Incoming MS1 needs some research advice

[thegreengreatdragon]

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Hey guys, I posted a similar question in the class-specific forum by accident earlier (oops), so sorry if this is redundant for some of you. I just wanted some more input is all. And I figure maybe I should explain the situation a bit better.

I am attending my UG school for medical school, and while I don't want to stay in my UG lab, there is another PI who I've worked with who I'd love to work under. It's a metabolomics lab, and they mostly do GI research. The work they do is super cool, and metabolomics is an awesome up-and-coming field with a lot of potential for clinical applications.
I would want to start right off the bat, basically once I've gotten myself oriented into med school. My only concern is whether it's a good choice of lab or not.
The thing is, it's a basic science lab, with a GI spin, although I think the PI would be willing to let me complete a non-GI project. Would this limit the types of residency programs I could apply to? I could see it helping me for IM if I potentially want to go into GI, but I don't know if I want to do that yet. I feel like I don't know enough about the different specialties to really pick at this point. I also am sort of thinking plastics, which I know is a super competitive field and would probably require some hefty plastics research starting from early on. (Plastics isn't the only one I'm thinking, it's just probably the most competitive)
When I originally posted this, I asked if I should wait a year or 2, but judging by the one response I got and from other threads, that's not a good idea. I guess I just want to know, should I just enter this lab (where I know I will be happy, engaged, and successful), or should I look around some more? Or should I wait like 6 months and do some shadowing to get a feel for what I like and then look for labs in that specialty?

 

[thegreengreatdragon]

Oh, also, I want to add that I am planning on attending a regional campus, which is attached to the main university. The medical campus is like 3 hours away. So I am already kind of limited here; there's not a whole lot of space for clinical research, per se, although I'm sure if I looked, I could find something translational.

 

[LyMed]

You can start now. There's plenty of time to change research focus.

 

[Osteoth]

Really depends on the commitment they're asking for. I would talk to him and express your interest in research and see if he can supplement the time you put into his more slow-growing projects with additional projects on the side that will net you publications.

At the end of the day I'd say "research" in medical school is 70% what you can get your name on, and 30% what you actually learn. Truth of the matter is most med school research is scut work, and residency directors know that, so they just want to see that you can figure out a way to persuade someone above you to let you get on something, which is much more difficult than it sounds.

 

[cassyfrog]

Really depends on the commitment they're asking for. I would talk to him and express your interest in research and see if he can supplement the time you put into his more slow-growing projects with additional projects on the side that will net you publications.

At the end of the day I'd say "research" in medical school is 70% what you can get your name on, and 30% what you actually learn. Truth of the matter is most med school research is scut work, and residency directors know that, so they just want to see that you can figure out a way to persuade someone above you to let you get on something, which is much more difficult than it sounds.

How difficult is it to publish or be first author as a med student? Harder or easier than in undergrad?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

How difficult is it to publish or be first author as a med student? Harder or easier than in undergrad?

In my experience it’s easier in medical school to be published or be first author. It depends on the type of research though, basic science research will always suck whether you’re a medical student or not.

 

[ortnakas]

I'll let others address your timing questions, but no, doing research in GI won't limit your options later.

 

[FistLength]

The most important thing is to publish. Don't care what lab it is. You need to publish something, and ideally multiple times. A poster, a paper, a presentation. Ergo, you should enter the lab if you can publish. You can spin the story however you like later on, people won't care if it's not in their specialty, they want to know you can make things happen.

 

[Osteoth]

How difficult is it to publish or be first author as a med student? Harder or easier than in undergrad?

Orders of magnitude easier in medical school. People take you so much more seriously and you have significantly more access to clinical professors. You want clinical case reports or case series because they're quick and easy. If not you want projects that already have data collected/analyzed because at that point all you have to do is a lit search for the introduction, state what you did to gather the data, results, and discussion aka why anyone should care.

Honestly the hardest part of getting a 1st author paper as a medical student is getting the trust of the resident/attendings to know you're not going to **** it up. These papers matter to attendings & residents too because they're buffing up their resumes just as much as you are. There are only so many decent ideas to go around, so if you take forever on something they know is worthwhile and waste it, that might be 1/6 of the projects that year they could have published, but didn't. At the end of the day its a people business.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I would wait until second semester of 1st year to go into research. Medical school is not like undergrad, so you need to acclimate to it before you put commitment to things you may not be able to follow through. Do research in what interests you now. Everyone knows that a large number of students change their mind about what specialty to go to once they start rotations.

 

[libertyyne]

1, wait for the first set of exams to make sure you are acclimated.
2. Get yourself a mentor.
3. Get your research on. Basic IM is good for IM subspecialties, but it is always better if you do research in the field you are interested.

 

[thegreengreatdragon]

Thank you so much for all of the feedback, guys! I learned a lot more than I'd even asked for. Moral of the story: the more publications the better, area of research doesn't matter, get accustomed to med school first. Did I miss anything?

 

[ConfusedChemist]

I would wait until second semester of 1st year to go into research. Medical school is not like undergrad, so you need to acclimate to it before you put commitment to things you may not be able to follow through. Do research in what interests you now. Everyone knows that a large number of students change their mind about what specialty to go to once they start rotations.

This. This x1000

You are almost certain to change your mind. Use the first term to shadow LOTS, get a sense of at least med vs surg, and taper your research focus accordingly.

In medicine, relevant research >>> un-related research