- Joined
- Aug 8, 2012
- Messages
- 317
- Reaction score
- 64
Hey, everyone.
It has been quite a while since I have posted to SDN--probably since I was accepted last year. Well, I am an MS1 now at the end of my first year of medical school at a mid-->upper-mid tier MD school. The tests and studying have been tough, yes, but not even close to impossible. It gets like hell for a week or two at a time, but the ebbs and flows do a good job of balancing themselves out. Also, I have volunteered in the various clubs and organizations, so I have not completely been all about study, study, study. I have allowed myself flexibility and room to breathe as I adjusted to this whole new world of medicine, but it's time to get more down to business and to do more. I digress now to the concerns I have.
As a medical student, I was expecting to be able to find outside opportunities, especially research, easily. Before I say more, I'll mention that my interests are in Psychiatry--and yes, I am fairly certain of this--so my searching has been quite focused in this area. I have put in a lot of effort. I have been struggling for 2-3 months now to secure a solid research involvement, especially for the summer. If I did find an involvement, the amount of hours was ridiculously small. I am now at the point where I have given up on focusing on one lab, and I am now extending myself in multiple directions, trying to secure many mini-opportunities. Basically, I am not trying to be exclusive to one lab anymore, because it seems like no one lab really has the need to take me on in a large amount. It has been very difficult to find a research lab that could take me on in any substantial manner. Research is also scarce around here it seems, especially in the psychiatric/psychological realm. This is leading me to have fears about the future--and I am catastrophizing a bit I think. Unfortunately, I have not yet brought myself to the point of faking interests and selling out for the sake of just doing research (e.g. pipetting and culturing tissues in a cancer research lab). I am being driven a bit crazy by my pursuits of finding meaningful involvements that pertain to my interests and passions. And of course, I want to be able to grow and experience productivity (which in the long run looks like abstracts, presentations and publications).
As a side note, I am a first generation college student--now in medical school. No doubt, this has played a role in what feels like my primarily fruitless efforts. So I may be approaching things naively, which may be hindering my outcomes. I am not sure what else I can do though.
On another side note, I am disappointed in how unprofessional, unhelpful and flakey many of the MD's and PhD's have been that I have tried to establish connections and relationships with in this field. It's disappointing to see that the older generation does not have as much an interest as I would have expected in fostering the next generation's personal and professional growth. I'm just an MS1, but I am already mentoring people younger than myself.
Since I have been struggling so much to secure research involvements, it has led me to fear that my summer (all 2 months of it) and its potential value towards my future is being compromised. I have looked at the NRMP data, and I see that even those going into Psychiatry have 3-4 productive outcomes (e.g. pubs, presentations, abstracts) on average from research. I feel so helpless right now in my searching, that even getting 3-4 feels like a complete fantasy at this stage of my medical school career.
How essential is the summer in general, and specifically for someone like me who has an interest in psychiatry? I will have some involvements, but at this point it feels like there is NO WAY I will be able to get anything close to full time to fill my schedule. When, on average, do you see research productivity really start coming out? When do medical students really start filling out their CV's with things that residencies will care about? Thank God I am not going into something that has 10+ pubs on average. How the heck am I going to get 3-4? I have between now and 4th year to get research experiences that pay off. This is how I feel.
I am open to any personal and professional insight or guidance from my fellow medical students and other colleagues at various stages of the game. Part of this thread was me being able to express my frustration to those that might understand, because I have been frustrated and let down for so long that it is causing me a lot of discomfort. A bigger part of this thread is to see what others might have to say. I am open to general dialogue about this topic all the way down to more specific problem-solving. Thanks for your time, folks!
It has been quite a while since I have posted to SDN--probably since I was accepted last year. Well, I am an MS1 now at the end of my first year of medical school at a mid-->upper-mid tier MD school. The tests and studying have been tough, yes, but not even close to impossible. It gets like hell for a week or two at a time, but the ebbs and flows do a good job of balancing themselves out. Also, I have volunteered in the various clubs and organizations, so I have not completely been all about study, study, study. I have allowed myself flexibility and room to breathe as I adjusted to this whole new world of medicine, but it's time to get more down to business and to do more. I digress now to the concerns I have.
As a medical student, I was expecting to be able to find outside opportunities, especially research, easily. Before I say more, I'll mention that my interests are in Psychiatry--and yes, I am fairly certain of this--so my searching has been quite focused in this area. I have put in a lot of effort. I have been struggling for 2-3 months now to secure a solid research involvement, especially for the summer. If I did find an involvement, the amount of hours was ridiculously small. I am now at the point where I have given up on focusing on one lab, and I am now extending myself in multiple directions, trying to secure many mini-opportunities. Basically, I am not trying to be exclusive to one lab anymore, because it seems like no one lab really has the need to take me on in a large amount. It has been very difficult to find a research lab that could take me on in any substantial manner. Research is also scarce around here it seems, especially in the psychiatric/psychological realm. This is leading me to have fears about the future--and I am catastrophizing a bit I think. Unfortunately, I have not yet brought myself to the point of faking interests and selling out for the sake of just doing research (e.g. pipetting and culturing tissues in a cancer research lab). I am being driven a bit crazy by my pursuits of finding meaningful involvements that pertain to my interests and passions. And of course, I want to be able to grow and experience productivity (which in the long run looks like abstracts, presentations and publications).
As a side note, I am a first generation college student--now in medical school. No doubt, this has played a role in what feels like my primarily fruitless efforts. So I may be approaching things naively, which may be hindering my outcomes. I am not sure what else I can do though.
On another side note, I am disappointed in how unprofessional, unhelpful and flakey many of the MD's and PhD's have been that I have tried to establish connections and relationships with in this field. It's disappointing to see that the older generation does not have as much an interest as I would have expected in fostering the next generation's personal and professional growth. I'm just an MS1, but I am already mentoring people younger than myself.
Since I have been struggling so much to secure research involvements, it has led me to fear that my summer (all 2 months of it) and its potential value towards my future is being compromised. I have looked at the NRMP data, and I see that even those going into Psychiatry have 3-4 productive outcomes (e.g. pubs, presentations, abstracts) on average from research. I feel so helpless right now in my searching, that even getting 3-4 feels like a complete fantasy at this stage of my medical school career.
How essential is the summer in general, and specifically for someone like me who has an interest in psychiatry? I will have some involvements, but at this point it feels like there is NO WAY I will be able to get anything close to full time to fill my schedule. When, on average, do you see research productivity really start coming out? When do medical students really start filling out their CV's with things that residencies will care about? Thank God I am not going into something that has 10+ pubs on average. How the heck am I going to get 3-4? I have between now and 4th year to get research experiences that pay off. This is how I feel.
I am open to any personal and professional insight or guidance from my fellow medical students and other colleagues at various stages of the game. Part of this thread was me being able to express my frustration to those that might understand, because I have been frustrated and let down for so long that it is causing me a lot of discomfort. A bigger part of this thread is to see what others might have to say. I am open to general dialogue about this topic all the way down to more specific problem-solving. Thanks for your time, folks!
