Quit Lab Research---What to do now

[appliepie789]

Hello Everyone!

Current pre-med here, though I am feeling a little lost in my own path right now. I recently picked up some research (as of 8 months ago) because I knew how valuable it is in Med School Admissions, and because I had also picked up some interest in it during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, I soon realized that I hated the type of research I was working on (which was basically microbiological research). I had started to feel a lot of depression during my time there and I kind of felt as I had lost a piece of myself through the process. I have recently quit (as of two days ago) because it started to take a HUGE toll on my mental health and on my classes as well. However, I feel horrible and was not sure if I should quit research all together. Don't get me wrong---I love research! I love reading papers and the overall schema of it all, but I think I missed being in a hospital environment with patients. Anyhow, I was wondering if this happened to any of you as well and If there is any advice you could give me? Thank you!

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[Mr.Smile12]

Well it's good that you know. Not every school places a high value in research though it is important. But you don't need to love bench work to be a physician (just respect it).

 

[Catalystik]

Current pre-med here, though I am feeling a little lost in my own path right now. I recently picked up some research (as of 8 months ago) because I knew how valuable it is in Med School Admissions, and because I had also picked up some interest in it during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, I soon realized that I hated the type of research I was working on (which was basically microbiological research). I had started to feel a lot of depression during my time there and I kind of felt as I had lost a piece of myself through the process. I have recently quit (as of two days ago) because it started to take a HUGE toll on my mental health and on my classes as well. However, I feel horrible and was not sure if I should quit research all together. Don't get me wrong---I love research! I love reading papers and the overall schema of it all, but I think I missed being in a hospital environment with patients. Anyhow, I was wondering if this happened to any of you as well and If there is any advice you could give me? Thank you!

As you were involved in a research activity for > one school term, you've checked the box for general med school application purposes. Unless you find a project that really resonates with you, plan to apply MD/PhD, or to research-focused med schools (aka, top 20s) you can move on. Work on improving your mental health and grades, and also develop other components of a good application, like patient experience, service, leadership, teaching, teamwork, etc (when you're ready).

 

[Lawpy]

Doing research for the sake of med school admissions is a very bad idea in itself because research is hard and grueling, and there will be many moments where you’ll feel frustrated. You need to actually enjoy research for its own sake to have a rewarding experience (the same goes for volunteering, teaching, anything really).

I’m sorry you had a bad experience with research, and you made the right decision to quit that lab. Your health comes above everything else and research really isn’t that big deal. What’s important are academics and volunteering

If you’re still interested in research, please focus on the labs and mentors THAT ACTUALLY INTEREST YOU and don’t do it for someone/something else (e.g. doing it to make adcoms happy). You and your interests/desires/passions come first and doing things that make you happy and fulfilled will be good for you and for your health. Adcoms will see your enthusiasm in your essays and interviews and will look on it favorably