Picking a Retrospective Chart Review Topic

[sunealoneal]

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On Monday I'm meeting with someone at a Cancer Registry at a private clinic in a hospital. Is it possible for me to come up with potential topics on my own by reading Red Journal this weekend? Or does the physician/mentor suggest the topic? He's apparently busier than normal and indicated that he may not have much time to spend with me, so I'm trying to streamline things.

 

[ramsesthenice]

Can't really answer without more information but the short answer is it is not all that easy to pick a topic unless you are well trained. The two key elements are 1) the topic has to be of interest for a journal to accept for publication and 2) you have to know what information your registry can provide that others have not or can't provide.

I assume your a med student so this may be a pretty hard task for you. Finding a specific topic that has not been covered the same way before that is interesting to others is easier said than done. It requires a pretty good understanding of the clinical literature and also retrospective trial design and statistics at levels which just are not frequently obtained in med school.

We frequently talk about how easy it can be to pump out a retrospective study on this site. The enormous caveat is that the mentor has a solid infrastructure and time to support you. If that's not the case this is a much taller task.

 

[sunealoneal]

That's good to know, thank you. It looks like I'm at the mercy of his schedule, hopefully that turns out well.

Worse case scenario, I'll apply for a research rotation or year after my 3rd year. The wait might drive me nuts though.

 

[Mr RADical]

So just some experience for what its worth. I tried to do something very similar to this. Long story short it was a huge investment of time and nothing came from it in the end. If I had it to do over again, I would really focus on working with a mentor who had time to help me select a good project that would be appropriate for my knowledge and skill level.