Research

[Prime2000]

How many research publications does the average derm applicant have?

What amount of research would actually impress program directors?

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[sore eye asses]

like my ol' pappy used to say, "it's not the size of the dong, but how you wield it that counts." Never you mind that his fully erect junk didn't measure 1/3 the size of a flaccid groundsquirrel that just got out a swimmin' pool.

what i be tryin to say is, quality over quantity.

1 NEJM = 1 nature = 1 science = 3 JAAD = 10 case reports

this is proven arithimetic. i don't want to show you the proof because:

1. It's proprietary
2. It would blow your mind
3. Russell Crowe threated to beat me to death with a telephone if i told anyone

 

[DadMD]

Sore Eye Asses - I would like to contest your formula with my own:

Science = Nature >>> NEJM = 3 JID = 5 JAAD >>>>>> 10 case reports

Are you ever going to tell us where you train? If no, will you at least give us a subtle hint, like wear a pink bedazzled flower pin on your labcoat any time your program is interviewing candidates so that we can identify you if we are lucky enough to interview there?

 

[N-Surge]

Cell > NEJM > Science > Nature >>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3 JID = 5 JAAD >>>>>> 10 case reports

See here. A "best of", over an entire decade!

 

[cancerman51]

most programs want research, but wouldn't know good research if it fell on their lap and bit their crotch. So, there is a tendency to just count up publications and use that in some numerical tally. So, if I had to go through the current match, i would try to get as many bull****, worthless case reports as possible because most programs would be more impressed by the shear volume of that printed diarrhea than they would be something sustantive

 

[cancerman51]

and in case you were asking, I had an EXCELLENT morning in clinic, so these comments represent my thoughts when i'm HAPPY.

 

[dermathalon]

I agree with cancerman51. My experience on the interview trail totally agrees with cancerman51. Few programs were able to evaluate research well and simply count. A fourth authorship on a Nature or Science paper is NOT the same as a first author pub in JCB, JID, JCI, etc...

My perspective has not changed now that I am on the other side...people simply count publications because it's the easiest way to "quantify" research. Cancerman51's advice is a solid understanding of the current physics of application reviews.

 

[reno911]

most programs want research, but wouldn't know good research if it fell on their lap and bit their crotch. So, there is a tendency to just count up publications and use that in some numerical tally. So, if I had to go through the current match, i would try to get as many bull****, worthless case reports as possible because most programs would be more impressed by the shear volume of that printed diarrhea than they would be something sustantive

This is pretty much the way it goes. This is also the exact advice I was given by one of my faculty members when I was a med student and I think it helped me a lot.

However, I also know first hand from reviewing residency applications, that it's not often that someone will just have a publication in Nature and nothing else. Normally, but certainly not always, the publication in Nature, Cell, etc., is just the most impressive entry on a list of several publications.

But if you're looking at it from the standpoint of being a med student and wanting to pursue a strategy that will allow you to match in derm, then you should go for quantity rather than quality. This is mainly for two reasons.

1. The people reviewing your applications are not always going to be able to identify good research (i.e., what cancerman said)

2. As a (non PhD) student, you often can't control how good your research is or what journal it gets into. On the other hand, writing and publishing 10 case reports in peer-reviewed journals is much more achievable.

 

[starbuckscoffee]

How many research publications does the average derm applicant have?

What amount of research would actually impress program directors?

If you didn't take a year off to devote to research, I'd say most programs are impressed with 5-6 first author publications.

Even though others said to go for case reports, I'd actually try to get at least case series or reviews done because this gives you much more to talk about. If you can do a "real study" like a case-control or RCT, all the better.

They also do look what journal you're published in and you do get more credit for publications in the main derm journals like JAAD, Arch Derm, JID, etc. I've yet to see an application who didn't take time off for research but had a JAMA, NEJM, Science, Nature, etc 1st author publication.

Another thing to think about is that your research advisor will likely write you an LOR and will talk about how much work you put into your research. If it's a case report, there's not much to say.