MS1 Summer Plans - Research or Clinical Preceptorship?

[Ricekrispie]

I'm finishing my first year of med school and have been offered positions in two different summer programs. I'm undecided about which specialty I'd like to pursue. The most competitive specialty I've considered is ophtho, but as of now I'm leaning toward EM, or possibly FM or OB. I did 2.5 years of research in undergrad and went to a conference and had a poster but no pubs.

My home institution offers an 8 week research program for medical students, so I spoke with one of the PIs and arranged to work with him. He said he tries to get his summers students a first author pub and their names on 1-2 additional papers. My project would be performing a systematic review.
Pros of research: high likelihood of publication, wouldn't have to pay double rent (my lease goes through the summer), get paid more
Cons of research: I really dislike the city my home institution is in, research topic is interesting but not directly related to the specialties I'm interested in

Today, I received an acceptance letter for a summer clinical preceptorship program in another part of the country. It is a 6 week program including two weeks in FM and 4 elective weeks with several specialties to choose from. I have some prior clinical experience as a scribe and an MA in a private practice specialty clinic, but I think this opportunity would really enhance my physical exam and clinical reasoning skills, and it might help me figure out which specialty I'm interested in.
Pros of preceptorship: enjoy my last summer, improve my clinical skills, potentially make connections that could help in the future - I want to leave the region of the country I'm going to school in and am interested in the area that the preceptorship is in
Cons of preceptorship: lose the only time I'd have to solely focus on research (although I'm not opposed to taking a research year if I decide I'm interested in something really competitive), get paid less, having to pay double rent for 6 weeks


TL;DR: Research for 8 weeks at my home institution and be miserable but likely get published, or get clinical experience in a different region of the country and enjoy my last summer?

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[theonlytycrane]

Do you get a research stipend if you stay?

Sounds like you’d be much happier with the preceptorship.


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[KU Brendan]

Research would tend to be more important to specialties other than EM or FM. Clinical experiences are far more important for those. The summer between first and second years of med school is essentially the last summer you may ever be able to do whatever you want in your life, so my advice would be to do something you enjoy.

I wouldn't let finances be a deciding factor. You'll likely have tons of student loan debt anyway, so a little more over the summer won't make a difference overall.

 

[YoungDoc25]

Research and then just shadow outside of your research schedule the specialties you might be interested in/want hands on experience with...?

 

[Ricekrispie]

Do you get a research stipend if you stay?

Sounds like you’d be much happier with the preceptorship.


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Yes, I’d get about $3500 for the research gig, and I wouldn’t have the extra expense of rent that I’d have with the preceptorship. And you’re right, I’m much more excited about that opportunities; I didn’t enjoy research in undergrad and I see it more as a necessary evil than something I look forward to. I just don’t want to get in the position of falling in love with a semi-competitive or competitive specialty and have not utilized this summer as effectively as research might.

 

[To be MD]

I'm finishing my first year of med school and have been offered positions in two different summer programs. I'm undecided about which specialty I'd like to pursue. The most competitive specialty I've considered is ophtho, but as of now I'm leaning toward EM, or possibly FM or OB. I did 2.5 years of research in undergrad and went to a conference and had a poster but no pubs.

My home institution offers an 8 week research program for medical students, so I spoke with one of the PIs and arranged to work with him. He said he tries to get his summers students a first author pub and their names on 1-2 additional papers. My project would be performing a systematic review.
Pros of research: high likelihood of publication, wouldn't have to pay double rent (my lease goes through the summer), get paid more
Cons of research: I really dislike the city my home institution is in, research topic is interesting but not directly related to the specialties I'm interested in

Today, I received an acceptance letter for a summer clinical preceptorship program in another part of the country. It is a 6 week program including two weeks in FM and 4 elective weeks with several specialties to choose from. I have some prior clinical experience as a scribe and an MA in a private practice specialty clinic, but I think this opportunity would really enhance my physical exam and clinical reasoning skills, and it might help me figure out which specialty I'm interested in.
Pros of preceptorship: enjoy my last summer, improve my clinical skills, potentially make connections that could help in the future - I want to leave the region of the country I'm going to school in and am interested in the area that the preceptorship is in
Cons of preceptorship: lose the only time I'd have to solely focus on research (although I'm not opposed to taking a research year if I decide I'm interested in something really competitive), get paid less, having to pay double rent for 6 weeks


TL;DR: Research for 8 weeks at my home institution and be miserable but likely get published, or get clinical experience in a different region of the country and enjoy my last summer?

IMO, you already have research experience, you’re more interested in clinical medicine than research, and you want to go into specialties that don’t req. research anyway... seems like the preceptorship is the right choice

 

[Gurby]

Life is suffering.

 

[Nucleophile1]

I would choose the research program and shadow in your free time. While you are not currently set on a competitive speciality, you may change your mind once you start shadowing and it will benefit you to have your name on some papers.

 

[Oso]

Life is suffering.

this.

 

[shisong]

If you follow your heart you would choose the clinical experience
if you follow your brain you would choose research

choice is yours

 

[Jesus1]

Let me give it to you straight.
Preceptorships won't do anything for your future residency apps.
Research will do a lot of things for your future residency apps assuming you do well on the USMLEs.
There is a reason people take a year off to do research for the more competitive specialties.
Research sucks but think of it as a temporary inconvenience on your way to becoming a physician.

 

[curbsideconsult]

In terms of competitiveness amongst the three: 1) Ophtho -->-->--> 2) EM -->-->-->-->-->-->-->-->-->-->-->--> 3) FM. I'm not knocking FM at all. I actually really want to do FM. But we all know the reality of how special each specialty is (and isn't). If you're considering something uber competitive at all, you more or less have to go with the research like Jesus1 said even though you hate it. And this summer is not the last summer you'll have to enjoy time off (I hate to disagree with an attending, but I must say it). You'll get time after Step 1 (at most schools) and several weeks off between graduation and the start of residency. Taking the research position keeps a lot of doors open for you whereas not taking it will close those doors and will be really hard to reopen should you end up wanting that ophtho residency.

If you feel comfortable, talk to the people at the preceptorship and ask what they would do considering what your plans are for the future. Just because you don't do one preceptorship in that area doesn't mean you'll never get to go back to that region.

Another option would be to see if your PI would let you work on the project while you're at the preceptorship. It's a systematic review, right? Which means digging through hundreds of articles. You don't need to be at a particular physical location. You just need an internet connection and full access to PubMed, etc. Even if it means losing the stipend, you could still put in enough work to be published AND do the preceptorship.