Research Programs at another medical school.

[evilmorty1307]

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Hello All,

I am an incoming student this fall. The school I will attend is not a research powerhouse. They have very low NIH funding. I am interested in multiple competitive specialties i.e. ophthalmology, radiology/IR, IM to eventually cardiology. There are a few research powerhouses near my school. Will doing a summer program at these places help my application significantly? Does anyone here have experience with doing one and getting a letter of rec from a faculty member there for residency?? I am at a "low tier" school and I am worried that it will hurt my chances at a competitive specialty. My eventual goal is to break into academic medicine.

 

[Osteoth]

Hello All,

I am an incoming student this fall. The school I will attend is not a research powerhouse. They have very low NIH funding. I am interested in multiple competitive specialties i.e. ophthalmology, radiology/IR, IM to eventually cardiology. There are a few research powerhouses near my school. Will doing a summer program at these places help my application significantly? Does anyone here have experience with doing one and getting a letter of rec from a faculty member there for residency?? I am at a "low tier" school and I am worried that it will hurt my chances at a competitive specialty. My eventual goal is to break into academic medicine.

Yes it will help, especially if you're able to publish something meaningful. I haven't done this myself but I've heard of people doing it. Just email and ask if you can swing by sometime to discuss research, and hopefully they're receptive. Not sure about the caliber of your institution but I can't imagine you'll be the first person to ever try this.

Strength of your program will hurt you to an extent, but not nearly as much as you'd think. Unless you go to a name-brand, top-20 school then from my understanding school reputation isn't held against you, it just doesn't add to your application, if that makes sense.

 

[longhaul3]

This happens all the time with summer research. Many schools have formal programs with funding that you can apply to as a med student from another institution. The NIH has the T35 grants that are administered through any number of highly regarded institutions.