how a busy med student can squeeze time to do research? Do they usually do research in a "gap year", or they do it during the weekend, or some other time? Thanks.

I posted extensively about this in a different post but you can also do research during the school year if you're good at tine management. I've done research throughout med school, admittedly it's been hard to find time as a m3...

 

[Encephalectomy]

Hi all,


First of all, I'm a pre-med curious about the life in med school. I know (or I've heard that) med school's curriculum is harsh, and a med student's schedule is tight. I have also heard that doing research (and hopefully being able to publish) is critical for competitive residencies. So my question is, how a busy med student can squeeze time to do research? Do they usually do research in a "gap year", or they do it during the weekend, or some other time? Thanks.

First off, I'd second what people say about not doing research just to do it, because if you don't have a strong interest in it it will be miserable. That said, don't believe the smoke that people will blow up your ass, if you want to match into a decent residency in a competitive specialty or a top tier academic residency in any field you will need research experience and preferably publications.

Doing research in medical school is definitely a challenge, and requires that you be honest with yourself and have good time management skills. First you need to honestly asses how well you are doing in your courses and how much time you need to learn the material. Research (even with pubs) <<<<<<<<< STEP 1 and knowing what you need to know to be a good doctor, so if you need all your time to learn the material/do other things you enjoy and need to do to stay sane, then you can't do research during the year and can do research during the summer if you want. However, I felt like MS1, while challenging, definitely left a fair amount of free time if you worked efficiently, leaving time for research if you want to do it (nights and weekends worked for me worked for me, but you could set it up however you wanted).

As someone who did both basic science research (first half of the year) and a chart review project (second half) during MS1, I really recommend that you do a chart review or some type of clinical research project and not basic science during the year. I was finishing up revisions from a paper that I submitted the summer before medical school in the fall and getting anything done at the bench is an absolute nightmare to do when you are in school. A chart based project on the other hand means that you can chip away at it anytime you have a couple hours free, plus you do actually learn a lot about what ever narrow clinical area you are researching in a chart based project.

If there is a research project that you are really excited about doing before school starts then go for it, otherwise enjoy yourself and rest up before school starts.

 

[TexasPhysician]

It definitely comes down to time management, but I did research all 4 years of medical school. I know others with poor time management who didn't have time for research at all though.

I was able to do research, school, and still date/have fun. So don't worry.

Stick with clinical research though. Bench is long, boring, and doesn't publish as often.