Importance of research experience?

[rowingrache09]

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I am a junior, planning on applying to D.O. schools this upcoming summer after I take the MCATS.

I did an REU (undergrad. research exp.) last summer, working on protein-protein interactions, and I'm wondering how valuable doing another research project this summer will be... will shadowing a D.O. and getting experience in a hospital make me more well rounded? Or do D.O. schools highly value laboratory skills?

Thanks for your thoughts everyone!

 

[DragonWell]

I am a junior, planning on applying to D.O. schools this upcoming summer after I take the MCATS.

I did an REU (undergrad. research exp.) last summer, working on protein-protein interactions, and I'm wondering how valuable doing another research project this summer will be... will shadowing a D.O. and getting experience in a hospital make me more well rounded? Or do D.O. schools highly value laboratory skills?

Thanks for your thoughts everyone!

Research experience can't hurt, but if you haven't done ANY shadowing, then definitely I would say do some. Most schools require a LOR from a doc, so building a relationship with someone through shadowing is a good way to take care of that as well as get a little more experience. I think you will find many DO students who were accepted with no research background, but few who have done no shadowing.

 

[tms2]

I am a junior, planning on applying to D.O. schools this upcoming summer after I take the MCATS.

I did an REU (undergrad. research exp.) last summer, working on protein-protein interactions, and I'm wondering how valuable doing another research project this summer will be... will shadowing a D.O. and getting experience in a hospital make me more well rounded? Or do D.O. schools highly value laboratory skills?

Thanks for your thoughts everyone!

you HAVE to shadow a D.O. because it looks good on your application, and more impotantly, you'll need a letter of recomendation from him/ her. Research is also important, although some schools do not ask about it on the interview.

 

[rowingrache09]

How much shadowing do people do? Is a couple times a week for a summer enough? Shadowing positions aren't paid, and I need to support myself! What is a typical # of hours that competative applicants have shadowed?

 

[MossPoh]

I'd say 50 hours is a pretty good number to start at overall. It isn't to unreasonable to expect more than that either. I don't know what admissions committees think, but I'd like to see an applicant invest more than a working week worth of time in a career they intend to spend an entire life in. No other way to really know whether it fits.

I'm a bit more than most people. I have well over 200+ hours. Once a year or so I do a week or two week stent and get in the hospital around 5 a.m. and leave around 8 or 9 p.m. I just bounce between docs....but my dad is a doc, so they all know me already.

 

[jpatzi]

Typically, you won't be asked "how many hours you shadowed." But, you should shadow a doctor enough to get a LOR. In a interview, they will ask you questions like "how was your shadowing experience" and things of the norm.

 

[RawkusMD]

On the interview trail, I've found that research experience can be a blessing and a curse. At one school, I was grilled about why I wanted to go into medicine instead of research, so I really had to separate myself from it. At another school, they seemed genuinely interested in the research I'm doing and wanted to know more about it. In any case, I think it's important that you have a strong understanding of the research you are doing, and aren't just peripherally involved in a project.

 

[JShineDoc]

Research experience really not as important as clinical experience for DO schools. A summer's worth of research is enough. I'd recommend getting some patient contact experience now. For example, seek part-time employment as an EKG tech or something along those lines that you dont need to actually go to school for.

 

[blahwhatever]

Maybe two hours a week would be good enough. It should be easy to squeeze in shadowing once a week while you do research. I would say continue the research, and just add that in. I'm sure not having a car or something would make things a bit harder.

 

[DadAndPreDOinMO]

Not to say that research isn't at all important, but for DO schools I don't think it is nearly as important as shadowing. I don't have any research published (but worked in many research groups for classes), however I have almost 300 hours shadowing and 2 LOR's from DO's. My interviewers were interested in my shadowing experiences, and none even mentioned research. That is my experience and of course, a combination of research and shadowing would be best.

 

[scpod]

....and I'm wondering how valuable doing another research project this summer will be....

Everyone has their own opinion, and here's mine:

When looking at strictly getting into school, then research isn't a requirement by any means. It may not even help at all at some DO schools. I really never did any. However, you may also want to look farther than just getting into medical school. When it comes time for residency, some specialties tend to pick people with research experience and publications to their credit. You'll want to do research while you are in medical school if you plan on any of those specialties. But, it's a lot harder to get into research in medical school if you don't already have experience in undergrad. So...in some instances, it can help considerably. Shadowing is probably a good thing to do, but I think that's mainly because you can use the doc for an LOR. Seriously, though, you really can't count that as clinical experience. Actual clinical experience, IMO, is probably better than shadowing for a while.

 

[KateGia]

How much shadowing do people do? Is a couple times a week for a summer enough? Shadowing positions aren't paid, and I need to support myself! What is a typical # of hours that competative applicants have shadowed?

Research will def help, but you already have that. If you need shadowing experience, and to be paid, look around at private practice offices in your area that has DOs at it and see if they have positions you would qualify for. My boyfriend worked in a Peds office and he did Histories, finger sticks, things like that. The other option is to work as a CNA in a hospital. This will give you great clinical experience, however you have to be really outgoing to get the doctors to notice you. I worked as a "TCA" which was basically a CNA who can draw blood and do EKGs for 4 years at a hospital. It REALLY helped my application (zero research, decent GPA, low MCAT, got into 4/6 schools I applied to). I asked to watch every procedure I could, and when I explained I was applying to med schools, the doctors were really receptive, and would give me a lesson on anything they did. I got to know one of the several of the DOs really well, and got an LOR out of it. I personally think it was better than shadowing because they were also seeing me interact with the patients, instead of just the other way around (unless you get a cool shadow that lets you do stuff). Also, I got paid for it! 🙂