I am in my M1 summer and currently doing research in a field Im not totally in love with due to covid messing up my previous plans. I know competitive specialties tend to look for research specifically in their field but I am undecided which field I want to go into. Im currently doing vascular research but am more interested in ortho, plastics, and IR (among others less competitive). We can't do shadowing now so its hard for me to try and narrow down my interests at this time and who knows about the future. With being interested in a couple competitive specialties, whats the best way to decide which projects to work on?
i was actually wondering the same thing. Well, ARE there several projects you can choose from? Because if not, anything is better than nothing.
The person whom i asked the same question (fellow) said that 1) if you are SURE about one particular specialty, try to do research in that. But Understand that if you change your mind during 3rd or 4th year rotations it might look a bit weird that you have 4-5 research projects in OB/GYN, for example, and then suddenly apply for ortho. 2) If you are NOT too sure, keeping it diverse is fine! It shows that you are versatile, have broad interests and are exploring.
Also, understand that projects do not have to sound exactly like your specialty. For example, your vascular research is kind of applicable to all those fields in a way, you know? I did research in gliomas (immunohistochemical markers of gliomas), - that is applicable to pathology, neurology, neurosurgery. You get my point.
that person also told me that sometimes it is better to take the project you love, even if it is not directly in your field, because you will be more excited, and you will push it further. Plus medical school is full of things you are REQUIRED and EXPECTED to do. Get the project that makes you happy, gets you excited, that you cannot wait to get into!
