PREP Research Programs before Medical school applications

[eaandei]

Hello everyone! I will be graduating with a bachelors degree in Biology this upcoming May 2024. I do not have notable research experience yet and I will not be able to before I get my degree. Thus, I am very strongly interested in focusing my gap year on gaining more research experience. I am particularly interested as I am curious as to if research may be a more appealing path for me or if I would consider an MD/PHD.

In searching for postbac 1 year programs, I came across the NIH PREP programs. On the website itself it states that PREP programs are not intended to prepare participants for medical degrees. (Link: National Institute of General Medical Sciences)

I have the following questions:
1) I understand why these programs may be targeted towards PHD applicants, but does this mean that these programs are detrimental/irrelevant to applying to medical school? (Will my experience in these programs mean anything at all to schools?)

2) Are there any other post-bachelors degree program types or experiences that offer research experience?

3) If I were to join a research lab as a lab technician or volunteer at my undergraduate university, would this be a comparable experience in it's value even if I am still working under a graduate student and not leading my own project?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

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[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

First of all, you are overestimating the value of research on a medical school application. It may help you if you decide to do MD/PhD, but having some research experience is helpful but not required. You will get experience in research as a medical student once you get in.

Second, we do have a real need for biomedical scientists. The PREP programs are meant to help individuals pursue this career path, especially if they could not take advantage of opportunities while they were undergraduates.

To your questions: do these programs mean anything to schools? To schools, yes it's meaningful because the schools want students to be trained as research students, separate from the medical school students. It matters to the Ph.D. admissions committees at those schools, especially the basic science department chairs. And since most MD and MD/PhD admissions committees have basic scientists serving as screeners, interviewers, or file reviewers, it could raise serious questions about your true intentions to pursue medicine.

There are other options. In addition to actually getting hired as a research assistant/technician as a lab, one of my colleagues oversees the Research Associate Program, which focuses a bit more on clinical/public health research as opposed to pure bench research. These programs have been really good giving participants more clinical exposure and some research experience, making them more prepared and desirable for many medical schools. You would need to contact one of the affiliate hospitals.