Research Topic

[Medicore123]

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When applying for a residency post, does it matter what field your research experience was in? I'm still not 100% sure of which speciality I'll end up applying for and it would be a shame if I missed out just because I did research a different field.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Ideally it would be in neurosurgery. We are a small field and people know each other. Research relevant to the field is easier to gauge in value, and research letters from friends and respected colleagues carry more weight or at least be more easy to interpret (i.e. if a neurosurgeon say's some kid is the bees knees out of 20+ applicants that have passed through his/her lab, that has weight). Other fields may care less about the topic of research, but unless it is MD/PhD basic science stuff neurosurgeons prefer neurosurgery research.

 

[Medicore123]

I'm actually a student in the UK and we have what's called an 'intercalation year' in which we take a year out of medical school to get an extra Master's degree (along with lab experience). I'm torn right now between neuroscience and pathology (though I suppose neuropathology might be possible under the latter). I'm quite sure that neurosurgery research won't be possible at this stage, so what do you suggest?

I'll keep your point in mind when applying for summer projects and for projects during my clinical rotations.

 

[mmmcdowe]

You can always do neurosurgery research on top of neuroscience or neuropath outside of work hours.