Research switch ugrad & necessity in med school

[ratman7]

I currently do research in a psychology lab (finishing 1 year of it) and was considering continuing it next year.

However, there is this opportunity for me to get involved in a cancer research lab (including actual bench/wet work) which I am also interested in.

I verbally and unformally told my current psych lab PI a few months ago that i'd continue next year in the same lab. But today I see this wonderful science opportunity available which is somewhat interesting and would give me another perception of research.

If I continued my psych lab work, i would be creating my own independent project and doing work there, whereas if I did the cancer lab, I would be assisting on a current project first before doing my own thing.
Should I tell my psych PI that I am going to switch (if I get the cancer lab position), or just stick around in the psych lab? I'm equally interested in the psych lab I work in too, but thought bench work may give me new perspectives.

I've read adcoms don't care about what type of research, but would continuity in a psych lab be better than 1 year followed by 1 year in a cancer lab? I probably wont be able to publish in the cancer lab, but may present at one conference. In the psych lab, I'd be presenting posters at multiple conferences but no publications.

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In medical school, do you MUST do research in your M1 and/or M2 summers in order to realistically land a good residency slot (on top of grades and step scores)? If there is a serious emphasis placed on med school research, then doing work in the cancer lab may help me get a research position due to previous experience in med school rather than continuing as a psych researcher in ugrad. Is it possible to land good residencies if your grades and steps and evals are good even if you don't do research in med school?

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[caffeinemia]

I've read adcoms don't care about what type of research, but would continuity in a psych lab be better than 1 year followed by 1 year in a cancer lab? I probably wont be able to publish in the cancer lab, but may present at one conference. In the psych lab, I'd be presenting posters at multiple conferences but no publications.

At the medical school level, it's all about how much you like the work and the experience. Do whatever you feel passionate about. The actual papers / presentations are nice but not getting one does not invalidate your experience.

In medical school, do you MUST do research in your M1 and/or M2 summers in order to realistically land a good residency slot (on top of grades and step scores)?

M1 - helps to get you hooked up to research. Not a requirement for a good residency. Additionally, only some specialties really care about research.

M2 - most places do not have a M2 summer. You'll be busy studying for Step 1 and then starting rotation.

Most institutions do not formally require research, but encourage it instead. A few, but growing, number require research.

If there is a serious emphasis placed on med school research, then doing work in the cancer lab may help me get a research position due to previous experience in med school rather than continuing as a psych researcher in ugrad. Is it possible to land good residencies if your grades and steps and evals are good even if you don't do research in med school?

Yes. Depends on specialty.

 

[ratman7]

Yes. Depends on specialty.

Could you list some popular specialties that "require" or "Strongly encourage" research? I'd assume ROOADS, but what about some others? Would you say a large chunk of specialties (>50%) want to see research on residency apps?

 

[caffeinemia]

To my knowledge -- which is mostly limited to surgical stuff:

- Radiation oncology
- Plastics
- Radiology (maybe)
- Dermatology
- Maybe ortho and uro too.

 

[intangible]

Do you want to join the cancer lab because you feel you're checking off a box, or because you really enjoy it? That question is central to making a decision.

 

[Lucca]

I think if you either do not want research to be a part of your future career, do not enjoy the research to begin with, or feel some sort of pressure to just have more research then you should not do research. Your time is better spent working on clinical volunteering or on some other project that you actually care about.

I don't think residencies are going to give a crap about undergraduate research and you don't have to do research in undergrad to do it in medical school. If you do want to do research, the topic is unimportant and you should work on the projects that you find most interesting in the environment that is the most supportive.

Something I feel about SDN is that members feel that they need to want to do research, which is kind of ridiculous. It's OK if your career aspirations don't match the lofty academic ideals of the top medical schools and there are other, arguably better ways to impress them if you have already showed that you understand research, experimental design, reading the primary literature, thinking like a scientist, etc.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Stick with the psych lab. Jumping from lab to lab is a pretty likely way to ensure that you'll have very little to present on when you talk about your research.

 

[Nica56744]

Do whatever you like best. I got involved in a psych lab my freshman year and was always planning to switch into a more "science-y" lab once I had to prerecs down. Ended up loving the psych lab because of the amount I was allowed to be involved with the designing of studies and how much I interacted with the grad students and PI. I have no regrets. I've gotten to travel to and present at several conferences, understand a lot about designing an experiment and complex IRB issues, gained a huge base of knowledge in psych and diversity issues, as well gained a lot of administrative responsibility in the lab. It was never a problem in interviews. My projects were something different that I got asked about a lot and given the opportunity I talk very enthusiastically about them for as long as people will let me. I was of course able to articulate how they would serve as a great background to a career in medicine, but that shouldn't be hard in most psych contexts. You will be working with people.