I'm a solid candidate, except little/no research

[BearAttack]

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I'm an MS3 at a community-based med school in the Midwest, definitely planning to go into OB/Gyn. I'm applying for summer Sub-I electives right now, and so far, big name programs are showing interest!

But looking ahead to residency applications, I'm worried about my biggest weakness: lack of research. My application looks like this:

Step 1: >250
GPA 3.6 basic science/3.85 cumulative
Core clerkships: straight As/honors
Extracurriculars: founded a free clinic at my university
Pubs: 2 abstracts/posters for non-clinical stuff (qualitative educational stuff related to the free clinic)

Basically, I didn't do research in undergrad and I spent all my free time in med school starting this free clinic. While I loved my OB/Gyn rotation at a small community hospital, there was essentially no research going on there that I could join. I'm super proud of my work with the clinic and I know it is a great asset, but I feel like my ass is hanging out with a complete lack of research.

I'm planning to apply to big name programs, mostly because I want a residency with a Ryan program which, pretty much only exists at academic medical centers. I want to either stay in the Midwest or go back to the Pacific Northwest, where I'm from. I think I'm a solid candidate and I interview well. What do you think: will this be a problem for me (i.e., how hard should I work to drum up a research opportunity in the next 3 months?)

Thanks!

 

[22031 Alum]

First, some questions. Is that GPA from college, or does your med school do letter grades? If the former- they don't matter. If the latter, you're in great shape. And when you say you founded a free clinic, does that mean I could find related news releases with your name in them? And that in an interview, you could talk about the logistics of starting a clinic from nothing?

Now, re: research. If your research is related to teaching in the setting of the clinic, it is medical research, no matter what you may have been told. We have an entire organization/meeting devoted to research on "educational stuff-" APGO/CREOG. Additionally, experience with qualitative research is especially valued in the Family Planning world. I just got back from the ACOG annual meeting and every single poster session I attended had some qualitative and/or education-focused research being presented.

If you want to get involved in another project, by all means do so- for top programs it can only help. But don't throw together something sloppy for the sake of having more. The quality of your quantity will be noted. And whatever you do, don't say/imply in your app that your qualitative educational projects aren't "real research." It will come off as ignorance about the breadth of the medical research.

Overall it sounds like your app is strong. Kill Step 2 and your Sub-Is, apply smart and you should be fine. The midwest and PNW have enough programs to allow you to get a broad range.

Good luck!

 

[BearAttack]

Thanks 22031 Alum! To answer your questions:

Yes, my school still gives letter grades and that is my med school GPA.
Yes, if you google my name + "free clinic" you will find news stories, press releases and even a few photos of me. I could definitely talk your ear off for hours about logistics and practice management.

Your comments are incredibly helpful. I appreciate hearing that my research "counts". It was certainly meaningful to me, but I wasn't sure how it fit into what residencies are looking for.

I guess I will still keep an ear out for research opportunities in the next few months while I am on my Sub-Is, but I won't sweat it and I won't go out of my way to attach myself to a low-yield project just for the sake of getting a pub. I was never interested in grubbing for publications anyway, so I'm glad to hear I don't need to start now.

Thanks again!

 

[anonperson]

You should be fine. OB GYN program directors in general don't value research as much as other specialties like rad onc etc. Your extra curricular experience should be fine. Your step 1 score and honors in your third year rotations should get you interview at the major mid west programs (Northwestern, OSU, IU, etc) without any major issues.

 

[DermatoFIGHT]

I know of someone that can help you get a peer-reviewed publication if you want message me and I will pass along their info. They are an associate editor of a journal and get things our rather fast.