"Research"? What does that even mean?

[ero87]

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Hi friends,

I am about to begin med school this August, and I've been reading all about what I have to look forward to. I'm really excited about everything, but one word keeps stopping in my tracks: "Research." Apparently some residency programs require it, and "everyone does it." And I also hear it's much more than pipets and test tubes.

So, my question is: What kind of research does a med student do? And when does he/she do it? If you'd like to tell me examples of research you've done or heard of, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks 🙂

 

[reine1jb]

Hi friends,

I am about to begin med school this August, and I've been reading all about what I have to look forward to. I'm really excited about everything, but one word keeps stopping in my tracks: "Research." Apparently some residency programs require it, and "everyone does it." And I also hear it's much more than pipets and test tubes.

So, my question is: What kind of research does a med student do? And when does he/she do it? If you'd like to tell me examples of research you've done or heard of, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks 🙂

From what I have been able to tell from older medical students experiences, the research can be in just about anything. At my school, it involves the student finding a specific investigator who does work that they are interested in, writing a proposal, and then getting a stipend to work in a lab during the summer between the first and second year of medical school.

The research is usually basic science orientated but I have heard of some clinical research opportunities. I would imagine that your school has a research fair or something like that during your first year of medical school so that will help facilitate you finding someone to work with. I wouldn't worry about it too much until you get to school this coming fall. The older students you're bound to meet will be able to guide you in the right direction.

Good luck!

 

[reine1jb]

sorry i forgot to include some examples. My research experience is undoubtedly going to be different than yours due to the nature of my program but anyways common examples are working with mouse models (or other model organisms) of human disease, using cell or tissue culture (in vitro work), doing genetic studies, ect. The list of possibilities is vast and especially at the school you are going to, I doubt that you will have a hard time finding opportunities.

Last summer I rotated in a lab that used mice to study retinal degeneration. This summer I'll be working in a lab that studies cancer/cell growth and metabolism and a lab doing stem cell work.

 

[RxnMan]

Hi friends,

I am about to begin med school this August, and I've been reading all about what I have to look forward to. I'm really excited about everything, but one word keeps stopping in my tracks: "Research." Apparently some residency programs require it, and "everyone does it." And I also hear it's much more than pipets and test tubes.

So, my question is: What kind of research does a med student do? And when does he/she do it? If you'd like to tell me examples of research you've done or heard of, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks 🙂

Please take a look at the research FAQ (link in my sig). It will answer a lot of your questions.

 

[sunset823]

I'm sure RxnMan's FAQ is great, but I would like to make the additional point that medical 'research' does not necessarily have to be science related at all. My background is in political science/public policy/economics, and I did a year of research with a brilliant physician who has had tremendous success in her research career at a pretty young age. But her PhD is in social policy, and the vast majority of research she does outside her clinical field (breast cancer radiation therapy) is non-science related (mostly health policy).

I myself want to pursue a research career in health care policy and economics, and have been applying to various summer research opportunities in this field. Some very prestigious research programs (e.g., Sloan-Kettering) do have opportunities more on the health care outcomes research side rather than in the lab or even in the wards. Just keep in mind that this kind of research is at a limited number of big, prestigious academic medical centers, but considering you'll be in NYC and Mt. Sinai is a great school that does a lot of humanities/social science work as well as traditional science research, you should have plenty of opportunities.

I have no idea how much 'non-science' research is valued by residencies, but I get the feeling that having my name on a few papers in top tier journals by the time I apply can't hurt, no matter what the topic. Obviously, don't do policy research if you have no interest in it just because it's "easier" to get published (from my research year, it's not easy, trust me), but I'm just pointing out that research is a very broad term.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

There is a lot of "easy" research out there that can be low-hanging fruit for the med student to get in on. Clinical projects that need someone to do a chart review, analysis of large patient databases, even projects that have been nearly finished but need someone to put in the time to write it up.

 

[justdoit31]

Research isn't 100% required... you need to evaluate what you are looking at for residency and make a decision if it is worth it- I know several people in my class are doing preceptorships, international trips, etc this summer.

I will be working on a clinical research project at another institution this summer. I think the important thing to do is to enjoy whatever you do during summer and if that means travel, hanging with family, etc. do it. I am excited because my project mentors are also building in shadowing/clinic/special needs camp experiences into my summer project.

 

[ZagDoc]

If you need more concrete examples, here's my two projects I'm working on:

1. Long term outcomes in endoscopic laser-assisted repair of Zenker's diverticulum. It's a retrospective chart review (i.e. going back and looking at the charts of patients to gather pre-operative and operative data) combined with a graded questionnaire administered to patients at 1 year post-op to quantify durability of the procedure, effect on quality of life, etc.

2. Cost analysis of evaluation of chronic cough in a tertiary care setting. A study looking at patients with first and second line treatment-refractory chronic cough referred to the ENT department at my institution. We're doing an analysis of what investigatory studies were ordered, what the yield of those studies were, what treatments were attempted, and the efficacy of those treatments, then performing cost analysis at the end to try to justify a treatment algorithm we've developed in the process.

For me, I did some bench research in undergrad, and was generally frustrated by the tedious nature of it. Clinical research is a lot more fun IMHO. It's much quicker to go from hypothesis to results, and you can get a lot of run from your projects in regards to presentations, posters, etc.

 

[NTF]

I never understood the premium on "research" (which is debatable anyway). Most students have no idea what they want to go into by the summer after .M1 so there's a good chance if they do research it'll have nothing to do with the residencies they're applying to.

But to address your original question, I think "research" can take a lot of forms. An M2 I know went to Nepal and collected data for the WHO on pre-natal and post-natal nutrition and care. Another worked at an urban health clinic, functioning pretty much as an M3 would, but designed a survey metric to collect data on women's health in minority populations.

 

[ZagDoc]

I never understood the premium on "research" (which is debatable anyway). Most students have no idea what they want to go into by the summer after .M1 so there's a good chance if they do research it'll have nothing to do with the residencies they're applying to.

Most of the "big name" residencies, irregardless of the field, are academic powerhouses who pride themselves in providing a pipeline into academic medicine and training the future department chairs of the world. And academic medicine is heavily biased towards publication. Most big name programs have some sort of research integrated into their residency curricula, with at least a few months up to 2 years (depending on the program) dedicated towards residents getting published while they are at that program. As such, those types of programs want residents who know the ropes of the research world prior to coming to their institution, so that when their research time comes up, they can hit the ground running and pump out a couple publications. That why research is so favorable when applying to those sorts of programs, regardless of what field you complete research in. It conveys experience and competency in getting published. It's a "prestige" matter within the academic world and its about bolstering resident CVs so that they are strong candidates for academic positions once they graduate the program.

It's also why the importance of research is so program and field dependent. As a general rule of thumb, the more a given field is centered around and in academic institutions, the more important research is in matching into that field. It's also why research isn't for everyone. If you don't want to go into academics, and you want to match at a program more focused on training community-based physicians, research isn't as vital. Sure, its a generalization, but its a good way to frame your thinking around the "why research?" question. It's also important to note that a very small proportion of med students end up as the so-called "academic powerhouses". A big name institution does not necessarily mean better training.

 

[njbmd]

Hi friends,

I am about to begin med school this August, and I've been reading all about what I have to look forward to. I'm really excited about everything, but one word keeps stopping in my tracks: "Research." Apparently some residency programs require it, and "everyone does it." And I also hear it's much more than pipets and test tubes.
So, my question is: What kind of research does a med student do? And when does he/she do it? If you'd like to tell me examples of research you've done or heard of, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks 🙂

Most, MOST residency programs DO NOT require research and most medical students DO NOT participate in research other than library research. Before you get your "knickers in a knot" about research, see how well you do in medical school. Everyone comes in with the idea that they are going to be an excellent medical student but in reality, 50% of people graduate in the bottom half of their class and research becomes a non-issue for them in terms of residency.

Second, as a medical student, you can make contact with your Dean of Research and identify a research project that you might want to work with if you are just "dying to do some research". You are not required, unless you attend a medical school that has a dedicated research thesis project (a few schools have this), to participate in any type of research. If you attend one of these research thesis schools, you will be informed during orientation about the process of getting a project.

Chill out, stop believing everything you "hear", find a place to live and get out of the pre-med syndrome of trying to "get there first" with residency requirements. By the time you even get close to application into residency, the system may have changed; you may not be competitive for any residency program that requires medical school research and if you are competitive for a residency program that requires research, you would be hooked in.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

I just finished interviewing for neurology at academic programs, so I'll throw in my 2c. Research is far, far from being required of all medical students. I met several residents at the top big-name programs who were not interested in research whatsoever. Most of the programs I interviewed at were refreshed to hear that I don't plan on doing research with my career, I presume because every single other applicant said that they did. That said, I did have several research experiences in medical school, so I can't speak to the likelihood of getting interviews without any research. Also, it does seem that the majority of medical students I interviewed with had at least dabbled in research during med school, but I did meet several exceptions (remember, who had been granted interviews at places like Harvard and Yale) who had not done a drop of research, so it is definitely not absolutely required. If you hate research, and know that you do not want a career that incorporates it, it does not make sense to spend too much time on it. Any programs that value research very highly probably wouldn't be the programs for you.

To play devil's advocate against my own argument: Many places like to see that, even if you do not plan to do research, you have the analytical skills and ability to synthesize current medical literature that doing research tends to impart. It's pretty important for every doctor to stay current, and one of the best ways to do that is to be active in advancing at least some small part of their field. If not for improving your residency application, maybe you could participate in some form of investigation merely to improve your analytical skills as a future physician. A great way to get a little bit of experience is to find a resident who is working on a case report and ask to help.

 

[MossPoh]

I'm participating in research during the summer. It isn't anything special as far as workload goes. The doctor wants to make sure we have a laidback summer. I am doing it because it allows me to improve my clinical skills a bit, see some cool stuff and learn how to do the basics of research in case I ever want to do it in the future. I also get a couple grand. I'm not doing it for residency programs because I honestly have no idea what I want to go into anymore.

 

[sunset823]

Most, MOST residency programs DO NOT require research and most medical students DO NOT participate in research other than library research. Before you get your "knickers in a knot" about research, see how well you do in medical school. Everyone comes in with the idea that they are going to be an excellent medical student but in reality, 50% of people graduate in the bottom half of their class and research becomes a non-issue for them in terms of residency.

njbmd, I have a question about this, only tangentially related to the topic at hand - do you mean by this that if you aren't at the top half of your class you don't have ANY chance at an academic medicine position down the road? I'm not the strongest medical student, and I'm not really sure where I'm ranked now, I'm guessing somewhere in the middle, but I really want to do academic medicine. Even if I apply in a non-competitive specialty (i.e., IM, I'm considering the 'research pathway'), do I have no chance unless I make it into the top 25%?