Are you trying to check a box or become a doctor? If you hate your research and aren't moving toward a worthwhile goal, then get into a different project or lab.
A year's worth is quite satisfactory unless you are a strong candidate for the highly-selective, research- oriented med schools. Then you'd aim for at least two years.
I think if your goal is just to check the research box, then I think 2 semesters is enough time. But I think the most important thing is just being able to communicate to adcom what you gained from your experience rather than what you did. Plus the whole publication thing a lot of time is based on luck and timing aside from hard work, so just don't lose too much sleep over that. Plenty of people got into med school without any publications.
I agree. And part of what you should gain is an understanding of the scientific process and how it pertains to your project, even if your piece of it was only a small portion. Be sure you know the hypothesis, methods for testing it, how the data was collected, what analysis might be done, and if far enough along, conclusions that were drawn and, perhaps, future directions.
I do like it. I have approximately 150 hours with it but realistically I don't have time for it.
