Is it hard to secure research position during MS1?

[LMBLBM]

I am a newbie medical school student. Is it appropriate to ask faculties for a research position when I am only first year medical student? What is the best way to start research in medical school?

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[starstarie]

Yes, it is appropriate

 

[DermViser]

Not at all. Email them and explain your situation and they'll lead you in the direction of a mentor (in a subject area of interest).

 

[Gator7]

Yes definitely appropriate, most faculty are used to working with medical students of any year. You may have to email quite a few physicians before you get a response though so don't get discouraged. I probably emailed at least 20 and met in person with a few before I found a good project during first year. Many medical schools have research programs that will attempt to match you with a mentor so see if your school has that as well. Good luck!

 

[Psai]

Wrong question. Your question should be what am I interested in and who is doing work that relates to my interests and goals

 

[BurghStudent]

Also, be smart about it. Look on PubMed how often a potential PI publishes. Does he/she give students the opportunity to lead a study? Etc. Also, ask upperclassmen. Word gets around.

 

[Sabate]

There's plenty of monkey work for med students to do. Whether or not that gets you published or gets you the experience you want from doing research is the hard part. Ask around, ask upperclassmen, and know what you want out of it. It might help to get into a rhythm of school first to figure out how much actual spare time you'll have, but that's your call.

 

[572776]

I am a newbie medical school student. Is it appropriate to ask faculties for a research position when I am only first year medical student? What is the best way to start research in medical school?

Absolutely, I've done it and got a first author pub out of it. Just make sure you know what their research is about and be prepared to answer why you are interested in it. Also, check their pub list and pick a PI who adds students to the author list.

 

[ace12345]

As another entering M1, how far into the year would others say this is appropriate/best? Should we be starting on research day 1, or wait it out for a couple months to get into the swing of things?

 

[joker2400]

As another entering M1, how far into the year would others say this is appropriate/best? Should we be starting on research day 1, or wait it out for a couple months to get into the swing of things?

I would wait.

 

[hmoactktey]

I would wait.

I agree. While some people will tell you that you can jump in right away (sometimes true), I would recommend making sure that you can adjust to the pace of med school first before you start throwing in large commitments.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

I would recommend waiting as well.

First of all, your priority right now is to make sure you adjust to the course load and are succeeding academically. If you try and get gung-ho involved in research early on you could end up way over-committed. And nothing looks worse than committing significantly to a research project and then backing out or not meeting the expectations.

Second, you don't know heads from tails at your institution. Take time and get to know people - deans, upperclassmen, faculty, etc, who can all give you advice on who to do PRODUCTIVE research with. Cold-calling attendings is a low-yield effort, particularly without knowing who has a track record of good student mentorship in the past.

You won't be "behind" by not starting a research project in the first weeks/months of school.

 

[DermViser]

First of all, your priority right now is to make sure you adjust to the course load and are succeeding academically. If you try and get gung-ho involved in research early on you could end up way over-committed. And nothing looks worse than committing significantly to a research project and then backing out or not meeting the expectations.

Second, you don't know heads from tails at your institution. Take time and get to know people - deans, upperclassmen, faculty, etc, who can all give you advice on who to do PRODUCTIVE research with. Cold-calling attendings is a low-yield effort, particularly without knowing who has a track record of good student mentorship in the past.

You won't be "behind" by not starting a research project in the first weeks/months of school.

So true. And while your resident whose project you were working with may be lone gone, the attending won't forget and will easily label you. Whatever projects you commit to with your word -- know the time commitment, and carry it out.

 

[Kahreek]

easy as one two three, if your school has any decent size research department, i can bet you can have people battle for your free work.

 

[dyspareunia]

As another entering M1, how far into the year would others say this is appropriate/best? Should we be starting on research day 1, or wait it out for a couple months to get into the swing of things?

You should wait until you know you have time to allocate to research. If you're still asking people "will I have time to do research?" then you don't have time to do research.

 

[ace12345]

Thanks to all the replies, very helpful. I will definitely wait a bit before jumping into a lab. Good to know I won't fall behind (That was my initial concern).

 

[Espadaleader]

I wouldn't wait. I would start emailing PIs ASAP the summer before school starts. You want time to get things set up and make some choices.

My schools makes us choose mentors for MS-1 summer as soon as school starts because we have this scholarly project requirement thing so a good number of people have been putting feelers out.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Nope, in fact it's an ideal time because the summer after M1 is one of the few times when you can dedicate time to just the research.
A large portion of my class found mentors and labs and are doing research this summer after M1.