I am a MS1 at an NYC medical school who is highly interested in pursuing a plastic surgery residency. This summer, I have the opportunity to conduct research with two different plastic surgeons, of which I must choose one to commit to. Ideally I'd like this summer project to become something I could continue in some form through the rest of my time in med school (including a research year).
The first plastic surgeon is one of the most well-known and highly regarded surgeons in NYC. He has a staggering number of publications, and his research is in a very cutting-edge field (3D modeling). If I were to conduct research with him, I would likely be committing to researching with him for the rest of my time in medical school. It would be a MASSIVE time commitment, but if I busted my ass it would probably yield a couple high impact papers. I am concerned, however, that I won't be able to put as much time as I'd like into research during 2nd and 3rd year because of Step 1/rotations.
The second plastic surgeon is a chief resident at my school, and he does a high volume of research. If I were to work with him, it would likely be more of a summer commitment. My involvement in his research would mostly be writing case-reports and conducting chart reviews. If I went this route, I'd probably end up with a high number of publications, but they would be considerably less "prestigious" or high-impact. Working with this surgeon would, however, give me considerably more flexibility with my schedule. He's also a lot better at replying to emails than the first surgeon.
Ultimately, my goal is to match into the best plastic surgery program that I am capable of matching into. This means that going into 2nd and 3rd year, I'm going to have to put a HUGE amount of time into Step studying and honoring my rotations. With this in mind, do you guys think it would be a more productive choice for me to try and nab some prestigious, high quality publications, or a greater amount of "low hanging fruit" ones? How much do plastic surgery residencies (or any super competitive residency for that matter) value publication quality vs sheer quantity? How much time would I realistically have to conduct research during 2nd and 3rd year?
Any advice would be appreciated because honestly I know very little about matching to a super competitive specialty aside from the generic "honor your rotations/do well on Step" rhetoric that everyone hears.
The first plastic surgeon is one of the most well-known and highly regarded surgeons in NYC. He has a staggering number of publications, and his research is in a very cutting-edge field (3D modeling). If I were to conduct research with him, I would likely be committing to researching with him for the rest of my time in medical school. It would be a MASSIVE time commitment, but if I busted my ass it would probably yield a couple high impact papers. I am concerned, however, that I won't be able to put as much time as I'd like into research during 2nd and 3rd year because of Step 1/rotations.
The second plastic surgeon is a chief resident at my school, and he does a high volume of research. If I were to work with him, it would likely be more of a summer commitment. My involvement in his research would mostly be writing case-reports and conducting chart reviews. If I went this route, I'd probably end up with a high number of publications, but they would be considerably less "prestigious" or high-impact. Working with this surgeon would, however, give me considerably more flexibility with my schedule. He's also a lot better at replying to emails than the first surgeon.
Ultimately, my goal is to match into the best plastic surgery program that I am capable of matching into. This means that going into 2nd and 3rd year, I'm going to have to put a HUGE amount of time into Step studying and honoring my rotations. With this in mind, do you guys think it would be a more productive choice for me to try and nab some prestigious, high quality publications, or a greater amount of "low hanging fruit" ones? How much do plastic surgery residencies (or any super competitive residency for that matter) value publication quality vs sheer quantity? How much time would I realistically have to conduct research during 2nd and 3rd year?
Any advice would be appreciated because honestly I know very little about matching to a super competitive specialty aside from the generic "honor your rotations/do well on Step" rhetoric that everyone hears.
