Residency Q

[pathologyDO]

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Just curious, as I didn't really enjoy research that much in undergrad..

If I score a 230+ on the USMLE, shadow physicians during M1 summer, and do some volunteer activities over the summer too, is research something that will be needed for matching into a decent program in GS or Path?

maybe I should just bite the bullet and do the research?

What doors would be closed by not doing research?

good alternatives to research if they exist?

 

[evilbooyaa]

Research may be helpful for G. Surg, especially as a DO student. Not sure if Path really requires research.

Are you focused on those two fields alone, or do you have other (more competitive) things in mind as well?

 

[pathologyDO]

I don't know.. if I could get the score for ortho or ENT that would be nice, but I have concerns about the time commitment for surgery so even GS is not a certain thing for me, but I def love anatomy lab and working with my hands has been something I've always liked

Anyways, you think that research should be a priority? Are there no alternatives? Seems ridiculous to do research if I'm not really interested in doing it. It would just be another hoop to jump through

 

[cbrons]

I'm pretty sure shadowing and volunteer activities mean absolutely nothing for residency applications. Doubt they even read it, know they don't care much about it.

 

[scarletgirl777]

I don't know.. if I could get the score for ortho or ENT that would be nice, but I have concerns about the time commitment for surgery so even GS is not a certain thing for me, but I def love anatomy lab and working with my hands has been something I've always liked

Anyways, you think that research should be a priority? Are there no alternatives? Seems ridiculous to do research if I'm not really interested in doing it. It would just be another hoop to jump through

Research is required for allopathic ortho and ENT. Can't speak for allopathic gen surg or path as a DO applicant or to osteopathic ortho or ENT.

 

[pathologyDO]

I'm pretty sure shadowing and volunteer activities mean absolutely nothing for residency applications. Doubt they even read it, know they don't care much about it.

Thanks, but that is obviously filler. I figure if my app is a white slate that might count against me. Having filler keeps me at 0, so that my LORs, clinical grades, and USMLE can shine though.

So apparently for ACGME residencies it's a good thing to do research. Alright.

Sigh....

Well, if I do some summer research and (more than likely) don't attain my own abstract or coauthorship, is that really a big deal?

 

[Smokemont]

Thanks, but that is obviously filler. I figure if my app is a white slate that might count against me. Having filler keeps me at 0, so that my LORs, clinical grades, and USMLE can shine though.

So apparently for ACGME residencies it's a good thing to do research. Alright.

Sigh....

Well, if I do some summer research and (more than likely) don't attain my own abstract or coauthorship, is that really a big deal?

Your school should have some kind of research symposium or whatever to present your research through a poster at the very least and this is a must for you. Scholarly activity presented and critiqued by other scholars. Publications are obviously the best but quality research is difficult and takes time, so getting your name on a paper is often times more attributed to getting lucky with the PI and lab you can get into. If you think you might want a specialty such as ortho or ENT then yes, get involved in research now to keep your doors open.

 

[tantacles]

To respond to the initial thread (redundantly, perhaps), I say Duke, followed by UVM and any other school with a 1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum. Having the opportunity to do more aways is amazing.

 

[caffeinemia]

Just curious, as I didn't really enjoy research that much in undergrad..

If I score a 230+ on the USMLE, shadow physicians during M1 summer, and do some volunteer activities over the summer too, is research something that will be needed for matching into a decent program in GS or Path?

maybe I should just bite the bullet and do the research?

What doors would be closed by not doing research?

good alternatives to research if they exist?

Just matched in surgical field ... don't quite know which one yet, but will to confirm from a surgery standpoint that:

1) No one gives a flying f about shadowing, especially when you are expected to have had intensive clinical experience in at least years 3-4. It is OKAY to shadow for the purose of exploring your interest in a certain field and begin building early connections in that field.
2) Volunteering may be something interesting to put down on your resume, but it has to be pretty unique (picking up trash at the beach ain't gonna cut it... unless it's a beach in Sevastopol and you're clearing Russian mines or something).
3) Research is critical for some specialties, ie. plastic surgery. It's helpful in almost all other cases, especially if you have a 1st author pub.
4) If you have a free summer, it's my opinion that it would benefit your paper resume to do research rather than shadow or volunteer.
5) I went on close to 20 interviews from community to ultra competitive sub-specialty interviews... the holy trinity was definitely Step I, AOA, and ressearch pubs out the wazoo.

Take it how you will. Playing the game with a pragmatic strategy can't hurt though.

 

[pathologyDO]

Just matched in surgical field ... don't quite know which one yet, but will to confirm from a surgery standpoint that:

1) No one gives a flying f about shadowing, especially when you are expected to have had intensive clinical experience in at least years 3-4. It is OKAY to shadow for the purose of exploring your interest in a certain field and begin building early connections in that field.
2) Volunteering may be something interesting to put down on your resume, but it has to be pretty unique (picking up trash at the beach ain't gonna cut it... unless it's a beach in Sevastopol and you're clearing Russian mines or something).
3) Research is critical for some specialties, ie. plastic surgery. It's helpful in almost all other cases, especially if you have a 1st author pub.
4) If you have a free summer, it's my opinion that it would benefit your paper resume to do research rather than shadow or volunteer.
5) I went on close to 20 interviews from community to ultra competitive sub-specialty interviews... the holy trinity was definitely Step I, AOA, and ressearch pubs out the wazoo.

Take it how you will. Playing the game with a pragmatic strategy can't hurt though.

Good post, Ty.

 

[JoshSt]

Agree with others that shadowing and volunteering won't mean anything for a residency application.

Also with ortho and ENT, you were worried about time-committment - research aside, all 3 residencies are super-time intensive. Surgery and its subspecialties are rough, you'll see this in 3rd year.

Well, if I do some summer research and (more than likely) don't attain my own abstract or coauthorship, is that really a big deal?

I highly recommend against doing any research that doesn't yield a conference poster/oral presentation or publication. Without those metrics, it turns into a bad volunteer experience (spent 50 hours a week cleaning pipettes and watching germs grow for a project that'll possibly be published in PLoS ONE in 3 years). If you do research, recommend doing it under an MD that is interested in your success (success being quickly getting something done with something to show for it) vs a PhD that wants you to clean his mice's poop. I've had great experiences with research in med school but have seen so many classmates take a cleaning mouse poop gig that doesn't yield anything they can cite.