Research and COVID-19

[Osminog]

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I had a wet bench research position lined up for this summer at my home institution (immunology field). Unfortunately, I was informed today that this opportunity is no longer available because of the COVID-19 situation.

Specialty-wise, I’m strongly considering academic IM, and I know that having some research experience is recommended for those who want to train at a solid university program. But during a time when so many labs are shut down and so many researchers are working from home, what options are available? Someone on SDN said that contributing to clinical research through digital/long-distance means is still a viable option right now. My problem is that I don’t have any connections; none of my family members or family friends work in healthcare, let alone in clinical research... so I don’t know a clinician who has good reason to trust me with data-crunching/article-writing from home.

Should I bother seeking a new research opportunity at this point, or should I give up and devote my M1 summer solely to board prep (even though the NBME might retroactively make Step 1 pass/fail for my class)?

 

[longhaul3]

Ask your current PI if he/she does any research that you could help with remotely, or, if not, ask if he/she has any friends who do. PIs tend to trust med students from their home institutions implicitly when it comes to clinical research, case reports, etc.