How much weight does a clinical publication carry?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

MangoTea8

Full Member
5+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Messages
87
Reaction score
80
Hey everyone,

I was hoping to submit an update to schools (both pre and post II) about a publication I had accepted on which I am second author. It was basically a retrospective review of several hundred patients with a certain condition at our hospital. The paper highlights a newly found correlation that has not been explored before and was accepted by a solid journal (but not Nature or Science or anything crazy haha). From what I've read on here, a publication could be helpful in tipping the scales in an applicant's favor, but I am wondering if that mostly applies to basic science pubs? Do you think a retrospective study paper is worth submitting? If it matters at all, this is my first publication.

Thank you all for your help!

Members don't see this ad.
 
Clinical papers are good. But only if they're good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Members don't see this ad :)
They won't really care if it's basic science vs. clinical. What's more important is that you learned about the scientific method, applied it, and got a publishable result. The process is more important than the content, as long as it's in a peer-reviewed journal.
 
If it’s published in a predatory journal the it’s not good.
Thank you for answering. It definitely was published in a very legitimate journal, the main one for this particular field of medicine.
 
Reading multiple threads about this, having a pub puts you on above average in terms of research progress among applicants. Congratulations! Doesn't feel awesome when you see your research work gets published?

Although co-author it is a substantial achievement, but might not enough to be a "wow" factor for adcoms. It definitely doesn't make up for a subpar GPA or MCAT.
 
What's a "predatory journal"? I've never heard of that term before.

Basically a journal that isn’t a true journal, it’s usually just somebody in a foreign country generally who takes your money and then publishes the study, no matter what it says. It’s actually a biggish topic in research right now, give it a google and you’ll see a number of articles on it.
 
I definitely updated my schools on a clinical publication in a solid journal for which I was also a co-author. It didn't seem to make a difference most places as far as I could tell, but I was accepted to the school I now attend the day after my update (could be a total coincidence/ just the expression of interest on my part, but I'll take it!).

I completely agree about it being more about the process than the product. On my first interview I talked broadly about my research background and interests. However, for my second interview I printed out articles and figures I'd worked on and took my interviewers through what we'd learned. I'd worried this would seem a bit pretentious, but my interviewers at least seemed to get into it, and sometimes some nice figures are easier to engage with than just your "elevator pitch" of what your research is about (though ideally you're able to do this too).
 
Top