General How will name published in research paper affect application?

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lord999

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I am an older non-trad doing a DIY Post Bacc at a state university. I am taking the MCAT this summer and applying to medical schools as well. I have a PT job working in a research lab at the medical school where the PI is a Full Professor at the SOM and director of Clinical and Translational Research Program. His lab director, a PhD research scientist, is my boss. He is also an Assoc Professor at the SOM. Both will be writing letters for me for medical school applications.

I learned today from the director of the lab that he submitted a paper last week to a journal that discusses the molecular mechanism of x, y and z in what we are investigating. He told me he included my name on it. I completely froze. It took me aback. We had a long conversation about it, he said I was a member of the team, that I have worked very hard, have thrown myself into the research work and since he asked me to read the paper after he wrote it to edit errors, and I did quite a bit of the rewrites, he decided to add my name at the end of the paper without telling me. So it is not in the mast head or authors section, but it is somewhere at the end. It will be published this summer. He said he knows it will help me for medical school applications. Will it? I thought one’s name had to be in the authors area with the other authors for it to be noteworthy. Im not sure. Will this hold any sway in my medical school applications?
Yes, but it's just another consideration among others, though it clearly is positive. That is, unless you are applying for an MSTP (Medical Scientist Training Program for an MD/PhD), in which case, there is an expectation of a series of papers as you are evaluated for PhD training at the same time in most subjects. Now, if you can get a letter of recommendation from the PI that carries, that really helps. So, hard work gets somewhere, but productive hard work is rewarding, and you should continue in this trend.

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Did the PI actually mean at the end of the paper, as in the acknowledgements, or did he mean at the end of the author list?

In either case, it can be beneficial. It is something you can talk about during interviews and if it's an area of research interest, it could give you a stepping stone toward getting more research in that field.

At the very least, it will not hurt you by any means.
 
It sounds like you're describing an "Acknowledgement" of your contributions (which is usually mentioned at the end of a manuscript). Assuming it's accepted before you submit your Primary application, an Acknowledgement can be mentioned in your Research description on the med school application's Work/Activities section. You would not be able to list it as a Publication, if you are not a listed author. From all the positive comments about your work, it sounds like your LOR should be golden, and that, along with a clear description of your research role and insights, will be what will help you.
 
Adding to the above comment: every journal will have authorship rules. I think it's great that you probably will be included in the acknowledgements section. If you are included as an author, you would have likely had to sign some forms attesting that you qualify as an author. Does it help for medical school applications? Eh... not a real huge deal. But it does suggest your letter from him will be very positive.
 
So an acknowledgement is not a total loss. I will work harder in the lab in hopes my name can be placed in the authors section in future publications. My PI has authored over 500+ articles and he is publishing continuously. He is a very generous man who likes to teach students

Live and learn. Thanks so much for your help

An acknowledgement isn't a total loss, but an authorship isn't a golden ticket. It takes quite a bit of effort to expect being involved as an author with respect to proper intellectual contribution to the design and execution of an experiment, the theoretical context of understanding the meaning of the results to the larger field, and significant writing/editing of the final manuscript. If you're applying this summer, don't fret over it. In due time, when you get into medical school, you'll be better positioned to seek out those opportunities to contribute to research.
 
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