Research During Medical School

[PreMedical1]

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Hi, I was wondering how much (if any) time there is available during the first two years of medical school for research? I can imagine that it is somewhat dependent on an individuals ability to manage their time, but is this common? Fairly uncommon? Highly dependent on the school you attend?

 

[deuce924]

During your 1st year I really wouldn't expect to get much research completed. A few reasons for this are: 1. you need to focus your attention to adjusting to life in medical school 2. grades/classes should come first 3. it is going to take time to find your research interests and someone to do research with.

I did a summer research program the summer after my 1st year and carried that research over into the beginning of my 2nd year. I didn't have much time to devote to it with classes and everything that med school encompasses but I tried to manage my time wisely and squeeze in research time when I could. As for how common this is, I have no idea. Hope this helps. Good luck...

 

[TexasPhysician]

Hi, I was wondering how much (if any) time there is available during the first two years of medical school for research? I can imagine that it is somewhat dependent on an individuals ability to manage their time, but is this common? Fairly uncommon? Highly dependent on the school you attend?

Spot on! I've seen students do research each and every year of med school. Usually with clinical research - less time constraints.

I've also seen students never have time for research.

I started in first year.

 

[tremulousNeedle]

During your 1st year I really wouldn't expect to get much research completed. A few reasons for this are: 1. you need to focus your attention to adjusting to life in medical school 2. grades/classes should come first 3. it is going to take time to find your research interests and someone to do research with.

I did a summer research program the summer after my 1st year and carried that research over into the beginning of my 2nd year. I didn't have much time to devote to it with classes and everything that med school encompasses but I tried to manage my time wisely and squeeze in research time when I could. As for how common this is, I have no idea. Hope this helps. Good luck...

Agreed. Many schools have a summer research program for students between their first and second years. Schools typically offer an option for students to continue this research later on in their medical school career is they so desire.

-senior medical student / summer research program participant

 

[Catalystik]

And a number of those summer research programs pay you a very nice stipend for participating, which is even better.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

During your 1st year I really wouldn't expect to get much research completed. A few reasons for this are: 1. you need to focus your attention to adjusting to life in medical school 2. grades/classes should come first 3. it is going to take time to find your research interests and someone to do research with.

I did a summer research program the summer after my 1st year and carried that research over into the beginning of my 2nd year. I didn't have much time to devote to it with classes and everything that med school encompasses but I tried to manage my time wisely and squeeze in research time when I could. As for how common this is, I have no idea. Hope this helps. Good luck...

Really? I'm not saying I would try to slack of as much as I can, but I would be perfectly willing to to not obsess about grades in order to have time to do research. The marginal gain of spending effort really diminishes and at some point just isn't worth it.

In fact, aren't more and more schools are moving towards P/F preclinical so that students have time to do what they are passionate about - research/volunteer at the free clinic/etc?

 

[Morsetlis]

P/F schools have internal rankings which are then reflected on your dean's letter. Also, actually knowing **** means a better Step 1 score.

 

[drizzt3117]

During your 1st year I really wouldn't expect to get much research completed. A few reasons for this are: 1. you need to focus your attention to adjusting to life in medical school 2. grades/classes should come first 3. it is going to take time to find your research interests and someone to do research with.

I did a summer research program the summer after my 1st year and carried that research over into the beginning of my 2nd year. I didn't have much time to devote to it with classes and everything that med school encompasses but I tried to manage my time wisely and squeeze in research time when I could. As for how common this is, I have no idea. Hope this helps. Good luck...

I have done research since a little bit before starting med school. I spend about 20-30 hours a week in lab. I will probably spend a bit less time doing research during 3rd year, but still work on it in my spare time. I will be presenting at 5 meetings this year and have put in 3 pubs since starting. It's not that common to be that involved in research during med school but many people in my class have pubs and have presented at national meetings. It requires some time management to get everything in order and keep up with school but it's definitely possible if you're willing to put in the effort.

 

[drizzt3117]

P/F schools have internal rankings which are then reflected on your dean's letter. Also, actually knowing **** means a better Step 1 score.

Some of them do, others only evaluate you on 3rd year. I would advise studying for your classes though, it does help quite a bit for boards etc. 😛

 

[BlueElmo]

It seems a lot of med students I talked to generally start research the summer after first year? Anyways, that's what I'm planning to do.

 

[Morsetlis]

Correct.

 

[Ableton]

I think it's completely dependent on the individual. Once I settled in a routine for managing the coursework, I spent some of my spare time on research projects and managed to be pretty productive.

I'd recommend clinical research, so you can just work on it when time permits and then put it aside when exams come around.

 

[TexasPhysician]

P/F schools have internal rankings which are then reflected on your dean's letter. Also, actually knowing **** means a better Step 1 score.

Not necessarily. My school has no internal rankings.

You also don't need to Honor classes to get a good Step score. I would know.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

Not necessarily. My school has no internal rankings.

You also don't need to Honor classes to get a good Step score. I would know.

Agreed. I think the idea is that once you know the material reasonably well, there isn't any point spending a few hours that could be used for research/volunteering/shadowing to stress over a few extra points.

I'm not saying classes aren't important. What I'm saying is I'd rather get a 90 instead of a 100 and actually have the time to do the research I care about.

 

[Ponger]

Agreed. I think the idea is that once you know the material reasonably well, there isn't any point spending a few hours that could be used for research/volunteering/shadowing to stress over a few extra points.

I'm not saying classes aren't important. What I'm saying is I'd rather get a 90 instead of a 100 and actually have the time to do the research I care about.

Hahaha, it's that easy right? I believe there is the possibility for balance between academics and extracurriculars but your example is a bit extreme. I'd say the general risk test to test is shifting up or down relative to the class average. That makes a big difference in a P/HP/H system.

And as stated before, you 'should' care about studying for classes because studies show the types of people who score consistently well on the boards are the people who consistently honor their classes.

 

[FutureOncDoc]

How important is it to do research in undergrad? Would not having much prior research experience hurt my chances of doing a research program after my first year of medical school (providing I get in). I wasn't as interested in research during undergrad but I think it is something I would want to do now. I've always been interested in becoming a pediatric oncologist, but I do think I want to do cancer research also. I graduated from undergrad May 2009. I had a gap year this year and spent it volunteering at a Children's Hospital. I was going to apply to medical school for fall 2010, but now I am wondering if I should wait and try to do research before I apply.