MD M3 with good step 1 but no research yet. how to boost CV?

[em3761]

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I just started third year in February. I'm at a top 20 school and have a good step 1 score (248) but grades are mostly TBD (got an A in primary care, just took the shelf in ob/gyn but I doubt I'll get above a B+). Obviously I'm hoping to get mostly A/A-'s but after ob/gyn, where I worked really hard and still got mediocre evals, not sure how fully that's within my control, even if I do well on all the shelf exams.

Anyway my question is, other than getting good grades and a good step 2, how can I improve my application? I know I need research and we have a dedicated 6 month period after 3rd year to do that. But I probably want to do surgery and don't want to rule out ortho/ENT, and I doubt 6 months of research is going to be enough for those. I guess I should start doing research now but with rotations I have no idea where I'd find the time. The only stuff I have on my CV currently is that I was a finalist in a teaching competition and I'm on the board for one of the surgical interest groups.

How much research do I really need and should I try to reach out to someone now? Should I be doing community service and stuff like that too? Right now it just seems like there's really nothing separating me from the crowd but I have no idea how to find the time to change that...

 

[LyMed]

For most competitive surgical specialties, research is more important than community service. I'd get started now, and start reaching out now. I know 3rd year is a busy time, but you'll be surprised at how you can make time.

 

[ActinicKeratosis]

Isn't this true for everything except for primary care and non-competitive IM/psych?

For example if I wanted to get into a top IM program in order to get a cards or GI fellowship, I would heavily prioritize research still, right?

Research trumps community service for top IM programs as well.

 

[bannie22]

nobody really looks at community service anymore. kinda tells you what they look for in doctors...

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

See if there are any case studies floating around. Residents are often eager for free labor.

 

[NickNaylor]

I would try and get involved with research that is likely to result in "producables," i.e., posters, abstracts, conferences, and even publications. Often these types of projects are more clinically focused. The other major area that can often lead to production is medical education as the studies involved are typically straightforward and don't require that much time with respect to data collection.

Whatever the project, I would try and latch on to something that's already going rather than starting something new. And again, I would focus on getting involved in stuff that is likely to lead to tangible results that you can talk about. It's unfortunate, but I think it's more useful to have a couple of things you can point to that resulted in dissemination rather than talking about a project you worked on but that ultimately didn't pan out and lead to something that you can list on your CV beyond saying that you worked on this project.

I agree with what others have said with respect to community service: it really isn't that important. Do those kinds of things if you're interested in them as they can be a talking point in your interviews, but unlike the medical school admissions process, ECs are typically way less important than your academic performance, LORs, and support from mentors/faculty in the department for the field you're applying into.