Research Dilemma

[revenge101]

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[lifetothefullest]

She probably is questioning your commitment to her specific field of study. You probably should have discussed summer plans with her before you applied to the summer programs to make sure that everybody was on the same page. Too late now. Now you just need to have that talk with her about your plans for the summer and re-iterate that you are still committed to her project for the year.

It's hard to leave a project for three or four months and come back because a lot will have been done and you'll need to be brought back to speed. So come fall, commit to the project and finish it.

 

[revenge101]

Well, the first time I told her I was accepted to the program, she did encourage me to attend that summer research program, because she knows I want to apply for MD/PhD programs, but now, I don't know whether she has changed her opinion or has other things on her mind. I have helped her enter all the data up to this point and have attended all of the research subjects' visits with the speech therapist, which is everything I can do for her research study, so I don't really know what she is thinking right now.

 

[referee3]

Well, the first time I told her I was accepted to the program, she did encourage me to attend that summer research program, because she knows I want to apply for MD/PhD programs, but now, I don't know whether she has changed her opinion or has other things on her mind. I have helped her enter all the data up to this point and have attended all of the research subjects' visits with the speech therapist, which is everything I can do for her research study, so I don't really know what she is thinking right now.

She's thinking you're s flake. Pick one lab and stick with it.

 

[LizzyM]

Hi,

I am currently doing research at the local children's hospital <snip> the pediatrician said that it is very difficult to find research subjects for this study (we currently only have around 20-25).

Well, the first time I told her I was accepted to the program, she did encourage me to attend that summer research program, because she knows I want to apply for MD/PhD programs, but now, I don't know whether she has changed her opinion or has other things on her mind. I have helped her enter all the data up to this point and have attended all of the research subjects' visits with the speech therapist, which is everything I can do for her research study, so I don't really know what she is thinking right now.

She has other things on her mind and I suspect the clue is in your first message. She needs a full-court press to recruit more subjects. Anything she uses (ads, announcements on social media, "dear doctor" letters to local primary care providers) needs IRB (ethics oversight board) approval and that takes time. It can take time and/or money and some imagination to find the best ways to find these kids, get their parents informed consent and screen them for participation. Her funding and her career depend on getting this done and right now things are not going well.

It isn't fair but sometimes when something is not going well and someone is very frustrated with everything, they'll take it out their frustration on an innocent person who just happens to be in the vicinity. It isn't your fault that her recruitment efforts have fallen short but your departure for your summer is just one more assault on her research efforts.

does your affiliated medical school have a clinical and translational research center? that might be a place to start for help with recruiting. You could do some reading on recruiting for clinical research and see if you could help boost recruitment while you are gone. Part of this might hinge on whether the criteria for enrollment are too limited and few candidates are eligible (would it be feasible to loosen the eligibility criteria or enroll less severely affected children) or if the protocol is so demanding of parents' time or otherwise difficult that parents don't want to sign up or can't find the time to sign up. That leads to questions about whether the protocol can be adjusted (timing of visits, length of visits) or incentives can be provided (free parking, meal vouchers) so that parents are more inclined to sign up. Again, this takes time and requires approval from the IRB.

Good luck.... she has a problem but it isn't really with your summer plans. If you can help her solve her real problem and assure her that you are committed to coming back in the fall, she may be glad to see you take the chance you've been given to expand your research portfolio.