Publications

[Name]

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How common is it for an undergraduate to be published one or several times? I am a sophomore and have been published in neurosurgery twice so far (not first authorships). The doctor I work with thinks I will be able to have a first authorship by the time I graduate. Does pretty much everyone who applies to top med schools have publications on their resumes? My question is, is my research enough to set me appart from other applicants with similar stats?

 

[Gleevec]

Depends on how much you did and how much of a contribution you actually made, which will be seen by your LORs.

Adcoms know that non-first authorship papers are a crap shoot. Some profs will give EVERYONE credit and some will only give the actual important workers credit. Adcoms will be able to tell which based on interivews etc.

Quality of journal, prestige of institution/professor, and importance of the work along with your knowledge and participation in it will determine if your research is worthwhile in the eyes of adcoms.

 

[Dr Chooch]

Originally posted by Name
How common is it for an undergraduate to be published one or several times? I am a sophomore and have been published in neurosurgery twice so far (not first authorships). The doctor I work with thinks I will be able to have a first authorship by the time I graduate. Does pretty much everyone who applies to top med schools have publications on their resumes? My question is, is my research enough to set me appart from other applicants with similar stats?

I know of many undergrads that have gotten published, though most that I have met were not first authors. I don't think it is VERY common, but it might be at schools that are more renowned for research than mine was. I have also met plenty of people who have applied to top schools without research and got interviewed and/or accepted. It sounds like you are being given a decent amount of work and doing well with it, so there is no doubt that will only make your application stronger.

And yes, if you have a first authorship I think that definitely gives you an edge and sets you apart somewhat over another applicant, given that you have similar stats, backgrounds, experiences, extracurrics, essays, LORs, and personalities. 😛 What I'm saying is, if that is your thing, then do the best job that you can and it will be shown how important it is to you when you apply. A first authorship is cool 😎 and the adcoms will see that.

 

[Street Philosopher]

very good start! you're way ahead of the game. first authorship is not required to get into a competitive school. even getting into a journal is not required. but both help a lot, i think.

another important thing that you should keep in mind is that you should know why you did the research that you did (why did it interest you, why does research in general interest you?), and be able to explain what you did verbally (i.e. during interviews). as you're doing your research, always keep those things in the back of your mind.

good luck.

 

[Name]

Thanks for your responses. I just wanted to get an idea of how common/uncommon being published is and how important it actually is. I would just like to clarify that I was extremely involved in both cases and have learned a lot in the process. The institution is Hopkins and the doctor is a leader in his field. I have fallen in love with the medical school and it is definitely my first choice. I just hope I even have a chance for an interview! Good luck to everyone!

 

[DrNicholas]

Sounds sweet 😎

 

[mvervaine]

just as a warning though, to those who do research in non-clinical matters: make sure you have ample time to do clinical activities outside of your research and know why you're choosing medicine over the obvious (mainly, research).

i also published twice, and both times the work was so focused on a particular area of study in the basic sciences that i had a hard time defending why i wanted to do medicine (also the fact that i didn't volunteer in a single hospital until the summer i was applying didn't help).

but alas, best of luck to Name! first authorship is pretty distinguishing... 🙂

 

[lady bug]

Wow, I didn't think first authorship was such a big deal, but apparently it is! 🙂 I just got a first authorship in a neuroscience journal b/c the doctor that I job shadowed who was doing clinical research simply didn't have the time to compile all his data and write a paper. He told me that if I write the paper, he'd get my name published in a journal. So I did a literature search, went through all his data, and wrote the paper. It only took a couple weeks. Not too shabby I'd say! 😀

 

[xaelia]

I'd say it's a small subset of applicants that can cite publications as part of their research experience. Certainly, it is not required to publish or present to "get into" medical school, but if you're aiming for the top - which you are - then it's in your best interests not to give them any reason to choose someone else over you. As previous posters have warned, do not over-specialize in one aspect of your premedical preparation; a well-rounded applicant with above-average numbers and excellence in a chosen pursuit will give as good a chance as realistically possible.

Good luck!

 

[Adcadet]

I'm of the opinion that most adcoms realize that being published means nothing: the ability to do research, however, can be an important factor. Being published is just a sign of being able to do research, although it's not perfect. If you are published, even as first author, and you can't talk intelligently about your research, you're dead. If you're not published, but have research experience and can talk very intelligently about your it you're probably fine. Remember that if you get a LOR from a PI, he/she should comment on what you have done and what your skills are. So if you're not published but you're a great researcher, don't fear - your PI probably told the adcom.

 

[tms]

Originally posted by mvervaine
just as a warning though, to those who do research in non-clinical matters: make sure you have ample time to do clinical activities outside of your research and know why you're choosing medicine over the obvious (mainly, research).

I second that motion...

Getting published is uncommon for undergrads...let alone first authorship. This will be crucial at schools where one of your interviewers is a PhD or MD involved in research. The catch is...know the research or review material. Anyone can get their name on a paper if their PI feels so inclined...and I would not want to explain to an interviewer, "Oh...actually, I don't really understand those mechanisms...I just put some figures together for the paper and typed the reference list."

Ya heard me.

 

[Violinrose]

Besides agreeing with Adcadet and tms, I must add that in the scope of the overall picture, publishing a paper in a journal isn't as important as the research experience itself. I did organic synthesis for over two years, accomplished quite a bit, and learned tons. But it takes years to get that kind of stuff published because of the nature of the work.

Furthermore, I think it is more important that you actually be able to READ and UNDERSTAND different types of research articles, because that is what you will likely be facing as an MD who will need to stay current on biomedical research. 🙂

 

[bw07]

I would say if the impact factor is high, say 15+ and you have first authorship, it will almost always help (unless of course, you can't explain anything about your research).