Research, Publishing and Medical School

[premeddick]

I am a second year medical student at a mid-upper tier medical school. I just met with one of our old timers; a cardiologist and he really stressed to me the importance of doing some research and publishing.

During the two years before medical school I did full time research and published a number of articles including two first author and bunch of other lower author papers. Some of these lower author papers were in very very good journals (NEJM...)

Are there any opinions on when to do research, what kind of research to do, who to do it with and how to get involved as a second year medical student?

Thanks for any input especially that relating to the importance of research for medical students going forward.

Thanks

PMD

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[richie33]

doing research work will anyway not prove to be bad....so it is good doing that.....so you need not have to worry just go through it..

 

[go lakers]

Are there any opinions on when to do research, what kind of research to do, who to do it with and how to get involved as a second year medical student?

when - start summer between ms1/ms2 and carry it onwards from there. since you're already into second year, you can consider wait this year out and try to start a project while on the wards (on a 'lighter' rotation).

kind - whatever you're interested in, and whatever will produce results.

how - email a PI and get going.

 

[WNT Signaling]

During the two years before medical school I did full time research and published a number of articles including two first author and bunch of other lower author papers. Some of these lower author papers were in very very good journals (NEJM...)

I'm curious because when individuals say 'it's good to have at least one paper' do they mean having ANY papers, or do they mean to have published while in medical school

 

[knight3w]

I'm curious because when individuals say 'it's good to have at least one paper' do they mean having ANY papers, or do they mean to have published while in medical school

I think they mean any paper. I heard from the mouth of a residency director that the most important thing is to show intellectual curiosity. I was very lucky during my time before medical school and had a number of important pubs. There was some luck but there was also a lot of intellectual curiosity and hard work. I think is what residencies are looking for in addition to all the other stuff.

PS I like your name. Part of the research I did was on TCF7L2.

 

[studentologist]

What exactly does it mean to be a "first author" on a paper?

 

[ChiDO]

your name comes first on the paper.

Smith, Joe. Jones, Bob. Coughin, Iza. Itchy, Ima.

Joe Smith is the first author of this paper. And Ima Itchy is a big shot who oversees all the labs or has the grant or w/e.

 

[PritzkerGuy]

actually ... a couple journals have recently changed their formatting where first author comes last, and the PI comes first ....

The one that comes to mind that is now in this format is Nature Reviews Immunology.

 

[premeddick]

actually ... a couple journals have recently changed their formatting where first author comes last, and the PI comes first ....

The one that comes to mind that is now in this format is Nature Reviews Immunology.

Anyone ever had/or hear of a co-first author? I was on a paper where I was the third author but I had an asterick by my name that said that the first three authors contributed equally to the work. How is that perceived?

 

[ChiDO]

co-first author is good, better then not being first author!

 

[Handinhand]

So I'm just an undergrad but I have a question that pertains to this. I'm currently a Junior and just started in a neurosurgery research lab this semester (PI is PhD/MD). Because I'm going to be doing it for two years, my PI has said she's confident I'll get my name on at least one publication. Now, I need to get accepted to med. school first, obviously, and when/if I do I don't have any idea what I would want to specialize in. BUT, lets say just for the hell of it I was a gunner and knew since I was 2 that I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. When applying for a residency, would the work I'm doing now hold any weight 4-5 years from now, or would I need to continue doing research in neurosurgery during med. school, and would that be the only thing looked at?

 

[Rocket3004]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but based on what you wrote, it seems you have had a decent amount of previous research, including first author paper(s) and a NEJM paper. Assuming your effort and papers were legit, then I would think you are savvy enough to know what kind of research intrests you, and what kind of time commitment it takes? Not a knock on you, but it seems, based on your good publishing record, that you would know how and when to get involved?

 

[ZagDoc]

What exactly does it mean to be a "first author" on a paper?

As stated before, "first author" indicates you are the first name listed with the publication. Besides that obvious fact, the order of the authors is also supposed to indicate the amount of responsibility and work done by the individual parties in the research. So "first author" indicates you were the person who did the majority of the work and was largely involved in the study design.

I think they mean any paper. I heard from the mouth of a residency director that the most important thing is to show intellectual curiosity. I was very lucky during my time before medical school and had a number of important pubs. There was some luck but there was also a lot of intellectual curiosity and hard work. I think is what residencies are looking for in addition to all the other stuff.

PS I like your name. Part of the research I did was on TCF7L2.

"Intellectual curiosity" is kinda the basic thing that "research" is all about. Certain fields and certain programs are really big into research and expect their residents to publish during their training, especially if they have a dedicated research year. There's three things that doing research and getting published in medical school demonstrates to them:
1. You're interested in research.
2. You're able to develop a well-designed study
3. You're familiar and competent with the process of what it takes to get published

WHAT you research is less important than how much responsibility you were afforded during the research (which is why 'first author' is more heavily weighted). They want to see that while you are training at their program that you want to be actively engaged in research, and you'll be independently capable of completing your research without them having to hold your hand.

 

[WellWornLad]

Not a knock on you, but it seems, based on your good publishing record, that you would know how and when to get involved?

That's the first thing I thought as well. If you've gone through the pain, the incredible tortuous agony, of being a first author, there's nothing really new to learn about the process. Just rinse and repeat.

So "first author" indicates you were the person who did the majority of the work and was largely involved in the study design.

True, if majority = 97%. If you add the combined effort of everyone between 1st author and PI, you might get the equivalent of a hamster wheel moving at moderate speed for 10 minutes. It's great when you're that mid-author - "oh gee, someone put my name on something I glanced at briefly last year!" It's perplexing when you're first author and your PI asks you to put some lab assistant you've never even met on a paper because he's trying to get into med school.

 

[RxnMan]

Check the Research FAQ (link in my sig VVV)

 

[Mr hawkings]

Check the Research FAQ (link in my sig VVV)

I would recommend this as well. All your questions will be answered