RO Research in Medical School

[mnf1985]

Hi Folks,

I am a second year medical student interested in Radiation Oncology. I have read several threads, including the FAQ, regarding the focus of research for those interested in Radiation Oncology and there seem to be differing opinions. I have the opportunity to do research in Bone Marrow Transplant with a well respected academic Hematologist-Oncologist, and was wondering if this would serve me well - the FAQ explained that research outside of Radiation Oncology might work for an MD-PHD, but that regular MD candidates, such as myself, might be better suited for Rad-Onc specific research. Lastly - how would pre-clinical year grades rank on the list of important things prior to residency - I ask because obviously research commitments can detract slightly from time spent on class work. Thanks!

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[ramsesthenice]

Hi Folks,

I am a second year medical student interested in Radiation Oncology. I have read several threads, including the FAQ, regarding the focus of research for those interested in Radiation Oncology and there seem to be differing opinions. I have the opportunity to do research in Bone Marrow Transplant with a well respected academic Hematologist-Oncologist, and was wondering if this would serve me well - the FAQ explained that research outside of Radiation Oncology might work for an MD-PHD, but that regular MD candidates, such as myself, might be better suited for Rad-Onc specific research. Lastly - how would pre-clinical year grades rank on the list of important things prior to residency - I ask because obviously research commitments can detract slightly from time spent on class work. Thanks!

Get ready for diverse answers.

My personal opinion, do what you want. If your really interested in the BM project do it. I doubt it will hurt your chances of matching in rad onc especially if the project went well. It is unreasonable to expect people know what their ultimate research and clinical interests are going to be when they are in 2nd year of med school. You could go all in on rad onc now and change your mind away from us too.

That being said, if you do the other research now it would be wise to get some rad onc research too. That shouldn't be too hard to do as an upper level student. A lot of people do a year off as you know, so that could be an opportunity for more research.

As far as grades, don't slack. It's hard to rank things in order of importance. The applicant pool is so tight you need to be solid pretty much everywhere if possible.

 

[Neuronix]

there seem to be differing opinions.

Because there are. My opinion: Step 1, clinical grades, and research in that order are most important for rad onc. They're not the only things, of course. You should try to do rad onc research if possible. Pre-clinical grades have little to do with anything, unless they affect your overall class rank or eligibility for AOA which are more important.

 

[Ray D. Ayshun]

I have gotten the impression, too, during aways/application process that research isn't as important as it was even 5 years ago. What RO specific research does allow is connections in the field, which are tremendously important. This, however, could also be gotten by including days in the rad onc clinic here and there during you're clinical and pre-clinical years.

 

[thecarbonionangle]

My opinion is that Step1 and away rotations are the most important. The research thing is somewhat overrated in my opinion unless you believe you will be competitive to match at a top ten place. If you do well on step 1 (240 or higher) and do 2-3 away rotations in reasonable places (don't do all top ten, some won't even interview you no matter how well you did), where you are a decent human being and easy to get along, get solid letters from people who are respected you will do just fine brotha!

 

[medgator]

For all of the posts above, I disagree. I think research and LORs will actually make you stand out from the crowd much more than clinical rotation grades and strong Step scores. That's what makes our specialty different than derm, plastics or ortho. A guy with a 235, decent clinical grades, research and letters from "big wigs" will do better than someone with a 250, AOA and no research or well-known LORs.