Long Term Research Experiences?

[gumbyj]

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I see alot of people, on MDApps etc, talking about their research and I rarely see any 2+ year commitments in one lab.

Anyone else who has significant research experience with one lab/PI, did you feel this helped you at all?

Just wondering as the VAST majority of my time has been devoted to being a research assistant and clinical coordinator in one lab.

 

[witness23]

yea it def helps, esp for MD/PhD. staying in one lab can help you develop ideas and responsibilities. Its probably easier to talk about too (since putting out data is a little bit of luck). If you can commit to a lab full time, I'm sure that would help too.

 

[gumbyj]

I have worked in the lab ~50 hours/week for the past eight months. This is obviously all I have time for right now. Do you think adcom's will look negatively on my unvaried involvement over the past year?

 

[aznb0y129]

I have worked in the lab ~50 hours/week for the past eight months. This is obviously all I have time for right now. Do you think adcom's will look negatively on my unvaried involvement over the past year?

Are you still a student? If so, I think 50 hours/week in the lab is extremely impressive.

If it's your job, that's still full-time and wouldn't be looked down upon.

 

[witness23]

that is pretty impressive. apply md/phd. immunology is great

 

[Caprica6]

I would not say it would effect you negatively, but I am also biased.

 

[0Complications]

I see alot of people, on MDApps etc, talking about their research and I rarely see any 2+ year commitments in one lab.

Anyone else who has significant research experience with one lab/PI, did you feel this helped you at all?

Just wondering as the VAST majority of my time has been devoted to being a research assistant and clinical coordinator in one lab.

I think it will be looked upon favorably. I am in your same boat, but I've been at my lab for the last 3.5 years. I think the fact that you're working with patients is a large plus. The patient interaction aspect is my favorite part of my job.

 

[Tots]

50 hours a week? + school? Wow. How do you do it?
I do 9 hours a week and I am hard pressed on time.

 

[D and D]

I definitely think it's worth it to be in a lab more long term. I've been working in the same lab since my freshman year (3+ years), although my PI lets me do whatever I want over the summers, which has allowed me to explore other options.

I started out as a tissue culture slave😛, but worked my way up to my own project, presentations at national meetings, and now my own first author publication in a peer reviewed journal. So as far as looking impressive, I think it helps (don't mean to sound full of myself here😳)

But my lab has also become a really important support system for me, which I know isn't always the case, but my lab mates have always been there for me. My PI is sort of like my dad away from home, sort of weird, but totally true.

 

[Arjuna]

I see alot of people, on MDApps etc, talking about their research and I rarely see any 2+ year commitments in one lab.

Anyone else who has significant research experience with one lab/PI, did you feel this helped you at all?

Just wondering as the VAST majority of my time has been devoted to being a research assistant and clinical coordinator in one lab.

One of my senior friends just got accepted to a top10, and he worked in the same lab for 4+ years (counting HS). He had 10 abstracts, couple book chapters, multiple publications, among other things. If you stick to it, the PI makes sure that you get something out of it.

 

[gumbyj]

I am not taking a full load of classes, that would be near impossible with 50 hours! I am taking ten credits right now, and the times that I am not in class, I am working in the lab. I get paid quite favorably also, so it is not like I am spending all of those hours volunteering. It is great to have such an amazing experience with a lab where I get to conduct research from start to finish, which includes IRB work and meeting/consenting patients and assisting with knee taps and blood draws and then taking the fluids back to the lab for analysis. Anyone who can also find a position like this I encourage you to take it, as I have had an absolutely amazing experience!

 

[pietachok]

I did 1500 hours of epi research as a volunteer during my postbacc. And I have worked as a payed employee fulltime for 2 years at the job I have held since.

I don't think I specify that on my MD apps.
How would you think it would hurt you? You're showing commitment, etc. Hopping from project to project can expose you to more variety, but it's likely such an individual never gets to know the research as well/in depth. Anybody reading your app will balance out such pros/cons.

 

[gumbyj]

I know the research experience would help, I am just wondering if it would hurt me that the significant time spent in the lab has taken away from my volunteer/school and other possible extracurricular activities

 

[0Complications]

I know the research experience would help, I am just wondering if it would hurt me that the significant time spent in the lab has taken away from my volunteer/school and other possible extracurricular activities

I would still recommend that you have volunteer experience at a hospital and a little shadowing experience, because now that you have stuck around in research you're going to need to explain why medicine and not research (unless you're going for both). Even if you are going for a MD/PhD, they're going to wonder why medicine in addition to the PhD. The direct hospital exposure and shadowing can not only help you explain this, but demonstrate that you have invested time into figuring it out.

It can be done. I work between 40-55 hours a week all depending on the time of year, go to school full time (year round) and still have had time to volunteer over 100 hours in a hospital and shadow for over 100 hours and be actively involved in leadership positions withing organizations. It is exhausting at times, but rewarding at the end of the day.

 

[pietachok]

I know the research experience would help, I am just wondering if it would hurt me that the significant time spent in the lab has taken away from my volunteer/school and other possible extracurricular activities

Well, what you actually are asking is different than whether or not a longer term research position is going to hurt you. You're asking whether or not a lack of other EC's and volunteer experiences is going to hurt you.

And I think it is important to have shadowing and clinical experience. For most people these come from shadowing and volunteerism. However, if your research has provided you with both, you don't need to pursue them outside of the research. That said, I do believe that volunteerism is fairly well regarded, whether it is medical or not--it shows a level of altruism and commitment that a paid position cannot.

Several postbacc programs recommend you to have 120+ hours of volunteerism on your app, whether or not is clinical, and at least that many hours of clinical exposure.

 

[Caprica6]

For those of us that have extensive research I think ADCOMMs will always ask, why medicine and not a PhD? If you can answer it convincingly and show an interest in medicine (whether through employment, volunteering, showdowing, whatever) I don't think the fact that most of your time is devoted to research as opposed to volunteering will hurt you.

 

[sully677]

I have spoken with a few admissions committee's at very respectable MD/PhD programs, and they all say that student's who who work in one lab for more than a year or so is what they are looking for. They want to see people who are dedicated to what they are doing, and that they don't hop around from lab to lab. They said they don't want people who just touch the surface of labs, but rather delve into a project and actually learn and can contribute to the lab in a positive manner.

 

[pietachok]

So with thousands of hours of research behind me and I think 5 publications on my AMCAS...I was never really asked "why not a PhD" or "Why not an MD/PhD."

The answer is often pretty straight forward...in my case, for instance, I had stated elsewhere that I worked in epi early on when I was exploring the roles of PhD's vs MD's in public health research. I came to the conclusion that I needed to be able to intervene in people's sucky health situations, not just record/observe that they were in poor health or at risk w/out offering any care. I never felt "pressured" regarding the MD/PhD, b/c I think most every interviewer would assume that if you aren't applying for it, you aren't interested in spending the extra time and effort to get a degree you likely don't need. You can do most medically related lab research w/ just an MD and a strong (non PhD) background in your area of interest...it's just not worth it for most people to take the time to get the PhD.