No research = no chance at a good residency?

[UT_mikie]

I'm entering med school in 2005. Just a question for all you current med students. What percentage of med students do research?

And if you want to even make a try for a competitive residency (any of the R.O.A.D ones) if you haven't 1st authored does that pretty much automatically nix your application?

I did absolutely 0 research in undergrad and I figure going into med school I have a handicapp if I start research when I'm an M1. Has anyone out there with no undergrad research exp gone on to 1st author?

Thanks~!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[wiryMD]

I'm entering med school in 2005. Just a question for all you current med students. What percentage of med students do research?

And if you want to even make a try for a competitive residency (any of the R.O.A.D ones) if you haven't 1st authored does that pretty much automatically nix your application?

I did absolutely 0 research in undergrad and I figure going into med school I have a handicapp if I start research when I'm an M1. Has anyone out there with no undergrad research exp gone on to 1st author?

Thanks~!

Its not a problem in the least, I to did no research in undergrad, and I have first authored a paper. I would say that depending on the school you're at anywhere from 0-100% of students do research You don't hvae to do research to get a good residency, but it helps. In some cases it helps a lot. If I were you I would focus on passing my first year classes, perhaps honoring in a few, and let research take the back seat for a while. Your board scores are also huge, it doesn't matter if you authored 30 papers, you're not gettin that derm residency with a 190 step 1.

 

[ddmo]

The Boards mean everything. All the other stuff doesn't really matter if you do well enough... or, can save your butt if the opposite occurs.

You don't have to do research any more than you did to get into med school. Anyone can do research in med school if they want.

 

[ptstanto]

I did no research in undergrad and didn't begin until 4th year of medical school. Wasn't my cup of tea. I'm hoping to match in radiology (not sure if its on your ROAD mnemonic) but we'll wait and see.

Don't fret about research. Focus on school and if something comes along that sparks your interest, go with it.

 

[monstermatch]

There are several good reasons to do research. The best reason is if you love research, then do it.

Another reason is if you intend to go into academic medicine in a competitive specialty - Derm/Rad-onc/any Surgical subspecialties - you must do real research if you want to get into a top program. If you are willing to go a mid to lower tier program in those competitive fields, or if you aren't interested in academics, research is not essential. Also keep in mind that if your goal is to get into Cards/GI down the road, you should get some research under your belt.

You can also do research if you want to pad your resume & get a letter from an influential person in your field. This can help a lot, especially if your grades/scores are average for your field of choice.

Also, keep in mind that at some med schools, everyone is required to do research - these are people who you'll be competing with down the road for residency.

 

[SocialistMD]

I'm entering med school in 2005. Just a question for all you current med students. What percentage of med students do research?

And if you want to even make a try for a competitive residency (any of the R.O.A.D ones) if you haven't 1st authored does that pretty much automatically nix your application?

I did absolutely 0 research in undergrad and I figure going into med school I have a handicapp if I start research when I'm an M1. Has anyone out there with no undergrad research exp gone on to 1st author?

There are many faculty at UT-Houston who will take you on and allow you to do research, even with no background knowledge. If you get in early (MS-1,2), you can get into a more long-term study and do a great deal more with whatever research you will be doing, plus the faculty will get to know you better.

My class this year had one neurosurg match, and his research was minimal.
We had one ophtho match who also had minimal research.
There are about 7 derm kids who hope to match, and they all have done research. Same holds true for the orthopods, and they have all been doing it since first year.
Three of our 5 ENT applicants did significant research, and those three matched while the other 2 didn't.
Two plastics kids did research and three did not; it was reflected in the number of interviews each received.
We have a pretty high number of anesthesia applicants, and I don't know of a one who did research.
One of our radiology hopefuls did but the others did not.

I echo what has been said above; research will make your application stronger and will help if you are shooting for a "top-tier" residency or are looking to go into a competitive field. However, priority number one should be grades. For now, though, just focus on enjoying your summer. If you have any more specific questions about research at UT, feel free to PM me.

 

[KatieJune]

Hey, I have a similar question. I'm starting med school this fall. I've done a lot of research (3 years full time in infectious disease research). I'm on one publication (where I'm not first author) and will have another publication where I am first author, both in good journals, before I start.

My question is, if I don't do any more research in med school (because I'm doing something else, not because I'm lazy), will it hurt my chances at top residencies? Will they consider the research (more significant than anything I can get done in med school) I did before starting med school? Thanks

 

[tigershark]

Hey, I have a similar question. I'm starting med school this fall. I've done a lot of research (3 years full time in infectious disease research). I'm on one publication (where I'm not first author) and will have another publication where I am first author, both in good journals, before I start.

My question is, if I don't do any more research in med school (because I'm doing something else, not because I'm lazy), will it hurt my chances at top residencies? Will they consider the research (more significant than anything I can get done in med school) I did before starting med school? Thanks

They will consider the research, but why not just continue research during med school? Escpecially with your experience, it will be cake for you. You can get a surprising amount of research accomplished in 4 years just working on it in your spare time. When it comes time to apply you will have a CV better than most post-docs and will be able to write your own ticket.

 

[ddmo]

They will consider the research, but why not just continue research during med school? Escpecially with your experience, it will be cake for you. You can get a surprising amount of research accomplished in 4 years just working on it in your spare time. When it comes time to apply you will have a CV better than most post-docs and will be able to write your own ticket.

Write your own ticket... not really sure about that. There are much more important things that trump research experience.

 

[tupac_don]

There are several good reasons to do research. The best reason is if you love research, then do it.

Another reason is if you intend to go into academic medicine in a competitive specialty - Derm/Rad-onc/any Surgical subspecialties - you must do real research if you want to get into a top program. If you are willing to go a mid to lower tier program in those competitive fields, or if you aren't interested in academics, research is not essential. Also keep in mind that if your goal is to get into Cards/GI down the road, you should get some research under your belt.

You can also do research if you want to pad your resume & get a letter from an influential person in your field. This can help a lot, especially if your grades/scores are average for your field of choice.

Also, keep in mind that at some med schools, everyone is required to do research - these are people who you'll be competing with down the road for residency.

Also keep in mind that if you don't want to do research, don't go to a school that is heavy in research.

 

[tupac_don]

Hey, I have a similar question. I'm starting med school this fall. I've done a lot of research (3 years full time in infectious disease research). I'm on one publication (where I'm not first author) and will have another publication where I am first author, both in good journals, before I start.

My question is, if I don't do any more research in med school (because I'm doing something else, not because I'm lazy), will it hurt my chances at top residencies? Will they consider the research (more significant than anything I can get done in med school) I did before starting med school? Thanks

Obviously research during med school will be more emphasized. However you said you did research in ID. So I take it you might be interested in becoming and ID specialist. If that is the case, you really don't need research during med school If anything I would focus more to do some research during residency on a worthwhile project wiht an ID attending or see to take an ID research elective during residency. But you can very well get in withoout any research. Although in ID specialy resarch will be imp b/c a lot of those docs do research, so if you want to be in an academic setting it si smoewhat mandatory.

 

[fourthyearmed]

I think an important thing to remember is "do you have the time to do research in med school and keep up your grades?" It took every moment I had to study and keep up my grades so research wasn't an option. I don't think mediocre grades will look good no matter how much research you have done so keep this in mind when planning your schedule for med school.