Research

[jydeguzm]

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Hello,

I wanted to gain some perspective in being able to match in a surgery residency. I am a native Californian and would like to go back and match in a surgery back in California. I know that board scores are a big part of the matching process but how important is research? I enjoy research and plan to do some but I am very interested in both oncology and surgery so would it be useless to do oncology research because if my board scores are not competitive I feel oncology is a nice back up for me. Any input would be great.

Thanks

 

[DHT]

Do research in whatever you are interested in. It will make it more enjoyable and you'll do a better job. If you are genuinely interested in it, it will show when you talk about it on your interviews and you will probably work harder on it.

I wouldn't resign yourself to doing poorly on step 1 already. I would set my sights on whatever you are most interested in and do everything you can to make it happen. Research is getting more important in the matching process as surgical specialties are getting more competitive. The more academic the program, the more they will care about your research. Remember, no one is expecting anything fantastic from a med student, they just want to see that you were interested enough to get involved. If you genuinely like research, do as much as you can because it will give you plenty to talk about and may make up for any shortcoming in your application.

When picking research projects, perhaps try and find a disease process that overlaps with both surgery and oncology such as breast or colon cancer. Both have important surgical and medical aspects in their treatment. This way, whatever you end up doing, the time you spent on research, it will be applicable to both surgery and oncology.

I don't know where you are for medical school, but if you are not on the west coast, you will DEFINITELY want to rotate at programs in California as it is difficult to break into the area if you haven't been there.

 

[ACSurgeon]

Hello,

I wanted to gain some perspective in being able to match in a surgery residency. I am a native Californian and would like to go back and match in a surgery back in California. I know that board scores are a big part of the matching process but how important is research? I enjoy research and plan to do some but I am very interested in both oncology and surgery so would it be useless to do oncology research because if my board scores are not competitive I feel oncology is a nice back up for me. Any input would be great.

Thanks

Oncology is a fellowship after IM, so you'd be getting ahead of yourself trying to build your resume for a fellowship. My suggestion would be to try to do research with a surgical oncologist. This would be helpful for getting a GS residency. If you decide to do IM, you should be able to match into a solid academic program with or without research, and research in surg onc won't hurt (it should actually help).

 

[Buzz Me]

Hello,

I wanted to gain some perspective in being able to match in a surgery residency. I am a native Californian and would like to go back and match in a surgery back in California. I know that board scores are a big part of the matching process but how important is research? I enjoy research and plan to do some but I am very interested in both oncology and surgery so would it be useless to do oncology research because if my board scores are not competitive I feel oncology is a nice back up for me. Any input would be great.

Thanks

You just started med school...for now concentrate on doing well on your preclinical courses and Step 1. If you're interested in research, basic oncology (which could help for either IM or Gen Surg) would be the way to go - but really, anything that interested you would be ideal.

 

[heyyouduh]

Not sure why you're worried about not being competitive before you have taken step 1. I'd rather spend the extra time learning the basics and preparing for step1 right now instead of doing research. Even if you do research, I would not let it get in the way of getting a solid foundation in your basic science years.

 

[jydeguzm]

Do research in whatever you are interested in. It will make it more enjoyable and you'll do a better job. If you are genuinely interested in it, it will show when you talk about it on your interviews and you will probably work harder on it.

I wouldn't resign yourself to doing poorly on step 1 already. I would set my sights on whatever you are most interested in and do everything you can to make it happen. Research is getting more important in the matching process as surgical specialties are getting more competitive. The more academic the program, the more they will care about your research. Remember, no one is expecting anything fantastic from a med student, they just want to see that you were interested enough to get involved. If you genuinely like research, do as much as you can because it will give you plenty to talk about and may make up for any shortcoming in your application.

When picking research projects, perhaps try and find a disease process that overlaps with both surgery and oncology such as breast or colon cancer. Both have important surgical and medical aspects in their treatment. This way, whatever you end up doing, the time you spent on research, it will be applicable to both surgery and oncology.

I don't know where you are for medical school, but if you are not on the west coast, you will DEFINITELY want to rotate at programs in California as it is difficult to break into the area if you haven't been there.

Thanks DHT really appreciate it. I am shooting to do really well on Step 1 just making plans to have the best application possible. I actually go to the University of Utah SOM. I actually am trying to find something in oncology and surgery to work on the summer off between this year and second year.

 

[jydeguzm]

Thanks, everyone for the replies. I'm just looking into planning when to start research because were required to do 6 months of it and I know third year is insane so it seems the one summer off and fourth year are the way to go in doing it?

 

[Buzz Me]

Thanks, everyone for the replies. I'm just looking into planning when to start research because were required to do 6 months of it and I know third year is insane so it seems the one summer off and fourth year are the way to go in doing it?

I started at the end of my first year and continued throughout all of med school. Got my publications, poster and presentations done that way.