Research Opportunity for Unmatched Applicants/Expanded Med Students

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piffle8

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Hey Everyone,

First off, congrats to all those who matched last week! Its a huge accomplishment and worthy of celebration. For those that didn't match, keep your chin up. I was in your shoes at this point last year trying to make those difficult "what the heck do I do now" decisions. I wanted to take a minute to put in a plug for the research year that I did to help improve my CV and bolster my chances of matching this year (which I did).

I spent the past year doing a research/clinical year with Dr. Rich Davis at UNC - Chapel Hill and I can't speak highly enough about the experience. First off, the year was extremely productive. I've published multiple papers, have several others under review for publication and am in the process of writing manuscripts for a few more. We have several projects that are underway at this point in time that I will not be able to complete before I move on to intern year, which would be low-hanging fruit for the next research student to join the department. Dr. Davis focuses on clinical research and we have several prospective studies in progress, including a industry sponsored clinical trial. Additionally, the whole department was extremely supportive of our research efforts and I had the chance to work with many other faculty members, allowing me to network better, which directly resulted in residency interviews. If research is a weak point on your application, please consider this position.

Beyond the research, I was able to spend a considerable time in clinic and in the OR with Dr. Davis and others in the department. Dr. Davis is really great about letting you adjust your schedule as you need to meet the needs of the moment (i.e. skip clinic/OR to write papers). I've been lucky to be able to develop my slit lamp exam skills as I've worked with Dr. Davis in the clinic and as I've recruited patients for our studies. I've also been able to capitalize on many of the resources available to the residents, including their lectures, teaching conferences and weekly wet lab sessions in their state-of-the-art wet lab.

Finally, and most importantly, the biggest benefit to working with Dr. Davis is his mentorship and the love of ophthalmology he will instill in you. From Day One, he worked hard to make sure that I was doing was I needed to do to give me the best possible shot at matching the 2nd time around. He wrote me a LOR that was frequently commented on while I was on the interview trail. He offered to make phone calls and send emails to programs on my behalf. He insisted that we do mock interviews prior to interview season. He gave me as much time off as I needed to attend all of my interviews. His mentorship, and this research position, are the reason that I went from 2 interview invites in the 2015-2016 match to 14 invitations this year and ultimately a residency position.

If you would be interested in working with Dr. Davis for the 2017-2018 year, or if you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Its been an incredible experience and I would do it again without hesitation.

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Hi, I'm interested! I just PM'ed you. Looking forward to hearing from you.
 
We will continue collecting applications through Feb 12th for anyone that may be interested that hasn't contacted me yet. If you have any questions, feel free to message me.
 
We will continue collecting applications through Feb 12th for anyone that may be interested that hasn't contacted me yet. If you have any questions, feel free to message me.

Hi, are you still accepting applications at this point?
 
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