Should I do research as an MS1

[Reborn24]

To help strengthen my residenc prospects. I'm worried that i'll be too busy with school work. What do you guys think.

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[criminallyinane]

To help strengthen my residenc prospects. I'm worried that i'll be too busy with school work. What do you guys think.

I'm going to wait until at least second semester and probably until the first summer to find a mentor. I want to be involved in research but not right off the bat; need to acclimate to school first. That's just my two cents

 

[pratik7]

research over the summer

 

[omarsaleh66]

i met up with a program director the december of my MS1 year and he got me started on a paper. I was published by the summer of my first year. It helped me that I had one semester under my belt before i tried to do any extra stuff. So at the earliest start research projects after 1 semester of med school. Also, its great to start that summer of your ms1 year. u can do some serious damage and chill that summer.

later

 

[GenSurg]

I would recommend doing research only if you can find something that really interests you. Don't waste your time doing something just because it may look good on your CV. You will have to talk about it when you interview for residency.

That being said, in order to hit the ground running during the summer after your first year, you will need to find a project and mentor early on. If you can spend an afternoon or two in a lab during the second part of your first year, it can help when you really get started.

http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=20049323

 

[MommyD231]

I would recommend doing research only if you can find something that really interests you. Don't waste your time doing something just because it may look good on your CV. You will have to talk about it when you interview for residency.

That being said, in order to hit the ground running during the summer after your first year, you will need to find a project and mentor early on. If you can spend an afternoon or two in a lab during the second part of your first year, it can help when you really get started.

http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=20049323

How do you go about finding a mentor and project? Do you get a list of potential projects or mentors when school starts, or is it something you have to do all on your own?

 

[Blake]

How do you go about finding a mentor and project? Do you get a list of potential projects or mentors when school starts, or is it something you have to do all on your own?

It depends. We got a list of potential projects, and all I did was apply, interview and get the job. I have a friend of mine who, thanks to his influential father, had major connections to the endocrinology department. He managed to start a project on his own.

 

[Mephisto]

I just wanted to know, I have always been confused by this. I know it's important to publish and do research. But what kind of research are you guys doing? Because if you're talking about basic science research (bench work), then getting published is a b*tch. It requires about six solid months of data collection and then another year for the paper to actually go through.

Are most of you talking about doing clinical research or actual labwork? Cause there is very little you can get done in one summer of lab work, let alone with two afternoons a week in your second semester.

I would love to know what type of research I can get involved in that can be done successfully by a med student. I believe clinical research allows for "easier" publications because a project can be entirely completed after a few months of data collection. Thoughts?

 

[Anka]

I worked in a lab all the way through MS1, about 20 hours per week. It was nuts, but I'm glad I did it, and it was very productive. I was spending enough time in the lab to get involved in both basic science (meaning, computational modelling) and clinical work. I've also gotten great mentorship out of the deal.

Would I recommend it to anyone else? Only if you really like to work. If you'd rather be working than sitting in front of the TV or playing video games or hanging with friends, or whatever it is that real people do with themselves, go for it. I'm not sure it's a good thing, but it's just the way some people are, and if you're that way you aren't going to be happy doing anything else.

Anka

 

[neuropower]

I've been working in research for a year now and i'll be an M1 in the fall...my lab uses neuroimaging (fMRI) to study dyslexia, so i guess you could call that clinical (though my supervisor is a PhD not an MD). it's a big lab (a center actually) so there are lots of projects to get involved with that lead to publications. i'm definitely going to come back here to work during m1 summer since the connections i've made and the work i've started here will probably give me a head start on (hopefully) another publication next summer...so i would definitely recommend neuropsych-type research for med students...