Summer Research for Medical Opportunities

[Pre-Medguy1995]

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Hey guys, I know there are research opportunities in the summer for medical students between the M1 and M2 years at places like the CDC, NIH, HSS, etc. Mainly, my question is what should I be doing in the first year to make myself a competitive applicant for these summer research programs? Second, has anyone done any of these and what they did think/what programs do you recommend?

 

[831929]

Hey guys, I know there are research opportunities in the summer for medical students between the M1 and M2 years at places like the CDC, NIH, HSS, etc. Mainly, my question is what should I be doing in the first year to make myself a competitive applicant for these summer research programs? Second, has anyone done any of these and what they did think/what programs do you recommend?

have not done them but looked extensively at applying to them until I found a great opportunity at home institution. If you have research from undergrad, I think you do not need to do much during M1 year. Just apply and see what happens and maybe have a backup at home institution. I do not think that every spot fills through NIH summer program. There are also specialty-specific societies that have paid summer research programs (ex: vascular surgery society). Just do well in classes and maybe get to know a professor in class to get comfortable enough to ask for a letter.

 

[getfat]

get to know a professor in class to get comfortable enough to ask for a letter.

If you are thinking about this plz get on it ASAP when you start first year. Rock the first test and talk to professors. Make your summer plans known and that you will need a LOR. A lot of summer research opportunities want 1-2 professors and have a due date in December - January.

 

[Pre-Medguy1995]

If you are thinking about this plz get on it ASAP when you start first year. Rock the first test and talk to professors. Make your summer plans known and that you will need a LOR. A lot of summer research opportunities want 1-2 professors and have a due date in December - January.

Should I wait and establish a relationship with the professor first or just kind of tell the professor that this is kind of what I'm aiming to do and see what they recommend?

 

[831929]

Should I wait and establish a relationship with the professor first or just kind of tell the professor that this is kind of what I'm aiming to do and see what they recommend?

It's getting close to the summer so probably not much time to develop a strong relationship. Most faculty are happy to write a letter for research, especially for first years since they know you have not had much time to develop meaningful mentors. Just make sure you are not doing bad in their class and just be a nice person.

 

[Wjldenver]

Networking is really the path of least resistance here. Besides the CDC & NIH, look into summer opportunities at various pharmaceutical companies. For example, Lilly in Indianapolis has offered a number of summer research opportunities to DO students from around the country in previous years. My son got a summer research position at the University of Colorado SOM last year. But networking got him the position, sending resumes to various places, without a network to back you up, is a lower probability event in regard to success. So tap into any network you have. Your own, your parents, your professors, etc.