Publication and honors thesis or no clinical experience?

[bluishbird336]

So my PI offered me a project that could result in a publication and honors thesis, but in exchange they said I should really do anything else like clinical experience. They have already asked me to leave my only other non academic commitment as an EMT in a club, which I only joined this semester and want to stay in. Their reasoning was that they have advised many students who have entered medical school without clinical experience and top school value research a-lot.

I am currently a junior and I currently have little to no clinical experience so far. Furthermore, I am also not sure if I can commit the time to the lab as it requires 30 hrs/week + commute and I feel it would impact my grades. I was just posting to see what you guys thought.

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[Mr.Smile12]

What are your academic metrics? State of residence? Goals and purpose to pursue medicine?

 

[GoSpursGo]

30 hr/wk is a MASSIVE commitment. If that truly is the expectation, then your advisor is right you really should drop other ECs as otherwise your grades will surely suffer.

This really comes down to your career objectives and whether you are otherwise a strong applicant for one of the "top" schools. If you are aiming for MSTP or a T20ish school, then this could be the kind of stand-out experience that gets you noticed. Outside of those two specific scenarios, I really struggle imagining you getting a good look if you have literal zero clinical experience. Schools will correctly wonder why you aren't just pursuing a PhD if you have mostly focused on research.

 

[bluishbird336]

What are your academic metrics? State of residence? Goals and purpose to pursue medicine?

I currently have a 4.0, but even with the current time commitment, I feel like I am falling behind in my classes. My residency is CA. I hope to pursue medicine possible in an academic setting and participate in research but I am not sure. I feel like I really enjoyed being an EMT and working with patients more than bench research in the lab.

 

[bluishbird336]

30 hr/wk is a MASSIVE commitment. If that truly is the expectation, then your advisor is right you really should drop other ECs as otherwise your grades will surely suffer.

This really comes down to your career objectives and whether you are otherwise a strong applicant for one of the "top" schools. If you are aiming for MSTP or a T20ish school, then this could be the kind of stand-out experience that gets you noticed. Outside of those two specific scenarios, I really struggle imagining you getting a good look if you have literal zero clinical experience. Schools will correctly wonder why you aren't just pursuing a PhD if you have mostly focused on research.

I am hoping to matriculate into a T20 but honestly at the rate things are going in my classes and the demanding nature of the lab, I feel like possibly leaving the lab. I am however conflicted because I do want to apply to top schools, but I am not sure about if I can afford the amount of hours. While I currently still have the metrics for top schools, I also do not have any other signifiant ECs. Would the publication be worth the work for the next year or more?

 

[LizzyM]

You are going to need to check all the boxes if you are going to get into medical school from California. That means that you'll need the GPA (which you have), MCAT scores (figure on needing about 300 hours of prep for that), some research (even if only 1 summer ), some community service, some clinical exposure, some shadowing. You can do these one at a time which will require taking some gap years, or do them concurrently but with less intensity. You have to figure that out given the time constraints you have.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I am hoping to matriculate into a T20 but honestly at the rate things are going in my classes and the demanding nature of the lab, I feel like possibly leaving the lab. I am however conflicted because I do want to apply to top schools, but I am not sure about if I can afford the amount of hours. While I currently still have the metrics for top schools, I also do not have any other signifiant ECs. Would the publication be worth the work for the next year or more?

It's honestly impossible to advise without more specifics, particularly in how high-impact the publication would be and how likely the work actually is to pan out. In general a single publication is nice, but unless you're going to Science/Cell/Nature that isn't going to be some golden ticket to a T20 school especially if your other ECs are lacking. And importantly, you have to consider the possibility that the project might just fail and go nowhere.

The main question you should ask is whether you are enjoying the research. If the answer is yes, then figure out how to check the other boxes as @LizzyM said. If the answer is no, then there are by far better things you could be doing with your time.

 

[bluishbird336]

You are going to need to check all the boxes if you are going to get into medical school from California. That means that you'll need the GPA (which you have), MCAT scores (figure on needing about 300 hours of prep for that), some research (even if only 1 summer ), some community service, some clinical exposure, some shadowing. You can do these one at a time which will require taking some gap years, or do them concurrently but with less intensity. You have to figure that out given the time constraints you have.

Hi LizzyM, how would mid-author publications look for T20 Admissions? Is research productivity really important?

 

[LizzyM]

Any authorship puts you at the top of the heap with regard to research. Having no research would be one strike against you. Two strikes (e.g. no community service, or no leadership/teamwork) and you are very unlikely to get an interview.