research at outside institution

[DimSum]

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tried searching the boards... havent found much on this...
so, any help would be appreciated...

im going to be starting a gen surg residency next month... im thinking of pursuing some relatively competitive fellowships (maybe PRS, colorectal, or endocrine)... and i think I may need a research year or two during residency.

the program i am at has some options... a 1yr or 2yr research program during residency (and it truly is optional)... but, i was thinking of doing some research outside of my home institution... maybe the NIH or other perhaps bigger name research center (if i can get a spot)...

but, i wanted to know the feasibility of getting an outside spot, doing so without insulting my home institution, if its done very often and maybe how to approach/look into it...

hope this isnt too much... any help would be appreciated...

 

[Winged Scapula]

I cannot say how popular it is across the board, but I personally know two residents from my program who went elsewhere for their lab years...one to the NIH and another to a different program with a reknowned researcher in his field of interest.

I doubt you'll insult your program but you will need to find out the following:

1) whether or not the "other" program will be paying your salary and if so, how much (ie, will they be paying you at your program rate or their program rate). It would not be suprising if your home program refused to pay your salary and benefits while you were elsewhere.

2) how long can you be gone from your primary program?

3) can you come back whenever you want - ie, can you spend 3 years in the lab if the research is fruitful, or will you be required to come back "home" after 1 or 2?

4) are you required to hold two different state licenses, or can you put your home license on inactive status (if you have a full an unrestricted license)(; who will pay for the other state license?

It certainly can be done and should be done if you find yourself looking at competitive fellowships (of which colorectal is not, BTW) and don't have enough support or faculty research at your home program.

 

[DimSum]

thanks kimberli for the quick reply...
do you know if the NIH sponsored thing is a set research year that is applied to... or is it more of a find your own project being conducted there and contact the PI?

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who has gone that route, but have heard of a few residents doing it... i guess im trying to find someone I can ask a bunch of these quetions to... the NIH website isnt too helpful...

you wouldn't happen to know anyone I could email to find out some extra info?

 

[Winged Scapula]

I don't know whether the one who went to the NIH applied for something posted or contacted a researcher. I"ll ask about and post here if I find out.

 

[maxheadroom]

NIH has intramural postdoc fellowships available. They're funded for 12 months and can be renewed for up to five years. I think they have rolling admissions for the programs, but it's been a while since I've looked at the info. If you're interested in doing some serious bench research to start off an academic career, there are few better ways to get going, especially since you'll get to know people at NIH and you'll get training on grant writing. You can just about guarantee that you'll be eligible for a new investigator grant when you're a faculty member.

 

[surg]

1st, I'd make sure that you had carefully examined the resources available at your own institution, including those outside of the surgery department. It is not uncommon for some great research to be done in the corresponding internal medicine department (e.g. GI for CRS or endocrinology for endocrine or in basic science departments). Look through prior grads from your program that might have gone on to fellowships and see what they did. It may spur your interest.

There are definitely logistical issues to leaving and coming back to your program. Most importantly, be sure where your funding is coming from and whether your spot is GUARANTEED to be held for you for when you come back.

Having said all this, I am aware of a number of people who have gone away from their home programs to get research experience.

Ones that I have seen that seem to have an organized application system:

NCI has a 2-3 year Surg. Onc fellowship that accepts people fairly early (I think as early as after the 2nd year of residency) It has been run by Steven Rosenberg who is a leading immunology/cancer vaccine researcher. Typically it is 18 mo bench/6 mo clinical

In years past Brigham had an ad out for their T32 GI oncology research fellowship.

If you are into clinical research, don't forget about the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program: 2 years at UCLA, Michigan, Penn, and Yale.

 

[drtx]

I am currently at Yale doing research. There are quite a few labs with good funding. I think looking at their funding (look at the investigators CV to find this) is important. The likelihood that they can pay you out of their grant funds or privide a scholarship gives your program incentive to help you do this without too much trouble.