Should I emphasize research on ERAS?

[Syndicate]

I am applying into Internal Medicine with a very average application in terms of scores, clinical grades, and letters of recommendations. My goal is to match into a mid-tier program that can set me up well for a competitive fellowship (not sure what right now). The only thing that stands out on my application is my research, which I have 1 first author basic science + 4 co-authored clinical papers, all PubMed ID'ed (all of which came out of pure luck because that's how the publication process/authorship is). However, I view research as a means to an end and have no desire to pursue any additional research in my career other than for obtaining a fellowship. I also do not want to talk about research in interviews and don't want to write about it in my personal statement because I have no passion for it.

Do I need to emphasize my research on my personal statement or other parts of my application to secure interviews at mid-tier IM programs? And if I do, how do I transition the interview to not solely being about research?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DNC127]

Best be changing your attitude lol. Because if all that stands our is your research, and you can't/won't talk about it... you will have nothing at that point unless you are really cool.. so..

 

[Donald Juan]

You should probably keep your "I hate research" attitude down, especially since you're going to academic programs that are made up of people who do research. Some level of research or academic activities is a requirement of residency, and they don't want people who they have to drag into doing a presentation here or there. You don't have to just spend your whole PS talking about it. In fact, you don't have to talk about it at all, you have 5 pubs. That will speak for itself.

 

[mvenus929]

FWIW, I'm applying for fellowship in Peds, which all require essentially 2 years of research. I have made it clear that I'm not a researcher, even when I am being interviewed by researchers (PhDs). As long as you recognize the importance of research and acknowledge that you can learn something by going through the process, it won't matter so much that you aren't interested in making it your career.

But you have to do something in order to get through your training (I assume... peds requires a scholarly activity in residency, so I assume IM is similar).