Must do research after M1 year if interested in oncology?

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Dragonfly411

Megalagrion jugarum
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Dear all,

I have a dilemma regarding what I should/would like to do during my summer after my M1 year (I am currently a first-year medical student). For those of you who are more experienced than I am in this topic, I would greatly appreciate any of your advice.

Originally, I wanted to go to Ecuador for six weeks during the summer with the Aid for Ecuador group at my medical school. We would be volunteering in some of the poorest hospitals in Ecuador and thus would have the opportunity for extensive hands-on experience that I otherwise couldn't have in the U.S. because of liability issues. More importantly, the group and I would fundraise throughout this year, and all of the money would help patients pay for medical supplies that they cannot afford. This trip also appealed to me because I would have a chance to improve my medical Spanish skills. I could bring these skills back to the States and be able to directly communicate with the extensive Spanish-speaking population that we have in our country.

However, I talked to my advisor (who is a physician) about this dilemma, and he strongly recommended that I do research instead. The reason is I expressed interest to him in specializing in oncology in the future (although that decision is by no means definitive, and I am still debating on whether I want to go into family practice instead), and he told me that displaying some interest in scholarly work is very important in gaining admittance into residency in the future. He told me that if I did not want to do research this summer, I could fit it into the M2 academic year, but I refuse to do that since I am already so busy with the full courseload. Thus, either I do research this summer or do something else.

I am not completely opposed to doing research. I successfully completed a senior honors thesis during my undergraduate years. Part of it was a negative experience because I did not like my advisor or my PI (both were so critical and negative.... as I've heard, though, many leaders in labs are). I also found working in a lab to be somewhat isolating. Although I enjoyed working with the people around me, working in a setting where people need help (e.g., in a hospital) is what truly fits me. Overall, however, it was a positive experience because running experiments, exploring a scientific question, and being the one to make the decisions regarding my project were all fascinating for me. I just wouldn't choose to do research this summer if my advisor did not recommend it.

I typically do not like doing things just so I can put them on my resume. If I do something, I choose to do it because either my efforts help someone else, and/or I profit by growing from the experience and developing my character. Going to Ecuador seems to best fit these criteria. However, because of the advice my advisor has given me, I am still undecided as to whether Ecuador or research would be better for my future.

Thus, could anyone tell me how heavily a role research plays when you are applying for residency (for a subspecialty like oncology)? Is it common for students to take time off after their internal medicine residency in order to do research and then apply for the oncology subspecialty? How did all of you decide what to do during the summer after M1 year?

Thank you in advance for your replies. I really appreciate it.

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