Is Research Essential

[mikeagius]

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I'm a third year student and unfortunately have not had the opportunity for research. I work in the chemistry stockroom so I make the solutions for the research students but not the research itself. I was wondering if not having the experience will really hinder my chances when applying to medical school.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

 

[Catalystik]

Only 60 % of med school applicants list Research. If your application is otherwise solid, you won't be at a disadvantage at many schools if you don't have it. If your application is weak in one area, having research helps compensate for it. If you want to attend a more-selective med school, you should probably have it anyway.

 

[NickNaylor]

If you want to do research, I'd recommend applying to some summer research programs. For the most part, applications are due at the end of January or in February, so if you're interested you've gotta get on the train pretty quickly.

Here's a list of programs from the AAMC:

http://www.aamc.org/members/great/summerlinks.htm

 

[alexfoleyc]

I'm a third year student and unfortunately have not had the opportunity for research. I work in the chemistry stockroom so I make the solutions for the research students but not the research itself. I was wondering if not having the experience will really hinder my chances when applying to medical school.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

It will not hinder your chances as long as your other stuff is fine.

 

[randombetch]

I'm a third year student and unfortunately have not had the opportunity for research. I work in the chemistry stockroom so I make the solutions for the research students but not the research itself. I was wondering if not having the experience will really hinder my chances when applying to medical school.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

Depends: do you want to go to a research heavy school? Then it's just as essential as clinical/volunteer experiences.

 

[sully677]

I'm a third year student and unfortunately have not had the opportunity for research. I work in the chemistry stockroom so I make the solutions for the research students but not the research itself. I was wondering if not having the experience will really hinder my chances when applying to medical school.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

The top schools with a big research prefer students who have done some research, but it is not essential. It definitely helps your app with these schools as opposed to shadowing or a desk job.

 

[akuarys]

I dunno if anybody can answer this for me but do medical schools care where in a publication your name is listed in the coauthors. Is it bad if you're not in the first three or last spot?

 

[unimaginative]

Depends: do you want to go to a research heavy school? Then it's just as essential as clinical/volunteer experiences.

Not true. While having done research certainly helps it is not essential. The quoted user is misinformed and likely has spent too much time on SDN.

Also to answer the question before my post. My impression would be that most people only make a distinction if you are the first author on the publication. Otherwise it makes little difference where your name falls.

 

[dokein]

Not true. While having done research certainly helps it is not essential. The quoted user is misinformed and likely has spent too much time on SDN.

Also to answer the question before my post. My impression would be that most people only make a distinction if you are the first author on the publication. Otherwise it makes little difference where your name falls.

No, he's right. Research is about as essential as it gets at a top research-heavy medical school.

Table:

School / Self reported research % // medically-related work % /// community-service volunteer %

Wash U / 94 // 82 /// 73
Yale / 96 // 89 /// 72
JHU / 95 // 88 /// 75
UM / 93 // 87 /// 72
Duke / 94 // 83 /// 76
Harvard / 95 // 93 /// 75
Cornell / 94 // 87 /// 70
Stanford / 98 // 88 /// 67

Research is at least as important as medically-related work and community-service. It is essential within any reasonable definition of the word.

 

[unimaginative]

No, he's right. Research is about as essential as it gets at a top research-heavy medical school.

Table:

School / Self reported research % // medically-related work % /// community-service volunteer %

Wash U / 94 // 82 /// 73
Yale / 96 // 89 /// 72
JHU / 95 // 88 /// 75
UM / 93 // 87 /// 72
Duke / 94 // 83 /// 76
Harvard / 95 // 93 /// 75
Cornell / 94 // 87 /// 70
Stanford / 98 // 88 /// 67

Research is at least as important as medically-related work and community-service. It is essential within any reasonable definition of the word.

The initial author made no mention of the word "top" in reference to research heavy schools, you added that on your own.

But it sounds like you know something I didn't, you should post a link to that survey or at least give the name of it. Why don't you look at the list of the top 20 NIH funded medical schools, http://www.brimr.org/NIH_Awards/2008/NIH_Awards_2008.htm, and see if the # of those self reporting research reaches the "essential" threshold in the survey you mentioned before?

 

[dokein]

The initial author made no mention of the word "top" in reference to research heavy schools, you added that on your own.

But it sounds like you know something I didn't, you should post a link to that survey or at least give the name of it. Why don't you look at the list of the top 20 NIH funded medical schools, http://www.brimr.org/NIH_Awards/2008/NIH_Awards_2008.htm, and see if the # of those self reporting research reaches the "essential" threshold in the survey you mentioned before?

Table: MSAR

Even better idea, than listing the top. Of schools ranked 60-70 out of 127 (note: this is because i'm too lazy to do that many schools and the next obvious argument is, what about not "top" schools)

UArizona / 81 // 90 /// 69
UVermont / 82 // 88 /// 77
Wayne State 81 // 90 /// 71
Brown / 78 // 64 /// 60
UConn / 87 // 84 /// 70
UMDNJ-NJMS / 78 // 84 /// 64
Penn State / 87 // 86 /// 73
UKansas / 59 // 78 /// 72
UMDNJ-RWJMS / 81 // 90 /// 66
New Mexico / 72 // 90 /// 77

AVERAGE / 78.6 // 80.7 /// 69.9

So research is just about as important as health related work and significantly more important than community service.

I realize this is a logical issue, since we don't know how many candidates applied/rejected with significant research vs. significant medical work vs. significant community service, but you also have no basis for arguing that research is non-essential (unless you are also prepared to argue that medical work and community service is non-essential).

Admittedly the OP does not say "top", but the person you were responding to said research-heavy schools.

 

[dokein]

Also note: the person you were responding to said,

"just as essential as clinical and volunteer experiences"

So the definition we are using for essential is 'of comparable importance as clinical and volunteer experiences' at "research heavy medical schools". Thus, randombetch is correct and not misinformed.

 

[randombetch]

Also note: the person you were responding to said,

"just as essential as clinical and volunteer experiences"

So the definition we are using for essential is 'of comparable importance as clinical and volunteer experiences' at "research heavy medical schools". Thus, randombetch is correct and not misinformed.

Thanks dokein, that was exactly what I would have posted in response to unimaginative.