I Don't Want to do Research

[DocConk]

When I think of myself as a doctor, I picture my days being full of seeing clinic patients and perhaps performing operations, and of course, tons of documenting. What I don't picture is a day full of being in a lab, testing various hypotheses.

However...

I know that there's a considerable amount of "playing the game" that we all must undertake as pre-med students (gathering the desirable EC's). I've done all of those things, except for research, because I really don't want to do it. I'd rather spend time with the various other organizations that I take part in.

(Note: I have tremendous respect for research and even enjoy reading journals in Scientific American that pertain to different research discoveries, I just don't want to do it myself.)

However...

I realize that research is important, and I'll probably gain some experience in that avenue this year, with my former Organic Chemistry professor (I don't know, I dominated O. Chem last year and already have a relationship with this guy).

I'll be a junior this fall and will apply next year, so this will give me around a year of research experience and I highly doubt that I will be apart of any pubs (Man, I've got a sour attitude about this.)

So basically, I'm going to do this even though I really don't want to, and it is a box-checking strategy in every sense of the word. In an interview, I'm sure I'll be able to talk about it enthusiastically, and heck, perhaps I'll even enjoy it and this thread will have been useless.

Apart from research, I think I'll have a shot at MD if my MCAT checks out next year. It'll be MCAT2015.

ANYWAYS,
I want to ask you fine folks if you think this year of research would be worth my time, or should I stick to things I'm actually passionate about? (Please don't lecture me on how ADCOM's will know if I did the research as a box-checking maneuver, because if I truly hate my experience, I'll find a way to sound jazzed about it in an interview setting.)

(I realize that DO doesn't emphasize research nearly as much as MD, but my dream school is my state school, and that's allopathic. Stupidly, I would resent having to tell people how DO=MD, even though it's by and large the truth. Side-note: My hometown's family DO's have higher ratings on surveys than do the family MD's, in terms of patient satisfaction... For whatever that's worth.)

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[looncat]

I think a year of research is definitely worth your time, even if it's something you hate. Most schools list having 70%+ students as having research, so clearly it's a plus. I also don't think not being published is a problem; you shouldn't be sour about it, that's actually something students rarely have.

 

[dr.sartorius]

Don't waste time doing things you don't enjoy. Find research that you actually would enjoy doing, or find another EC you would love to do. You'll end up miserable and wasting your time.

 

[singergirl18]

Even if you hate it, try and last a semester.

 

[DocConk]

I love SDN.. You people are great. Thanks. Keep 'em coming, you lurkers out there!

 

[hoihaie]

if you've never tried it how do you know you won't like it?

but if you're deadset on not doing it, you better be super heavily involved with community service and such. you don't need research to get in med school, but you prob need to do something to compensate for that lack of research

 

[looncat]

I also want to add that I started out in my lab merely wanting to box check, but now I actually really like it and will continue until I graduate. So you never know!

 

[smpbound]

You don't want to work in a lab? Then don't work in a lab. First world problems.

 

[infinitessimal]

It doesn't have to be bench research... I did research with residents at the hospital where I volunteered, it was clinical and I had a large role in hypothesis development, result interpretation, etc. Even ended up as one of the first three authors in the publication. It could even be original research for your senior thesis.

 

[singergirl18]

It doesn't have to be bench research... I did research with residents at the hospital where I volunteered, it was clinical and I had a large role in hypothesis development, result interpretation, etc. Even ended up as one of the first three authors in the publication. It could even be original research for your senior thesis.

THAT sounds AWESOME!

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Don't do research if you know you're gonna hate it. I have posted multiple times in this forum that I don't have any research experience on my AMCAS, and I'm still applying to 22 MD schools. Do the EC's that you LOVE. I have a true passion for service, so I stuck with APO, the national service fraternity. I did a ton of community service, became close friends with awesome people, and held various leadership roles within my chapter as well. I am not doing research during my gap year; I am being an ER scribe instead because clinical experience trumps research in terms of priority of "medical school admissions requirements."

 

[DocConk]

It doesn't have to be bench research... I did research with residents at the hospital where I volunteered, it was clinical and I had a large role in hypothesis development, result interpretation, etc. Even ended up as one of the first three authors in the publication. It could even be original research for your senior thesis.

This just stimulated my mind... So did you gather data on the lifestyles of the residents, time spent performing their various duties, or what, if you don't mind?

 

[singergirl18]

Don't do research if you know you're gonna hate it. I have posted multiple times in this forum that I don't have any research experience on my AMCAS, and I'm still applying to 22 MD schools. Do the EC's that you LOVE. I have a true passion for service, so I stuck with APO, the national service fraternity. I did a ton of community service, became close friends with awesome people, and held various leadership roles within my chapter as well. I am not doing research during my gap year; I am being an ER scribe instead because clinical experience trumps research in terms of priority of "medical school admissions requirements."

That, too, sounds awesome! Good luck this cycle!

 

[DocConk]

Don't do research if you know you're gonna hate it. I have posted multiple times in this forum that I don't have any research experience on my AMCAS, and I'm still applying to 22 MD schools. Do the EC's that you LOVE. I have a true passion for service, so I stuck with APO, the national service fraternity. I did a ton of community service, became close friends with awesome people, and held various leadership roles within my chapter as well. I am not doing research during my gap year; I am being an ER scribe instead because clinical experience trumps research in terms of priority of "medical school admissions requirements."

I agree with that last bit about clinical experience! I'm currently working a night-shift at my hospital (things aren't busy at the moment, lol). Anyways, thanks for the words! I feel like MCAT is the great decider, anyways.

 

[singergirl18]

I agree with that last bit about clinical experience! I'm currently working a night-shift at my hospital (things aren't busy at the moment, lol). Anyways, thanks for the words! I feel like MCAT is the great decider, anyways.

I WORK NIGHT SHIFT TOO! WHAT DO YOU DO?
Sorry but you're the first person I've met on SDN who is also a nightshifter which excites me.

 

[DocConk]

I WORK NIGHT SHIFT TOO! WHAT DO YOU DO?
Sorry but you're the first person I've met on SDN who is also a nightshifter which excites me.

Haha, I'm a CNA at a small, regional hospital in my hometown! It's nice because I see a ton of diversity in patients, ranging from cancers to alcohol detox, ha, with mostly everything in between. It's still CNA work though, which can be gnarly. What do you do?!

 

[singergirl18]

I used to be a nursing assistant in Colorectal Surgery, and now I'm a tech in the CICU (which is maybe half a step higher...one more dollar an hr). I don't have a CNA, but I have my EMT which got my foot in the door. I think my hospital experiences have been much more valuable than my classes. I've learned so much about LIFE in general. When I did that research, I took the semester off from pt care. Huge mistake IMO.

Haha, I'm a CNA at a small, regional hospital in my hometown! It's nice because I see a ton of diversity in patients, ranging from cancers to alcohol detox, ha, with mostly everything in between. It's still CNA work though, which can be gnarly. What do you do?!

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Yo, I'm also a nightshifter. Half my shifts next month are overnight 8:30pm-4:30am or 9pm-6am.

Also, I actually did "try out" bench research for like 2 months during last summer. The project was boring as hell, the lab was new so there was nothing to do, and my PI was not patient with training me and also extremely rude and condescending, criticizing me for not knowing anything about lab techniques or protocol or even thinking like a researcher WHEN I HAD NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE. I'm sorry, but my experience with him has soured me from (bench) research entirely.

So yes, SDNers, I lied when I said I have no research experience. But it was a waste of my time and an overall ****ty experience, so I "forgot" about it and left it off my AMCAS. No one's perfect, but I'll be damned if having no research experience is the one thing that keeps me from getting accepted this cycle. I greatly dislike the premed arms race making everyone do things they hate or have no interest in doing other than buffing their apps.

 

[singergirl18]

Yo, I'm also a nightshifter. Half my shifts next month are overnight 8:30pm-4:30am or 9pm-6am.

Also, I actually did "try out" bench research for like 2 months during last summer. The project was boring as hell, the lab was new so there was nothing to do, and my PI was not patient with training me and also extremely rude and condescending, criticizing me for not knowing anything about lab techniques or protocol or even thinking like a researcher WHEN I HAD NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE. I'm sorry, but my experience with him has soured me from (bench) research entirely.

🙂

 

[Ace Khalifa]

HA. If I didn't know any better, I'd say we were in the same lab. I wrongly psyched myself out and thought I was horrible in lab settings, and then I got an award in Analytical Chem which is the finickiest lab setting ever so I like to think the bad lab experience wasn't just me.

Hey, at least you got something nice out of it. I'm not averse to doing research in medical school because to be a competitive candidate for residency programs, your application needs considerable research experience in the specialty you're applying for (in addition to high step 1 score, honors in all 3rd year rotations, outstanding LOR's, kickass PS, AOA, and other EC's that you're passionate about).

 

[singergirl18]

Hey, at least you got something nice out of it. I'm not averse to doing research in medical school because to be a competitive candidate for residency programs, your application needs considerable research experience in the specialty you're applying for (in addition to high step 1 score, honors in all 3rd year rotations, outstanding LOR's, kickass PS, AOA, and other EC's that you're passionate about).

I feel the same way, and I think I would like clinical research much much much more than chemistry research.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

I feel the same way, and I think I would like clinical research much much much more than chemistry research (as much as I love chemistry, that experience was a total nightmare :/).

I hear ya on that. I just wanna be able to fit in community service and ortho research (specialty I want the most right now, could change later) every week along with the required class time and absurd hours of studying while I'm in med school.

 

[DocConk]

I used to be a nursing assistant in Colorectal Surgery, and now I'm a tech in the CICU (which is maybe half a step higher...one more dollar an hr). I don't have a CNA, but I have my EMT which got my foot in the door. I think my hospital experiences have been much more valuable than my classes. I've learned so much about LIFE in general. When I did that research, I took the semester off from pt care. Huge mistake IMO.

Nice! That definitely sounds interesting! EMT was something I was interested in.. Circumstances led me to this job though! Yes, I credit my GPA to becoming a nursing assistant because without the experiences with patients, I'd have no idea how much I truly want to become a physician. I can't see myself doing anything else. It changed my work ethic and it makes me appreciate my good health.

My most favorite aspect of the job is going into patient rooms with docs on their rounds.. I'm basically just creeping the whole time but it's fun to see the interactions.

Yo, I'm also a nightshifter. Half my shifts next month are overnight 8:30pm-4:30am or 9pm-6am.

Also, I actually did "try out" bench research for like 2 months during last summer. The project was boring as hell, the lab was new so there was nothing to do, and my PI was not patient with training me and also extremely rude and condescending, criticizing me for not knowing anything about lab techniques or protocol or even thinking like a researcher WHEN I HAD NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE. I'm sorry, but my experience with him has soured me from (bench) research entirely.

So yes, SDNers, I lied when I said I have no research experience. But it was a waste of my time and an overall ****ty experience, so I "forgot" about it and left it off my AMCAS. No one's perfect, but I'll be damned if having no research experience is the one thing that keeps me from getting accepted this cycle. I greatly dislike the premed arms race making everyone do things they hate or have no interest in doing other than buffing their apps.

A fellow night-shifter! Nice to meet you Sir.

Ah, that sounds terrible. I enjoy organic chemistry so I think I could maybe end up reflecting positively on my experiences doing that! Good luck, and I'll be anticipating news on your application! Yes, yes, YES. Us pre-meds do this to ourselves. WE are the reason we have to do so much to get an acceptance. But it is what it is.

 

[infinitessimal]

This just stimulated my mind... So did you gather data on the lifestyles of the residents, time spent performing their various duties, or what, if you don't mind?

Haha, I meant I did research with a resident as my PI, and it had to do with risk factors for a certain disease. But it was super interesting - I familiarized myself with patient charts, the function and treatment of this common disease, and saw our work directly applied to how treatment plans were made. But if you wanna go lifestyle, this other resident + volunteer team did research about how surgical residents feel about robots in surgery. It basically entailed sending out a survey and following them around in robotics training/observing what the residents scrubbing in actually do in a robotics surgery, then compiling a pros and cons of robotics in general. We all presented at some conferences. So, tons of options!

 

[What's Up Doc]

You should just do it! If you're really trying to get into a specific school, you really don't want anything on your app (or anything not on your app) that could hold you back, since med school admissions are basically a crapshoot. Like some other posters said, you might like it, and there are a ton of different types of research available. If you hate it, it'll be over soon and you'll still have gained some valuable experience and significantly increased your chances at getting into med school. And ya never know, you could get an incredible LOR out of it that could further help your application.

 

[DocConk]

Haha, I meant I did research with a resident as my PI, and it had to do with risk factors for a certain disease. But it was super interesting - I familiarized myself with patient charts, the function and treatment of this common disease, and saw our work directly applied to how treatment plans were made. But if you wanna go lifestyle, this other resident + volunteer team did research about how surgical residents feel about robots in surgery. It basically entailed sending out a survey and following them around in robotics training/observing what the residents scrubbing in actually do in a robotics surgery, then compiling a pros and cons of robotics in general. We all presented at some conferences. So, tons of options!

Now this sounds like something that would be interesting to me!
Thanks

 

[Law2Doc]

These posts crack me up. You guys do realize that most medical research has nothing to do with a lab, don't you? Most physicians do clinical research or chart research. You work in the hospital, not the lab, and in conjunction with your hospital work, you might study some aspects of the practice. Maybe compare results of various medications or treatment algorithms. Review patient charts to see if patients with certain stats do better with certain treatments or if certain findings are more prevalent in certain circumstances. See if a certain test or study can answer a particular clinical question better then a control. And then publish and present your findings. Maybe get to go to national meeting someplace. You never need to wash a test tube or pipette anything.

In my experience most people on SDN who say they don't want to do research and then mention the word "lab" simply don't get that that isn't what most research in medicine is all about. Sure that has a place too, but that's not what most of the publications and posters in medicine involve.

 

[swolebrah]

These posts crack me up. You guys do realize that most medical research has nothing to do with a lab, don't you? Most physicians do clinical research or chart research. You work in the hospital, not the lab, and in conjunction with your hospital work, you might study some aspects of the practice. Maybe compare results of various medications or treatment algorithms. Review patient charts to see if patients with certain stats do better with certain treatments or if certain findings are more prevalent in certain circumstances. See if a certain test or study can answer a particular clinical question better then a control. And then publish and present your findings. Maybe get to go to national meeting someplace. You never need to wash a test tube or pipette anything.

In my experience most people on SDN who say they don't want to do research and then mention the word "lab" simply don't get that that isn't what most research in medicine is all about. Sure that has a place too, but that's not what most of the publications and posters in medicine involve.

What would be the best way to reach out to physicians to be involved with clinical research as a undergraduate? My view is that, most UG do bench research because the PI at their institutions allow UG to be involved with research. I highly doubt a MD/PHD would want a UG assisting them in research. I may be wrong, but could you please elaborate.

 

[FutureOncologist]

Reading this made me realize that you're trying harder to convince yourself to do it just for the MD. The greatest advice that I was given was that you don't need research. If you don't want to be a doctor in a lab setting, (I know I don't) then don't do it. The only reason I did research was because a professor referred me to the Pharmacy dept. to do research on cancer and drug effectiveness. That is something that I found worth while and pursued it. I even got credits for all the hours that I put in.

OP, just don't. Not every medical school is looking for research. One that I applied to rejected me because I focused too much on research and didn't do enough shadowing. But if there is a chance to do something that you find definitely interesting, pursue the hell out of it. You get more than that checkbox that says "I did research", you also meet great people and great instructors that can write you a glowing LOR, as well as a possible new passion.

 

[What's Up Doc]

Reading this made me realize that you're trying harder to convince yourself to do it just for the MD. The greatest advice that I was given was that you don't need research. If you don't want to be a doctor in a lab setting, (I know I don't) then don't do it. The only reason I did research was because a professor referred me to the Pharmacy dept. to do research on cancer and drug effectiveness. That is something that I found worth while and pursued it. I even got credits for all the hours that I put in.

OP, just don't. Not every medical school is looking for research. One that I applied to rejected me because I focused too much on research and didn't do enough shadowing. But if there is a chance to do something that you find definitely interesting, pursue the hell out of it. You get more than that checkbox that says "I did research", you also meet great people and great instructors that can write you a glowing LOR, as well as a possible new passion.

No they didn't. They rejected you because you didn't do enough shadowing (and maybe other reasons). I'm sure if you had done a ton of shadowing alongside a ton of research, the research wouldn't have held you back. Why in the world would any school reject an applicant for having done too much research? If, however, you're saying that doing so much research didn't leave time for other extracurriculars like shadowing, then I guess I can see what you're saying, but in all honesty, it's really not that difficult to make a few hours each week free for shadowing.

 

[DermViser]

These posts crack me up. You guys do realize that most medical research has nothing to do with a lab, don't you? Most physicians do clinical research or chart research. You work in the hospital, not the lab, and in conjunction with your hospital work, you might study some aspects of the practice. Maybe compare results of various medications or treatment algorithms. Review patient charts to see if patients with certain stats do better with certain treatments or if certain findings are more prevalent in certain circumstances. See if a certain test or study can answer a particular clinical question better then a control. And then publish and present your findings. Maybe get to go to national meeting someplace. You never need to wash a test tube or pipette anything.

In my experience most people on SDN who say they don't want to do research and then mention the word "lab" simply don't get that that isn't what most research in medicine is all about. Sure that has a place too, but that's not what most of the publications and posters in medicine involve.

Exactly. Clinical research is what research in medicine is. It's a good skill to learn bc you'll be doing it in med school and even in residency as a requirement to graduate.

 

[aegistitan]

What would be the best way to reach out to physicians to be involved with clinical research as a undergraduate? My view is that, most UG do bench research because the PI at their institutions allow UG to be involved with research. I highly doubt a MD/PHD would want a UG assisting them in research. I may be wrong, but could you please elaborate.

I'm interested in the answer to this question too. Could anybody elaborate as to how to approach this? Should we email med students/residents affiliated with our school's medical school?

 

[Lamel]

Might as well do it for a semester with your O-chem teacher to at least check it off. 1 semester is enough to get your feet wet, unless you want to aim for top tiers, in which case 1 academic year will be fine.

Doing it for a semester and then saying "I experienced it, but I don't want to focus on it" gives a lot more credence to your story than just saying you don't want to do it without ever having experienced it.

 

[theseeker4]

When I think of myself as a doctor, I picture my days being full of seeing clinic patients and perhaps performing operations, and of course, tons of documenting. What I don't picture is a day full of being in a lab, testing various hypotheses.

However...

I know that there's a considerable amount of "playing the game" that we all must undertake as pre-med students (gathering the desirable EC's). I've done all of those things, except for research, because I really don't want to do it. I'd rather spend time with the various other organizations that I take part in.

(Note: I have tremendous respect for research and even enjoy reading journals in Scientific American that pertain to different research discoveries, I just don't want to do it myself.)

However...

I realize that research is important, and I'll probably gain some experience in that avenue this year, with my former Organic Chemistry professor (I don't know, I dominated O. Chem last year and already have a relationship with this guy).

I'll be a junior this fall and will apply next year, so this will give me around a year of research experience and I highly doubt that I will be apart of any pubs (Man, I've got a sour attitude about this.)

So basically, I'm going to do this even though I really don't want to, and it is a box-checking strategy in every sense of the word. In an interview, I'm sure I'll be able to talk about it enthusiastically, and heck, perhaps I'll even enjoy it and this thread will have been useless.

Apart from research, I think I'll have a shot at MD if my MCAT checks out next year. It'll be MCAT2015.

ANYWAYS,
I want to ask you fine folks if you think this year of research would be worth my time, or should I stick to things I'm actually passionate about? (Please don't lecture me on how ADCOM's will know if I did the research as a box-checking maneuver, because if I truly hate my experience, I'll find a way to sound jazzed about it in an interview setting.)

(I realize that DO doesn't emphasize research nearly as much as MD, but my dream school is my state school, and that's allopathic. Stupidly, I would resent having to tell people how DO=MD, even though it's by and large the truth. Side-note: My hometown's family DO's have higher ratings on surveys than do the family MD's, in terms of patient satisfaction... For whatever that's worth.)

Research is not necessary for most MD schools. Yes, it is a plus everywhere, but a lack would only be an application-killer at top research schools, or MD/PhD programs, neither of which I imagine you are interested in if you have no desire to conduct research yourself.

 

[mimelim]

What would be the best way to reach out to physicians to be involved with clinical research as a undergraduate? My view is that, most UG do bench research because the PI at their institutions allow UG to be involved with research. I highly doubt a MD/PHD would want a UG assisting them in research. I may be wrong, but could you please elaborate.

I'm interested in the answer to this question too. Could anybody elaborate as to how to approach this? Should we email med students/residents affiliated with our school's medical school?

I have two pre-meds working with me. One is going to be a Freshman next year, the other a Junior. The younger of the two has been shadowing one of our surgeons for a year or so off and on and asked if he could get involved. He just finished a case report (first author) and is helping with two large (50-60 pt) case series (most likely second vs. third author). He does mostly 'manual labor' like organizing the databases and small programming edits to the software several of us write, but has just started learning how to read op notes and parse out what is going on. He has been reading non-stop wikipedia -> uptodate -> Rutherfords -> Journal articles to get the knowledge base to be able to contribute on things. The Junior has been on and off with us for a little under a year. Has a couple of case reports (first author) and has been working with some of our imaging projects, dynaCT/MR, robotics etc. To be honest, since I don't really do that stuff, I don't really know what he does day in day out with them. My understand is that he got in touch with us via one of the residents.

 

[swolebrah]

I have two pre-meds working with me. One is going to be a Freshman next year, the other a Junior. The younger of the two has been shadowing one of our surgeons for a year or so off and on and asked if he could get involved. He just finished a case report (first author) and is helping with two large (50-60 pt) case series (most likely second vs. third author). He does mostly 'manual labor' like organizing the databases and small programming edits to the software several of us write, but has just started learning how to read op notes and parse out what is going on. He has been reading non-stop wikipedia -> uptodate -> Rutherfords -> Journal articles to get the knowledge base to be able to contribute on things. The Junior has been on and off with us for a little under a year. Has a couple of case reports (first author) and has been working with some of our imaging projects, dynaCT/MR, robotics etc. To be honest, since I don't really do that stuff, I don't really know what he does day in day out with them. My understand is that he got in touch with us via one of the residents.

Thanks for the advice and information. Looking into getting some good clinical research in before the end of my junior year. I assume to get a good base knowledge on a prospective topic of research it would be a good method to start using wikipedia, uptodate, and journal articles? I am not familiar with any of the legit research database or articles, but I feel like I would have a much better chance to land a clinical research opportunity if I read up before hand.

Would you recommend any other website as well ?

 

[mimelim]

Thanks for the advice and information. Looking into getting some good clinical research in before the end of my junior year. I assume to get a good base knowledge on a prospective topic of research it would be a good method to start using wikipedia, uptodate, and journal articles? I am not familiar with any of the legit research database or articles, but I feel like I would have a much better chance to land a clinical research opportunity if I read up before hand.

Would you recommend any other website as well ?

You can't really "pre-read". Most things that people are working on are very specific and unless you have a general area you are looking to get into, there isn't much you can read to get on top of things. I would have a cursory knowledge (Wikipedia level) before you approach anyone to ask about working with them, but going for more than that is most likely a waste of time. The best way to get involved is through people. Current med students, residents and attendings are your best bet. It may also take some digging. Places that have dedicated research residents are a good place to start. Places with a history of taking on students are another.

I don't think most people need more than what is on uptodate. It is extremely complete for basic overviews. It is also very expensive (we just access from the hospital and download PDFs or print them). I also would never expect a pre-med to be able to find appropriate journal articles on a topic, especially starting out. It takes a lot of practice and foundation to do good literature searches. I have bundles of journal articles for people to look at when they start working with us.

 

[swolebrah]

You can't really "pre-read". Most things that people are working on are very specific and unless you have a general area you are looking to get into, there isn't much you can read to get on top of things. I would have a cursory knowledge (Wikipedia level) before you approach anyone to ask about working with them, but going for more than that is most likely a waste of time. The best way to get involved is through people. Current med students, residents and attendings are your best bet. It may also take some digging. Places that have dedicated research residents are a good place to start. Places with a history of taking on students are another.

I don't think most people need more than what is on uptodate. It is extremely complete for basic overviews. It is also very expensive (we just access from the hospital and download PDFs or print them). I also would never expect a pre-med to be able to find appropriate journal articles on a topic, especially starting out. It takes a lot of practice and foundation to do good literature searches. I have bundles of journal articles for people to look at when they start working with us.

Thanks, so it basically boils down on how well you are able to network and some hard work!

 

[FutureOncologist]

No they didn't. They rejected you because you didn't do enough shadowing (and maybe other reasons). I'm sure if you had done a ton of shadowing alongside a ton of research, the research wouldn't have held you back. Why in the world would any school reject an applicant for having done too much research? If, however, you're saying that doing so much research didn't leave time for other extracurriculars like shadowing, then I guess I can see what you're saying, but in all honesty, it's really not that difficult to make a few hours each week free for shadowing.

It was the latter. I focused some free time on research and other time was on keeping up with the clubs and societies that I was a part of (going to meetings, doing community service, if I held leadership positions then I spent time planning months ahead of time). Also, the only shadowing I got was during the summers when I volunteered and almost begged for shadowing (clinical and surgical). I don't have any family in the health care field and not knowing anyone really, really sets you back on getting some shadowing hours.

 

[What's Up Doc]

It was the latter. I focused some free time on research and other time was on keeping up with the clubs and societies that I was a part of (going to meetings, doing community service, if I held leadership positions then I spent time planning months ahead of time). Also, the only shadowing I got was during the summers when I volunteered and almost begged for shadowing (clinical and surgical). I don't have any family in the health care field and not knowing anyone really, really sets you back on getting some shadowing hours.

Cold calling doctors or contacting the HR department of hospitals/clinics has actually been pretty effective for me, I don't really know anyone in the health care field but I've been able to find quite a few opportunities to shadow. Maybe I've just been lucky though.

 

[KnuxNole]

Don't do research if you don't want to. I hate all types of research(the clinical research stuff Law2Doc mentions makes me queasy as ****).