Important of having research experience for academic EM and IM

[deleted436726]

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Through various clinical experiences, shadowing, the AAMC MSPI-R, and realizing early on through anatomy that I'm going to hate anything surgery- and scalpel-related, it seems EM (and maybe IM) are the fields I'm seriously considering. Summer is not too far away and I'm trying to decide what to do.

If my goal is to match at a decent (read: at least mid-tier) academic EM or IM program in a big city (NYC, Chicago, LA), how important would it be to have research experience in med school? Does research experience in college "count"? It seems that EM in general is much less concerned about having research experience than IM, but I was wondering if this is also true for "name brand" academic EM programs.

 

[Tenk]

Research in EM helps if you have something interesting or something you are passionate about. If not most people won't care. I was rarely asked about my research on the interview trail and I had multiple projects in med school.

EM is all about personality and board scores.

 

[235009]

I would say that research before med school "counts" if you demonstrate a continued interest in it during med school. Whether you NEED research to match at those at an academic IM program in a desirable location depends on the rest of your application. If you are top of the class and AOA then that might sway them on its own. These competitive program are increasingly looking for a track record of scholarly activity though.