How to choose what to do over the summer?

[Lannister]

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I'm an M1, and a few weeks ago we had "Summer Opportunities Week" where they basically told us to figure out what we want to do over the summer ASAP.
Right now I'm thinking research. I did a lot of volunteering in undergrad but minimal research, so I'd like to get more experience with research and see if it's something that I want to incorporate into my future career. Problem is, I have no clue what kind of doctor I want to be. I know research doesn't necessarily have to align with what specialty you eventually pursue, but my dilemma is that my two main interests are pathology and pediatrics. Obviously these are extremely different fields, and I'm worried that if I chose to do path research and end up applying for peds, it'll look super weird. Also, I don't even really know what pathology research would entail.
So I guess my question is, would applying to peds after doing path research look weird? And for anyone who has experience doing pathology research, what did you do?

 

[benjamin94559]

its pretty common for people to switch what they want to go into after the first summer so no i dont think itll be super weird

as for path research, alot of my experience was going back into patient reports and doing retroactive studies and revisiting slides

 

[FlowLimited]

This would not be weird at all. I spent the summer after MS1 helping with an adult cardiology clinical trial. It was a great experience and after medical school I went on to a pediatrics residency. I am now a pediatric pulmonology fellow.

A major reason to get involved with research as a medical student is to simply learn the research process and find out if it is something you enjoy and may want to continue as part of your medical career. Basic science research at a children's hospital is going to look an awful lot like basic science research anywhere else in terms of the techniques, the experimental design, the statistics, etc. There are parallels between adult and pediatric clinical research as well.

You've had one year of medical school and you have very little information on which to base your future choice of specialty. Nobody will fault you for doing research in one area even if you ultimately complete a residency in something else.

 

[Lannister]

This would not be weird at all. I spent the summer after MS1 helping with an adult cardiology clinical trial. It was a great experience and after medical school I went on to a pediatrics residency. I am now a pediatric pulmonology fellow.

A major reason to get involved with research as a medical student is to simply learn the research process and find out if it is something you enjoy and may want to continue as part of your medical career. Basic science research at a children's hospital is going to look an awful lot like basic science research anywhere else in terms of the techniques, the experimental design, the statistics, etc. There are parallels between adult and pediatric clinical research as well.

You've had one year of medical school and you have very little information on which to base your future choice of specialty. Nobody will fault you for doing research in one area even if you ultimately complete a residency in something else.

Thanks! This is good to hear. The only reason I'm worried about path research looking weird is because it might imply that I don't want to work with patients.


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[DrGoon]

I'm an M1, and a few weeks ago we had "Summer Opportunities Week" where they basically told us to figure out what we want to do over the summer ASAP.
Right now I'm thinking research. I did a lot of volunteering in undergrad but minimal research, so I'd like to get more experience with research and see if it's something that I want to incorporate into my future career. Problem is, I have no clue what kind of doctor I want to be. I know research doesn't necessarily have to align with what specialty you eventually pursue, but my dilemma is that my two main interests are pathology and pediatrics. Obviously these are extremely different fields, and I'm worried that if I chose to do path research and end up applying for peds, it'll look super weird. Also, I don't even really know what pathology research would entail.
So I guess my question is, would applying to peds after doing path research look weird? And for anyone who has experience doing pathology research, what did you do?

Im currently an M2, for what its worth, and I did research after my first year. I was in a similar situation and didnt really know what field I wanted to do. Im not sure if your school does this but at mine every research faculty member has a profile page on the hospitals website that outlines their past projects and current grants. I highly suggest you comb through as many of these pages as possible until something really jumps out at you. Thats what I did and absolutely loved the experience. It has without a doubt been the highlight of my time in med school.

Id say worry more about finding something that genuinely interests you instead of whether or not residency programs will like it. If you fall in love with the work, I think it will be more beneficial to you personally than just doing something because it sounds super flashy.

 

[bananafish94]

I'm currently doing research in one specialty that I'm interested in. I recently went to a lunch lecture on a field I knew exactly nothing about beforehand and was completely sold on it. That led me to have an existential crisis about the fact that there is a probably a plethora of fields that I would love that I don't know about, and that I can't gear my resume towards them in the first two years because I haven't discovered them yet. So it's comforting to know that the research process is more important than the actual specialty!

 

[OrangeOrange]

Thanks! This is good to hear. The only reason I'm worried about path research looking weird is because it might imply that I don't want to work with patients.


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Med students have done entire PhDs in fields they didn't end up practicing in. A summer of path research is not going to hurt you in the slightest!

 

[raiderette]

I am going to hope that my research counts regardless of eventual specialty. Hopefully my summer will not be wasted.

 

[Giovanotto]

But...what if you hate research, don't want to do it, and are really annoyed by the fact that PDs like to see research on your application?

 

[DrGoon]

But...what if you hate research, don't want to do it, and are really annoyed by the fact that PDs like to see research on your application?

I did research as an undergrad and hated it. I ended up giving it another try in med school, and it was a great experience. Look for a lab doing stuff that you think is cool. I was in a clinical psychology lab and loved it

 

[SansaStarkMD]

World peace, cure hunger, or anything other thing that looks good on paper but ultimately makes your life more miserable.

 

[SilveoDante]

World peace, cure hunger, or anything other thing that looks good on paper but ultimately makes your life more miserable.

Excellent. Introspective and honest.