Summer breaks in medical schools

[FattySlug]

So I think there is only one summer break after the first year which many people choose to do research instead of actually taking a vacation. Is it a bad idea to take a break if you want to keep your options open for competitive residencies?

I just think that since this whole studying and training are gonna be with us for life we might as well take a break whenever possible. What do you all think?

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[theseeker4]

So I think there is only one summer break after the first year which many people choose to do research instead of actually taking a vacation. Is it a bad idea to take a break if you want to keep your options open for competitive residencies?

I just think that since this whole studying and training are gonna be with us for life we might as well take a break whenever possible. What do you all think?

If you are set on a competitive specialty, you will want to get some research in if possible. Summer after M1 is the easiest time to do this, but it is possible to do at other times. I personally don't know what I will do the summer after M1, but I will most likely try to get research in.

 

[newdoc2013]

So I think there is only one summer break after the first year which many people choose to do research instead of actually taking a vacation. Is it a bad idea to take a break if you want to keep your options open for competitive residencies?

I just think that since this whole studying and training are gonna be with us for life we might as well take a break whenever possible. What do you all think?

i did research and got published... it was still an awesome vacation.

DO SCIENCE!

 

[FattySlug]

i did research and got published... it was still an awesome vacation.

DO SCIENCE!

Good for you. It's just our idea of vacation is a bit different Congrats though.

 

[Dr McSexy]

I just took a break. It's pretty much the last real summer you'll have for awhile, unless you somehow gun it 2nd year and have mucho leftover time from dedicated STEP study time (if your school has that).

While it's probably better to go ahead and do research if you know you are wanting to be in a competitive specialty at a competitive program, I think it's pretty obvious that there are people out there who didn't do this and ended up ok.

Since 4th year is mostly electives anyway, many schools let you do a research block. This is something I will probably do at the beginning of 4th year when I have a better idea of what I want to do.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

i did research and got published... it was still an awesome vacation.

DO SCIENCE!

Was this research you started early in your first year? If not, how'd you manage to get published after only doing research for the summer?

 

[newdoc2013]

Was this research you started early in your first year? If not, how'd you manage to get published after only doing research for the summer?

Good PI with a project ready made for a student to wrap up. Also, helps to do engineering research as there are fewer variables and ways for things to go wrong as they can in a wet lab. Also, I was lucky.

 

[Frazier]

Was this research you started early in your first year? If not, how'd you manage to get published after only doing research for the summer?

Some pi's have projects lined up and ready to go... some clinical projects dont take long to do start to finish anyways.

 

[newdoc2013]

Some pi's have projects lined up and ready to go... some clinical projects dont take long to do start to finish anyways.

 

[Ilovewater]

There are many options for research even if you don't do it over the summer. For instance, if you go to a school with a shortened pre-clinical curriculum, it will give you more time to do research. You can also do research throughout 1st and 2nd years or you can do an elective research block during 4th year. Some people take a year off just for research. Also, it's possible to do some research over the summer and still go on a (shorter) vacation. I started my research at the beginning of the summer, took the last few weeks off for vacation, and then finished up the project during the 1st part of 2nd year. Of course, the latter is not ideal if you want a long vacation. Summer isn't the only time to do research, although it does give you the biggest amount of free time to do it.