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[el799]

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Ive been working in a drug discovery lab on campus for a little over a year now. I don’t mind the work and love the overall research question of the lab and the results we generate. In fact I am already thinking about my own thesis that would fit in this labs line of research. However, I am the only native English speaker in the lab and this has made communication hard and I think may impact the type of recommendation letter I get. This summer I did clinical research and loved the patient aspects of the research. I was offered a translational research position that will allow me to do some wet lab work as well and build patient contact hours and potentially get a stronger Rec letter however I don’t like the big picture of this new lab as much. Should I stay where I am or go to the new position.

Side note: I am short on clinical experience hours overall too if that makes a difference

Grammar and spelling are aweful I’m sorry, this is on a phone

 

[jmetaller]

I would stick with it personally, especially if you like the work. Many schools value long term experiences over numerous short term ones. If you're worried about the letter of rec offer to ghost write it. Also, be aware of many foreigners ability to write much better than they speak. Many English papers are published by people with foreign origins. I've not always found a correlation between how well I understand their papers and their lectures.

 

[Catalystik]

Ive been working in a drug discovery lab on campus for a little over a year now. I don’t mind the work and love the overall research question of the lab and the results we generate. In fact I am already thinking about my own thesis that would fit in this labs line of research. However, I am the only native English speaker in the lab and this has made communication hard and I think may impact the type of recommendation letter I get. This summer I did clinical research and loved the patient aspects of the research. I was offered a translational research position that will allow me to do some wet lab work as well and build patient contact hours and potentially get a stronger Rec letter however I don’t like the big picture of this new lab as much. Should I stay where I am or go to the new position.

Side note: I am short on clinical experience hours overall too if that makes a difference

Grammar and spelling are aweful I’m sorry, this is on a phone

Have you held a volunteer position where you interact with current patients, or is the clinical research you did last summer your only source of patient contact hours? If the latter, be aware that not all clinical research provides the type of patient contact adcomms are looking for. If the former, how many hours and what are your plans for getting more hours?

 

[evasive fish]

I am the only native English speaker in the lab and this has made communication hard and I think may impact the type of recommendation letter I get.

Independently of what you decide, don't forgo your current lab's rec letter (see above @jmetaller 's post), especially since you already spent more than a year there and are very familiarized with the research.

This summer I did clinical research and loved the patient aspects of the research. I was offered a translational research position that will allow me to do some wet lab work as well and build patient contact hours and potentially get a stronger Rec letter however I don’t like the big picture of this new lab as much. Should I stay where I am or go to the new position.

It seems that the only valid reason to switch lab would be based on the type, quality, and amount of patient contact you'll get in the other lab. If you wouldn't interact with patients that much, or not in a meaningful way, it may be better to continue in your current lab and simultaneously get additional clinical experience elsewhere (volunteering, scribing, etc.).

 

[el799]

I would stick with it personally, especially if you like the work. Many schools value long term experiences over numerous short term ones. If you're worried about the letter of rec offer to ghost write it. Also, be aware of many foreigners ability to write much better than they speak. Many English papers are published by people with foreign origins. I've not always found a correlation between how well I understand their papers and their lectures.

its lesso their ability to speak more so the fact that I haven't been able to fully communicate with them so I don't think theyd be able to write a very personal letter

 

[el799]

Have you held a volunteer position where you interact with current patients, or is the clinical research you did last summer your only source of patient contact hours? If the latter, be aware that not all clinical research provides the type of patient contact adcomms are looking for. If the former, how many hours and what are your plans for getting more hours?

no patient volunteering as I cant find any positions where i would enjoy the type of contact involved (lots of grunt work and nurses are notorious for being miserable to volunteers). Therefor I have no other plans other than this new research position. I would of course clarify the extent of patient contact I would have before officially making the switch. I believe that the patient contact I had in my previous research meets the generally accepted criteria of clinical hours

 

[Osteosaur]

no patient volunteering as I cant find any positions where i would enjoy the type of contact involved (lots of grunt work and nurses are notorious for being miserable to volunteers). Therefor I have no other plans other than this new research position. I would of course clarify the extent of patient contact I would have before officially making the switch. I believe that the patient contact I had in my previous research meets the generally accepted criteria of clinical hours

You're still going to need to volunteer and as an unskilled undergrad this means grunt work. And I've met some awesome nurses. You need to learn how to stay out of the way, and that clinical volunteering is not a learning opportunity for you. That is not to say you won't learn anything but you're not their priority. Its not a competition to see who can bring the most patients water.

EDIT: I re-read your most recent posts. Just because you're not talking sports at lunch does not mean they do not see you're a hard worker. You will have other letters to show you are personable, I think? And there are other ways to show signs of productivity in research. It all comes down to whether or not you can sit in that interview chair and talk coherently about your research and explain why being a scientist makes you want to be a doctor. You have your letter, your productivity (posters, pubs), and most of all your own words to make that case.

If you want the experience of it (patient contact) and would still be happy going to work each day then go for it. If you just want the letter maybe not?

 

[el799]

You're still going to need to volunteer and as an unskilled undergrad this means grunt work. And I've met some awesome nurses. You need to learn how to stay out of the way, and that clinical volunteering is not a learning opportunity for you. That is not to say you won't learn anything but you're not their priority. Its not a competition to see who can bring the most patients water.

EDIT: I re-read your most recent posts. Just because you're not talking sports at lunch does not mean they do not see you're a hard worker. You will have other letters to show you are personable, I think? And there are other ways to show signs of productivity in research. It all comes down to whether or not you can sit in that interview chair and talk coherently about your research and explain why being a scientist makes you want to be a doctor. You have your letter, your productivity (posters, pubs), and most of all your own words to make that case.

If you want the experience of it (patient contact) and would still be happy going to work each day then go for it. If you just want the letter maybe not?

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I was mostly concerned with giving up my thesis idea and commitment issues to adcoms... if I still like the work of the new lab, will the extra patient contact outweigh the lesser sense of commitment is the main questions