NIH or local research?

[maneeryahuda]

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sorry if this post doesn't belong here but I'm facing an issue

i recently was offered a 1 year NIH postbac IRTA position doing research I am completely unfamiliar with (retinal research). i haven't accepted it yet and had a hard time understanding/reading the PI's recent paper and even abstracts. It was material that was never covered in my classes (a&p of eye, on/off center cells etc).
i was also offered a local research position (more like secretary work-calling patients and asking if they were satisfied with treatment, etc) at a hospital near my house.

for the NIH position-am I just worrying too much that I will not know anything since it should be a learning process (learning new material and i never went away for college so it would be my first time) or should i just stay home and take the hospital position (i will also be applying to medical school this summer)? Both have roughly the same pay (within $5k of each other) please help me out...I'm not sure what to do 🙁

 

[5lippy]

learning new things is always good. go with the unknown!

 

[DrEnderW]

I would go with the NIH research - I would hardly call the second position research.

For one, getting out the the house and in a new place is an awesome experience. More importantly, it sounds like the NIH position will give you excellent research experience, an opportunity for pubs and presentations, and open the door for future research work in medical school - something that is very important for many specialties. Having prior experience will go a long way to getting more experience and will clearly help you in the application stage.

As for the lack of current understanding of the topic, that is to be assumed. I've held 3 research positions: neuropharmacology, neuroscience and spinal cord/brain development, and now a sub-specialty of immunology. I can assure you I didn't know anything about any of those fields before I started..... You'll pick it up when you get there.

 

[Barcu]

The lack of knowledge is no problem. You will learn. As well, I wouldn't be too concerned with moving away, since you will probably do that soon anyway starting med school. It's a good learning experience.

The real question is: what do you want to do? Does the research sound interesting and are you actually interested in research? If you are thinking of taking it because you think it might look good or help with med school admissions, I wouldn't bother. But if you have an interest in research and pursuing research into med school, I would be more likely to take it. It is a good opportunity.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

The NIH position is respected and actually considered to be research. You'll get more out of it - learning about the research process, learning regarding your project, posters/publications, LoR from your PI, meeting other IRTAs, looked upon more favorably on your application, etc. Even if you are unsure about doing research as part of your future career, it will be a good experience and help you figure that out. The local position as you said sounds more like secretarial work. In either case, you're not really doing it for the pay. I'd definitely go to the NIH unless there are extenuating circumstances that compel you to staying at home.

 

[maneeryahuda]

pros of local hospital
*clinical research- interaction with staff and in-patients, opportunity to shadow, interesting study
*well known hospital in major city
*laid back schedule, no work to take home
*comfort of staying at home-everything paid for
*parents would be happier if i stayed home- they are worried if i don't get into med school i'll be too comfortable and end up staying at the NIH
*can possibly buy car w/ $ earned and save at least half

cons of local hospital
*may not have any sort of independent project (which I'm not used to anyway-I always worked with a grad student before)

pros of NIH
*endless

cons of NIH
*having to move during application season (have to work on secondaries etc. while learning how to live on my own and keep up with research, may have extra work to take home)
*not extremely excited about the research - visual research, new model system and equipment, etc. Honestly the PI was one of the few that even responded to my emails back in January when I didn't have a clear sense of what type of research I wanted to do
*not knowing anyone nearby
*not entirely comfortable with having an independent project-which I most likely will since the lab is very small (PI, postdoc, grad student, summer student)

although I am happy to have been offered the NIH position, these are some of the reasons I was leaning more toward the local position. any other thoughts?

Thank you to everyone who has advised me so far. i have to decide in the next 2 days so i truly appreciate your input

 

[Chelonia]

I am an IRTA right now (I live near the main campus though, so I did not have to move) and I really love my job. I was also surprised to be offered a position in which I did not have any background in but the job is a TRAINING position and my PI's and coworkers are all helping me to learn the ropes and all of the other IRTAs I've met have said similar things. I wouldn't reject the offer just because the research topic is unfamiliar to you.

I would highly recommend taking the offer from NIH. It will give you so many opportunities even outside of just research. My PI is helping to set up an interview with me and one of the fellows who works in the ICU to help me prepare for medical school interviews and I have opportunities to hang around the doctors and nurses in the ICU and MedSurge unit when I have downtime. Also, the IRTA who I left as I was coming was listed as an author on a paper that my PI just had published.

 

[DAPI]

If you already have a good amount of research under your belt and are not looking for something to add to you CV really, take the local job.

Having a flexible schedule is the thing I love most about my job. Yeah, I get to do fancy research and all, but knowing that I can show up at 11:00 once in a while and no one is going to care is the best. Or being able to just take off at noon to go out with some friends is awesome. Enjoy your gap year. You have worked hard over the past 4 years in preparation for applying to medical school and this is your last 'free' year. Enjoy it, because research will always be there.

 

[Double A]

The best experiences I had in college were when I went away for summer programs/research. I vote NIH. Plus I've talked to a few people who took time off to do research at the NIH and they only had good things to say.

 

[volcomx]

.

 

[survivordo]

Dude, NIH, this is money on your app compared to local research. You will LEARN about the eye when you get there, you're all good. Take the exciting position, if you hate it is only a year!

Survivor DO