How would an English major get into research or publish a paper?

[medicomel]

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Hi guys,

I have a question that may or may not have been answered as of late. (Sorry if it was). Anyway, while volunteering the other day, I spoke to an M.D. that pretty much scared the bejeezus out of me, saying that having taken the pre-med requirements (+ biochemistry) is simply not enough to stand out from the rest of the applicant pool. She told me that I should publish a paper or do research.

Um, yeah, that would be a viable option for me if I had a B.S., but how could I go about participating in a research project or publishing a paper? At this time, I'm interested in gastroenterology, but I'm really not sure who to ask or how to even start.

In your experience, has cold-calling MDs, DOs, or PhDs worked in your favor, despite not having obtained a science degree? I will be shadowing a doctor in a few days and will ask him, but as of now I'm picking your brains.

Please help! 😕

 

[futuremsfdoc]

if i were you, i'd try to get involved in some english research while you're an undergrad. if you're really interested in the subject (which i'm assuming you are since it's your major) then doing research in that will certainly make you seem passionate about your field. of course you should continue doing health work at the same time, but it's not necessary to do research in a health field to get into med school.

if you do want to do medical reserach, you might have a bit of a tough time because of your major, but just talk to doctors and see if you can get involved in some stuff they're doing.

 

[Shonk]

I was an English major in college and I worked at a pain clinic and ended up co-authoring a published research paper on drug use among chronic pain sufferers. I actually found that my English background was very helpful to the other physicians when writing the paper, they had long forgotten sentence structures and general readability when writing.

Incidentally, being an English major was very popular during my interviews. Every interviewer wanted to talk about how that changed my perspective and played into my motivation to pursue medicine.

If you want to know about specific questions or conversations then just PM me.

 

[Farrah]

if i were you, i'd try to get involved in some english research while you're an undergrad. if you're really interested in the subject (which i'm assuming you are since it's your major) then doing research in that will certainly make you seem passionate about your field. of course you should continue doing health work at the same time, but it's not necessary to do research in a health field to get into med school.

if you do want to do medical reserach, you might have a bit of a tough time because of your major, but just talk to doctors and see if you can get involved in some stuff they're doing.

i'm an english major and i'm working on english research , i'm doing a thesis and some other work. try to get published in writing journals/ anthologies etc. get involved in a creative writing journal or if you are interested get involved in writing for a school paper/magaazine - from what i know med schools look highly upon english majors, but of course you have to have the grades. if you are going into research it has to be something that you are passionate about - adcoms will see through it if you just do some stuff that you aren't interested in. if u are really interested in gastroenterology or anything else contact the departments/ contact your university. talk to people already involved. ask about opportunities and do your background research. i'm currently doing cancer research and i did it by contacting people. if u make the effort and take the first step you'll eventually get your foot in the door.

 

[Hook17]

you(farrah) ignored my private message woman

 

[Farrah]

um, no i didn't...dude i sent u a message, maybe it didn't go through

 

[Hook17]

maybe so.. so where are you from

 

[perambulate]

Is there a thesis requirement/option for English majors at your school? If so, start there. Your research doesn't have to be published to be impressive. I was an English major in college and got into a top ten medical school. I wrote an honors English thesis and a couple other humanities research papers(via independent study credits in several departments), but none of it was formally published.

The important thing, I think, is for admissions committees to see that you have been *intrigued* enough by a specific topic to write a thoughtful, nuanced, and thorough paper on it (i.e., more than your standard 15-20 page college research paper)... because once you're in medical school and have a stronger scientific background, you're more likely to participate in meaningful medical research.

 

[dfleis]

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[medicomel]

Thanks for your replies, guys! To be clear, I'm actually a nontrad student and have completed my prereqs in a formal post-bac program. I'll be shadowing a family practice physician very soon, and I know he does work with addictions medicine (another interest of mine), and then a gastroenterologist soon after. I guess it never hurts to ask, right? And I'll definitely do my homework on said topics.

Thanks again! 🙂