Should I do research?

[IndieMed]

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So this is my story: I've been accepted to a highly selective research internship at a national laboratory. The thing is, I am COMPLETELY uninterested in research. I feel like I would loose my mind doing this 10 weeks straight everyday from 8 to 5. My question is, has anyone ever been accepted to medical school without doing research at all?? If so, what did you do instead? hours? I honestly want no part of research but my science gpa is 3.0; cgpa ~3.8. I heard that doing research at a national lab is like a free ticket to med school
(providing good grades and mcat). btw I'm a sophomore and plan to major in philosophy. Thank you.

 

[Goro]

About 5-10% of med school applicants get accepted without research, (I suspect that these are non-trads) but I suggest that you'll be limited to the lower-tier, poorly funded schools, like Drexel and NYMC, or any DO school.

The lack of research is less lethal to your chances than your sGPA.

You heard 100% wrong: there is no such thing as a free ticket to med school.

As a further FYI, research is NOT a banker's hours job.

So this is my story: I've been accepted to a highly selective research internship at a national laboratory. The thing is, I am COMPLETELY uninterested in research. I feel like I would loose my mind doing this 10 weeks straight everyday from 8 to 5. My question is, has anyone ever been accepted to medical school without doing research at all?? If so, what did you do instead? hours? I honestly want no part of research but my science gpa is 3.0; cgpa ~3.8. I heard that doing research at a national lab is like a free ticket to med school
(providing good grades and mcat). btw I'm a sophomore and plan to major in philosophy. Thank you.

 

[IndieMed]

About 5-10% of med school applicants get accepted without research, (I suspect that these are non-trads) but I suggest that you'll be limited to the lower-tier, poorly funded schools, like Drexel and NYMC, or any DO school.

The lack of research is less lethal to your chances than your sGPA.

You heard 100% wrong: there is no such thing as a free ticket to med school.

As a further FYI, research is NOT a banker's hours job.

I wasn't referring to the research when I said "hours"? Before that I said "what did you do instead?" Hospital? If so how many hours?

 

[rilte4]

So this is my story: I've been accepted to a highly selective research internship at a national laboratory. The thing is, I am COMPLETELY uninterested in research. I feel like I would loose my mind doing this 10 weeks straight everyday from 8 to 5. My question is, has anyone ever been accepted to medical school without doing research at all?? If so, what did you do instead? hours? I honestly want no part of research but my science gpa is 3.0; cgpa ~3.8. I heard that doing research at a national lab is like a free ticket to med school
(providing good grades and mcat). btw I'm a sophomore and plan to major in philosophy. Thank you.

It's lucky the field you're hoping to enter won't force you to do a ton that you're COMPLETELY uninterested in doing. Oh wait.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

There are so many different kinds of research that it strikes me as odd to hear someone say that they flat out don't like research. I'm assuming that the opportunity you've been offered is laboratory-based bench research? If the idea of being in a lab all day that doesn't excite you, you should look into clinical research. There are many more opportunities to interact with patients and get exposure to clinical care. I've been working in research for 3 years and have never once set foot in a lab.

Bottom line: You don't necessarily NEED research to get accepted to med school but the vast majority of applicants these days have at least some experience. I don't think you should force yourself to take this internship, if you're not excited about it. But I wouldn't write research off entirely. Even if you don't see yourself doing any research as a physician, you probably won't get through medical school without doing some!!

 

[IndieMed]

There are so many different kinds of research that it strikes me as odd to hear someone say that they flat out don't like research. I'm assuming that the opportunity you've been offered is laboratory-based bench research? If the idea of being in a lab all day that doesn't excite you, you should look into clinical research. There are many more opportunities to interact with patients and get exposure to clinical care. I've been working in research for 3 years and have never once set foot in a lab.

Bottom line: You don't necessarily NEED research to get accepted to med school but the vast majority of applicants these days have at least some experience. I don't think you should force yourself to take this internship, if you're not excited about it. But I wouldn't write research off entirely. Even if you don't see yourself doing any research as a physician, you probably won't get through medical school without doing some!!

Oh by research I meant lab work specifically. I didn't know working in a clinical setting is called clinical research. Of course I want to work in a doctors office/hospital/shadow.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Oh by research I meant lab work specifically. I didn't know working in a clinical setting is called clinical research. Of course I want to work in a doctors office/hospital/shadow.

No, I don't mean doing just general clinical work like shadowing. I mean doing research in a clinical setting. For example, I do research in an emergency department on how to improve care for stroke patients. This is exactly my point: there are lots of ways to do research!

 

[HybridEarth]

An NIH internship is not a free ticket to med school by any means. I personally know of someone who racked a few publications there and is now in the Caribbean.

 

[Goro]

Your words, not mine. Successful research is not done 8-5, it';s done when the experiments are done. If you have to work 60 hrs a week, then there's something wrong with your Science. But you can't do it on 40 hrs alone, and your PI will think this way as well.


The thing is, I am COMPLETELY uninterested in research. I feel like I would loose my mind doing this 10 weeks straight everyday from 8 to 5.

I wasn't referring to the research when I said "hours"? Before that I said "what did you do instead?" Hospital? If so how many hours?

 

[aristrutz523]

Oh by research I meant lab work specifically. I didn't know working in a clinical setting is called clinical research. Of course I want to work in a doctors office/hospital/shadow.

I think that you need to do Internet research/ a basic Google search on the different types of research and the schools you want to apply to. It sounds like you need to learn more about what research is before you make your decision.
Additionally, if you've been accepted to this lab, that means you must have applied? You should have looked into what this entailed before you took a spot away from someone else.
Lastly, if you find something you're passionate about: research is fun. If you go in open minded: research is fun. I do psychology research, not bench work, and love it. Figure out what you like and chase it. If you can't find something you like, take this opportunity to see if you do like it/don't like it.

 

[Lawpy]

OP, it's really up to you whether you want to pursue research. But understand that basic science/wet lab is absolutely not necessary. Computational, clinical, psych, etc are all excellent research

About 5-10% of med school applicants get accepted without research, (I suspect that these are non-trads) but I suggest that you'll be limited to the lower-tier, poorly funded schools, like Drexel and NYMC, or any DO school.

The lack of research is less lethal to your chances than your sGPA.

You heard 100% wrong: there is no such thing as a free ticket to med school.

As a further FYI, research is NOT a banker's hours job.

I am always curious whether essentially all US medical schools really have the funds and support for research opportunities for medical students if they are so keen in making research a secret requirement. The MSAR gives a very distorted picture that most matriculants in every school as research experiences, and if that's true, all schools must back their claims of research importance.

For top schools and many mid tier schools, this is very easy. They are research powerhouses after all! But are other schools up for the task? If so, that's great news that can reduce the burden of top heaviness and contribute to scholarly pursuits

 

[Goro]

Every med school where I worked had lab facilities of some sort that could have taken a student. Let's put it this way: if there's a PI, you can do research (but not necessarily the research that you're interested in). But there's not specific setup for "med students over here for their own research".

Even tiny Mercer has a research venue (~$1.3 million in extramural funding; less than my own school!! I know R01 holders who get more than that from a single grant):

https://medicine.mercer.edu/basic-macon/researchers/macon/richardmccann.cfm

OP, it's really up to you whether you want to pursue research. But understand that basic science/wet lab is absolutely not necessary. Computational, clinical, psych, etc are all excellent research



I am always curious whether essentially all US medical schools really have the funds and support for research opportunities for medical students if they are so keen in making research a secret requirement. The MSAR gives a very distorted picture that most matriculants in every school as research experiences, and if that's true, all schools must back their claims of research importance.

For top schools and many mid tier schools, this is very easy. They are research powerhouses after all! But are other schools up for the task? If so, that's great news that can reduce the burden of top heaviness and contribute to scholarly pursuits

 

[JustAPhD]

Can confirm with Goro, if you're doing research 8-5 you're most likely not being as productive as you can be. The funny thing about research (especially in the basic sciences) is you think you are running the experiments but in actuality they are running you/your life. Whether you get into the lab at 5AM or leave at 10PM that's for the protocol to decide.

I'm curious as to why you applied to this research opportunity if you detest research?

 

[darknecrosforte]

So this is my story: I've been accepted to a highly selective research internship at a national laboratory. The thing is, I am COMPLETELY uninterested in research. I feel like I would loose my mind doing this 10 weeks straight everyday from 8 to 5. My question is, has anyone ever been accepted to medical school without doing research at all?? If so, what did you do instead? hours? I honestly want no part of research but my science gpa is 3.0; cgpa ~3.8. I heard that doing research at a national lab is like a free ticket to med school
(providing good grades and mcat). btw I'm a sophomore and plan to major in philosophy. Thank you.

Did zero research. Joined the Marines instead and had frequently worked > 24 hr shifts doing various things such as manning heavy machine guns and praying shet wouldn't go down the few times I had duty since I was a radio technician.

First world woes... Let's hope you don't literally lose your mind doing something easy af.

Bolded = pretty troll thing to say.