Research in DO school?

[Med1992]

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My DO school doesn't have very many research opportunities, and the ones they do have are not particularly interesting to me. The thought of staying in this very rural town for my last summer just for "research for the sake of research" doesn't really appeal to me either, since I would much rather spend that time doing things I won't be able to do in the next several years, like traveling, etc.

But that being said, if I were interested in a field where research is kind of important to getting a spot in for residency, how do DO students typically go about getting that taken care of? I mean like I said, my school doesn't emphasize research at all and has very limited and, in my personal opinion, not very interesting research projects going on. It makes me wonder how DO students get that done while still being competitive enough for those fields.

Also, which residencies/fields typically WANT their applicants to have done research anyways? I feel like I don't have a very clear answer on that.

Thanks!

 

[MightBeACylon439]

My DO school doesn't have very many research opportunities, and the ones they do have are not particularly interesting to me. The thought of staying in this very rural town for my last summer just for "research for the sake of research" doesn't really appeal to me either, since I would much rather spend that time doing things I won't be able to do in the next several years, like traveling, etc.

That's a whole lot of limitations you're putting on yourself.

 

[Med1992]

That's a whole lot of limitations you're putting on yourself.

How so? All I'm saying is if my school offered research projects I found interesting or drawn toward, I'd consider it for sure. But they don't, so because of that, I'd rather spend time doing other things (unless a good opportunity came up somewhere for something I was genuinely interested in).

 

[Chibucks15]

How so? All I'm saying is if my school offered research projects I found interesting or drawn toward, I'd consider it for sure. But they don't, so because of that, I'd rather spend time doing other things (unless a good opportunity came up somewhere for something I was genuinely interested in).

Sometimes you gotta play the game though. Unfortunately that’s just how it is if you want any sort of competitive specialties

 

[CoomassieBlue57]

For all the future students that read this thread, the problem OP is facing pertaining to lack of research opportunities is why there are multiple reasons for choosing a school. At my school, I was practically handed a research project and publication. Good luck OP.

 

[futuredoctor1995]

For all the future students that read this thread, the problem OP is facing pertaining to lack of research opportunities is why there are multiple reasons for choosing a school. At my school, I was practically handed a research project and publication. Good luck OP.

But you are also in 400K debt and OP's probably not.

 

[Gurby]

But you are also in 400K debt and OP's probably not.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

But you are also in 400K debt and OP's probably not.

400K in debt is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Would you rather be 200K in debt and not match, or 400K in debt and match your top choice residency program?

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile

 

[Chibucks15]

400K in debt is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Would you rather be 200K in debt and not match, or 400K in debt and match your top choice residency program?

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile

research is not the end all be all for matching and you realistically can find something if you work hard enough. 200k every damn time

 

[TTPpentad]

OP, do any of the hospitals in your area have residency programs? If so, they’ll usually have some kind of research going on. My school had zero clinical research opportunities, (only bench science), so I looked around town until I found some opportunities outside the school.

I’d say most of med school is creating your own opportunities and not expecting your school to hold your hand through it all. Sure, some things absolutely come down to the school, but many things are up to you (whether they announce that fact or not).

 

[deleted645092]

OP there are a million and a half ways to get “research” outside of just bench projects and big-time clinical trials.

You can contact physicians in whatever specialty you might be interested in at your local hospital and see if there is a case report they want to write up, and you can write it.

You can contact the nearest residency or a residency you’re interested in down the line and see if they have any ongoing projects.

You can wait until the clinical years and opportunities will randomly pop up. This is what happened to me; The clinical rotation site I’m at is on it’s way to becoming more academically inclined so they’re huge on pushing research projects. I was able to find a case report that has gotten accepted to a national conference and I wasn’t even looking for it, and it was so quick to write up I literally got it done sitting at an airport during a layover.

Overall you have to go out and seek out projects if you’re interested in it. There isn’t any particular rule regarding “needing” research but as a general rule of thumb the more competitive you’re thinking, the more likely it is to make a difference in your application, because there are going to be hundreds of people competing against you who have taken the initiative and gotten their name on 1 or more projects, even if they’re just simple case reports like I mentioned above.

 

[Goro]

My DO school doesn't have very many research opportunities, and the ones they do have are not particularly interesting to me. The thought of staying in this very rural town for my last summer just for "research for the sake of research" doesn't really appeal to me either, since I would much rather spend that time doing things I won't be able to do in the next several years, like traveling, etc.

But that being said, if I were interested in a field where research is kind of important to getting a spot in for residency, how do DO students typically go about getting that taken care of? I mean like I said, my school doesn't emphasize research at all and has very limited and, in my personal opinion, not very interesting research projects going on. It makes me wonder how DO students get that done while still being competitive enough for those fields.

Also, which residencies/fields typically WANT their applicants to have done research anyways? I feel like I don't have a very clear answer on that.

Thanks!

Look into NIH fellowships for students.
Reach out to Faculty/PIs in the largest city closest to you home town or within driving distance.

 

[cookiegrub]

Look into NIH fellowships for students.
Reach out to Faculty/PIs in the largest city closest to you home town or within driving distance.

IMO getting those fellowships is difficult without an already impressive research background. I would suggest contacting your school's advisor and asking them about bigdawgs in the area that can help you get some footing. I agree, research at DO schools is relatively a new concept and even though many act as if it is a priority nowadays, the encouragement and accommodation is very difficult to achieve unlike MD schools. I am not particularly sure why this is the case and I agree that many have research that is either heavy in EM, IM, or FM. Also, I have my doubts when it comes to doing research at home institutes when they may not have particularly well-known faculty. Even if you are interested in these specialties, the topics are not really interesting to me and are treated as a checkbox for ERAS. If you are really curious about clinical research, start talking to faculty fast! There are loads of opportunities that you might be missing from just waiting around. You may also be already too late for some really good fellowships since they often ask you submit by early January. However, know which fellowships are within your reach. If they accept only top tier MD students, the chance for your admission is slim to none. As a medical student you don't have much time to ask for recommendation letters and write meaningful personal statements so I would recommend at this point something where you can just shadow a well known physician and hope to snag a project.