M1-2 summer research

[jdj16]

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Hey all...i'm a super lurker as you can see by my like 10 total posts...but I've been wondering something lately. I'm just an M1 and am kind of soaking in everything still at the moment and wondering what direction I need to take to start preparing my CV for residency. My problem is that I have absolutely no idea what I want to do....maybe EM or some kind of surgery? I've been told at school that there's a lot of research opportunities over the summer but then I've also read that a lot of fields really don't care about research unless it's in their own field. Seeing as it's highly unlikely that I'll have a revelation between now and may and absolutely fall in love with something...any ideas on what would be the best route to go?

my other options, which I'll probably do some of anyway just because I enjoy them, are medical ministry type outreaches and shadowing 2.0.

 

[HolySmokes]

Research is research. I can't speak to how a particular residency program views research that's in/out of their own area, I've been assured by multiple departments that research is good, and any research is better than none. Even the ortho department at my school said they just want to see that you can commit to a research project and follow through.

Personally, I did a research project the summer after my first year in surgery and got two manuscripts out of it. CHOOSE A GOOD MENTOR, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY KEY. I have friends that put in way more hours than I did in a lab and left without even an acknowledgement, whereas I left with two manuscripts.

 

[Coffee Machine]

CHOOSE A GOOD MENTOR, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY KEY. I have friends that put in way more hours than I did in a lab and left without even an acknowledgement, whereas I left with two manuscripts.

Do you have any tips on how to determine whether or not a particular faculty member is a good mentor for med students?

 

[koan]

Talk to M3-M4 students or residents in the field you want to pursue, and ask which research mentors are known for taking on med students. Often there are a handful of people in each department with active labs and ongoing projects, which makes it easier to "plug in" a med student for 8 weeks.

 

[NickNaylor]

Talk to M3-M4 students or residents in the field you want to pursue, and ask which research mentors are known for taking on med students. Often there are a handful of people in each department with active labs and ongoing projects, which makes it easier to "plug in" a med student for 8 weeks.

Yup, do this.

Try and pick something interesting, but really, make sure that you have a mentor that is 1) actively researching, 2) experienced, and 3) will at least give you a shot at doing something productive. My summer research project was essentially a complete waste of time, and I think it could've been a much better use of time had I simply chosen a different mentor to work with.

 

[CuttingCorneas]

Also, make sure said mentor is on track to publishing something in the near-ish future. It's a shame to just do busy work with no endgame--trust me, we've all been there.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Also, make sure said mentor is on track to publishing something in the near-ish future. It's a shame to just do busy work with no endgame--trust me, we've all been there.

Yeah this is super key with basic science research. It can take longer than the time you'll be in med school for a project to even get enough results to publish, nevermind actually writing up the paper, having it reviewed and kicked back for editing and then actually publishing.

For clinical research, if it's going to get published you should be able to get it out by the time you're done with medical school unless it's some crazy multi-center trial or something. Don't be afraid to ask straight up about publishing prospects and how/where on the paper your name is going to be if they do publish. If your mentor can't be straight about that it's probably not a good sign.