MS1 trying to figure out what to do in the summer

[flashvoyger]

Hello everyone,
I am a current MS1 who is trying to figure out what to do in the summer. Some background information about myself; I really don't know what specialty I want to go into but I am thinking about Emergency Medicine, surgery, or oncology. I know that those specialties are all very different. I need help figuring out how to best spend my summer. Currently I am trying to choose between being a Anatomy TA, doing emergency medicine research, or doing neurology research. I have researched this topic on SDN and it seems like research is very important. I have done research in undergrad and honestly, it was only to get into med school. I never liked research, it was always something to do because everyone had to do it. If all my opportunities were weighed equal, I would be a TA but it seems like residencies do not care about being a TA that much, this is why I am leaning towards research.
my questions are, how important is it to have research and publications under your belt? How many authorship's should I have? also for my emergency medicine research, my main job is to identify patients who meet the criteria for different research projects and then consent them. Would I even get authorship for that kind of work?

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[Osteoth]

Research is important to the specialties listed in this order: Surgery > Oncology > EM.

If you want to go into a surgical subspecialty, it is exceedingly important to have research. I would start doing surgery research this summer so that you can keep that door open. If you don't you mind wake up a 3rd or 4th year and realize that you have a gaping hole in your resume.

Naming a specific number is hard, but if you look at the charting the match documents they can give you a ballpark for the specialties you're interested in.

Your main goal in evaluating a research project is to look for projects where the data has already been collected/analysed. You don't want to be the one collecting because most likely with a limited scope of time you won't be the one analyzing/writing, and you can easily be forgotten when it comes to authorship.

 

[bankai.]

I have also heard what Osteoth is saying. If surgery is anywhere in your realm of possibility, surgery shadowing/ research this summer.

 

[pillowsnice]

Research is important to the specialties listed in this order: Surgery > Oncology > EM.

If you want to go into a surgical subspecialty, it is exceedingly important to have research. I would start doing surgery research this summer so that you can keep that door open. If you don't you mind wake up a 3rd or 4th year and realize that you have a gaping hole in your resume.

Naming a specific number is hard, but if you look at the charting the match documents they can give you a ballpark for the specialties you're interested in.

Your main goal in evaluating a research project is to look for projects where the data has already been collected/analysed. You don't want to be the one collecting because most likely with a limited scope of time you won't be the one analyzing/writing, and you can easily be forgotten when it comes to authorship.

Is TA'ing worth anything for residencies or is it just for yourself?

 

[Osteoth]

Is TA'ing worth anything for residencies or is it just for yourself?

When evaluating opportunities going forward, think about it as if you were a PD. What does TAing anatomy show you about the student whose application you are reading?

I honestly have no idea what it tells me, so it probably wouldn't help me very much except when comparing you to students who did absolutely nothing during their M1-M2 summer, but thats my personal opinion.

 

[bananafish94]

I highly recommend research. This is one of very few times in medical school where you are free to essentially do whatever you want, so it's an excellent opportunity to pursue a project of personal interest without needing to constantly study and whatnot. If you decide to go into a specialty where you need research then you have the research, and if you decide to go into one where it isn't as important, then you have something that makes you stand out from the crowd a bit. Besides that, if you do clinical research it's a great opportunity to meet people in the department, do shadowing, etc. I did research last summer and had a great time.