How easy is it to do research in med school?

[DOwnage]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm not exactly the most research oriented guy in undergrad especially since I'm not a science major. Everybody makes it sound like you need to be involved with research if you want to do anything beyond primary care...not sure if that's just SDN's attitude or if that's an accurate reflection of the truth.

For the sake of argument, let's say that it is the truth...how easy is it to get some quality research that actually does something positive for your resume during medical school?

 

[DrYoda]

Many people use the summer between M1 and M2 to do research. If you're motivated and able to manage your time well you can do it during M1 and M2. Some schools also have a research elective you can do during the clinical years.

 

[DOwnage]

How is the research structured? Do you do it in a team with a bunch of classmates, is there a professor in charge, etc. ?

How common is it to get research published since that appears to be something that residencies favor?

How relevant does the research have to be to the residency you seek? ie. Do you have to do cardiology research if you plan for cardiology, or will research in anesthesia work as well? In other words, is research experience more important than the actual research itself?

 

[DrYoda]

How is the research structured? Do you do it in a team with a bunch of classmates, is there a professor in charge, etc. ?

You will be working under a prof. I'm not sure about the working on a team part. I'm the only one working on the project I'm doing this summer, but it might be different in different labs.

How common is it to get research published since that appears to be something that residencies favor?

I'm not sure how common it is, but most people do not publish.

How relevant does the research have to be to the residency you seek? ie. Do you have to do cardiology research if you plan for cardiology, or will research in anesthesia work as well? In other words, is research experience more important than the actual research itself?

Research is better than no research. But if you know what you want to do, research in your chosen field looks best when applying for residency.

 

[DOwnage]

Great info, I really appreciate it.

Now how hard would you say it is to jump into med school level research if you don't have any undergrad research experience under your belt?

and if I plan on fitting in time for research as an undergrad, does any of that research help your resume when applying for residencies? and does published vs unpublished make a difference when it comes to this undergrad research?

 

[DrYoda]

Great info, I really appreciate it.

Now how hard would you say it is to jump into med school level research if you don't have any undergrad research experience under your belt?

and if I plan on fitting in time for research as an undergrad, does any of that research help your resume when applying for residencies? and does published vs unpublished make a difference when it comes to this undergrad research?

I think having prior research experience does make you more desirable to labs when you apply for research spots. But I don't think it's too hard to jump into in med school with no experience, quite a few people do research unrelated to their undergrad research anyways.

Publications from undergrad are something you would put down. I'm not sure about non-published research experience (I'm only a M1 so I haven't looked at this stuff too closely yet).