Risk of taking a year off

[kwel]

I've been debating about taking a year off for research, but leaning against it because I've already done quite a bit of ophtho research and have 1-2 pubs/posters. I would only do the year off to beef up my resume for the top 10 programs (very interested in academia so I feel the strength of residency program is important for me). A resident in another surgical subspecialty told me that taking a year off is a huge risk because you're expected to be very productive if you're going to spend a whole year on research, so if you don't get several pubs out of it you can actually hurt your chances than if you hadn't taken a year off at all.

Anyone know if this is true for ophtho?
Do residencies consider your research in context? i.e. are people who take a year off held to a higher standard in terms of research?
Also, what can reasonably be expected out of a year of research (if done properly)? 1 pub? 5 pubs?

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[ophthope]

Also, what can reasonably be expected out of a year of research (if done properly)? 1 pub? 5 pubs?

I've seen people take a year off, work hard, and get no pubs out of it. There is no guarantee that research will be fruitful.

Now, what that means for Ophtho I do not know.

 

[Core Dome Ahhh]

I've been debating about taking a year off for research, but leaning against it because I've already done quite a bit of ophtho research and have 1-2 pubs/posters. I would only do the year off to beef up my resume for the top 10 programs (very interested in academia so I feel the strength of residency program is important for me). A resident in another surgical subspecialty told me that taking a year off is a huge risk because you're expected to be very productive if you're going to spend a whole year on research, so if you don't get several pubs out of it you can actually hurt your chances than if you hadn't taken a year off at all.

Anyone know if this is true for ophtho?
Do residencies consider your research in context? i.e. are people who take a year off held to a higher standard in terms of research?
Also, what can reasonably be expected out of a year of research (if done properly)? 1 pub? 5 pubs?

I'm not really sure this is true. My experience is that people who have "tons of pubs" were in a department that does a bunch of tagging people on papers for CV boosting. Really, getting or not getting a bunch of pubs seems to me to often be more of a function of how loosely some of the people ascribe authorship--- sometimes it can be quite ridiculous. I would think more about who you would do your year off with and whether this would be a good person to work with who would be able and willing to help you out when you apply (provided you worked hard for them). This is more important than having 8 vs 3 ( or whatever ratio) of pubs.

For that matter, if you're doing quality basic science, often the pubs don't start pumping until several years later--- this doesn't coincide with the med student schedule but can still be a valuable and helpful experience.

 

[Corn Dog]

I've seen people take a year off, work hard, and get no pubs out of it. There is no guarantee that research will be fruitful.

Now, what that means for Ophtho I do not know.

I guess it depends on what type of research you do. If you do any type of wet lab research, there's going to be a lot of uncertainty in terms of getting a publication. I've seen one guy doing his year of research through Howard Hughes Fellowship and publishing his manuscript in Nature Neuroscience, but for most people, getting even one first-author publication in basic science research in that time frame is rare. However, I think it's totally possible to get not just one but multiple publications with small clinical projects (eg small case series, case reports, chart reviews, review papers). I've seen someone publishing as many as 15 papers in one year (scary but true). The key will be to find a good advisor.

kwel, you should also consider whether you would be okay with spending a year doing research and then NOT matching at a top ten program.

 

[RestoreSight]

Kwel - there is no objective data available that taking a year off improves your ability to match or match higher than you otherwise would have matched if you did not take a year off. I think a lot of it depends on who you work with and how well known the lab is. What "Core Dome Ahhh" said is true and I see "tagging" pubs a lot (I admit I've been the beneficiary of this system), but real research takes time and even a year may not be enough for a worthy first author basic science pub. Weight your options carefully. I think its safe to say that your ability to match in a top 10 program has already been pretty well decided by your STEP scores, 3rd year clinical grades, awards/honors before you decide to take a year off. A year off won't make up for any deficiencies in those, even if you publish.

 

[DrZeke]

Kwel - there is no objective data available that taking a year off improves your ability to match or match higher than you otherwise would have matched if you did not take a year off. I think a lot of it depends on who you work with and how well known the lab is. What "Core Dome Ahhh" said is true and I see "tagging" pubs a lot (I admit I've been the beneficiary of this system), but real research takes time and even a year may not be enough for a worthy first author basic science pub. Weight your options carefully. I think its safe to say that your ability to match in a top 10 program has already been pretty well decided by your STEP scores, 3rd year clinical grades, awards/honors before you decide to take a year off. A year off won't make up for any deficiencies in those, even if you publish.

Couldn't agree with this more. *I took 1.5 years off and was funded*.