Networking in med school?

[Tyw]

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I'm going to be an MS1 starting this summer, and I had a couple of questions on how to make good connections in med school. I made the mistake of waiting for a longggg time to begin pursuing good LORs in undergrad, and I want to avoid doing the same thing when applying for a residency position.

How did you guys start making connections? Is research the best way to do this? What about shadowing? I would think that research is the most effective way to form a strong bond with a mentor, but are there other options?

I apologize if I seem kind of neurotic, but I really want to get off to a good start and avoid repeating the mistakes that I made as an undergrad.

 

[passionformed]

I'm going to be an MS1 starting this summer, and I had a couple of questions on how to make good connections in med school. I made the mistake of waiting for a longggg time to begin pursuing good LORs in undergrad, and I want to avoid doing the same thing when applying for a residency position.

How did you guys start making connections? Is research the best way to do this? What about shadowing? I would think that research is the most effective way to form a strong bond with a mentor, but are there other options?

I apologize if I seem kind of neurotic, but I really want to get off to a good start and avoid repeating the mistakes that I made as an undergrad.

If you don't mind me asking, what mistakes did you make? Did you wait until junior year, and is that undesirable?

 

[Tyw]

If you don't mind me asking, what mistakes did you make? Did you wait until junior year, and is that undesirable?

I applied in senior year, and I waited until then. I feel that in some ways it's not a good idea because there isn't much time for the letter writer to get to know you and it feels a bit rushed. I'm no expert on this, but I think it would be more optimal to become close with a faculty member earlier and maintain that connection throughout undergrad. One of my letter writers was from earlier on in undergrad, and I know that he had a lot more to say about me than the other writers.

That said, if you feel like you're late it shouldn't be the biggest deal. You have to work harder, but being late definitely doesn't preclude you from getting good letters.

EDIT: Sorry, meant to say I applied right AFTER senior year.

 

[Amba]

Still an undergrad, but my vote is definitely research.

 

[Daodejing]

research > shadowing, in terms of networking b/c you have skin in the game and research tends to be a longer commitment. You also have the opportunity to attend conferences/give presentations, which is a huge opportunity to make yourself known. This is especially important in small, competitive fields in which everyone knows everyone. If you're really lucky/opportunistic, your research mentor can be your attending during rotations and can even be your clinical mentor, so the potential to gain a stellar LOR is high, in this case.

In addition, you can attend departmental grand rounds.

 

[Chir0nex]

Depending on the school you may have classes/electives as an MS! where you are in contact with physicians and can get to talk to some of them. However, LORs are a little different when it comes to matching. What I heard from one residency director was that the most important ones are those you get from your Clerkships in years 3/4, especially those in the field you want to pursue. The one exception is if you have a long term research mentor. Basically, you need LORs from people who have seen you do the kind of work that is similar to what you want to do as a career. In the sense, networking is really not a huge deal early on, and it is far more important to impress people in a clinical setting later on.

However, if you already have a field you want to pursue, either clincally or research based, it van be very helpful to meet some physicians in that field. The reason is that those are the people who can help you find research projects or other opportunities which can translate into some impressive EC's.

As far as breaking the ice, be bold. Set up shadowing on your own (most doctors are pretty open to it) and use that to get to know the doc. Keep expressing interest, and tell them if you want to get involved in a project of some sort. Most docs and researchers are pretty responsive to student interest, but few if any will take the first step, so put yourself out there a little bit.

 

[Geebeejay]

I'm going to be an MS1 starting this summer, and I had a couple of questions on how to make good connections in med school. I made the mistake of waiting for a longggg time to begin pursuing good LORs in undergrad, and I want to avoid doing the same thing when applying for a residency position.

How did you guys start making connections? Is research the best way to do this? What about shadowing? I would think that research is the most effective way to form a strong bond with a mentor, but are there other options?

I apologize if I seem kind of neurotic, but I really want to get off to a good start and avoid repeating the mistakes that I made as an undergrad.

Trying to transparently create fake connections and relationships with the goal-in-mind of milking out a LOR from the person was your main mistake.

 

[CriticalCond]

Having intention and purpose when you meet someone is different than trying to create a fake relationship. The OP never said anything about forging "fake relationships".

Tyw, thanks for posting because I had the same problem. I kept waiting for these deep, meaningful relationships to evolve with my professors organically under the advice of not trying to fake it and then I didn't really know anyone well who felt comfortable enthusiastically endorsing me years later for med school (I'm a nontrad). Pop over to the resident threads and read the stickies, they have good advice as far as what you should do to prep for your next steps.

I feel like I have a lot of "if I knew then what I know now" moments, It makes me wonder all the time what I don't know now that I should or could be investigating.

 

[sinombre]

research > shadowing, in terms of networking b/c you have skin in the game and research tends to be a longer commitment. You also have the opportunity to attend conferences/give presentations, which is a huge opportunity to make yourself known. This is especially important in small, competitive fields in which everyone knows everyone. If you're really lucky/opportunistic, your research mentor can be your attending during rotations and can even be your clinical mentor, so the potential to gain a stellar LOR is high, in this case.

In addition, you can attend departmental grand rounds.

Just to piggy back on this, you can go to any department's grand rounds if you ask (at least where I work). I'm not even a med student yet and went to grand rounds for several departments pretty frequently this past year.