Taking a year off for a letter of rec?

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automan2

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Here's the deal, I have the opportunity to take a year off of medical school, (btw my second and third years) and do some pretty high profile research. I have spent the last two summers in this lab, and I have got some pretty decent work done. The project that I am working on has serious potential to explode. (this is hard core basic science research, not clinical chart review crap)

My mentor is a former Nobel Prize winner and he owns many other awards given to people in academic medicine. The guy is powerful. I know it sounds funny, but I have been told that a rec letter from this guy will pretty much get you into any residency you want, (as long as your top half of your class and an average board score ~220). You probably think I am full of ****, but here are two stories to prove it. I can verify that these two stories are true as I have seen my schools match list for this year and I know the first guy. Keep in mind that both these students were MD/PhD - I will not, but I will have a MD with distinction in research.

1.) The kid had a GPA that just put him in the top half of the class and a Step1 score less than 230. Where did he match? UCSF - DERM (he interviewed at Yale, Stanford and Duke as well)

2.) The second kid applied for internal medicine, he applied to Mass General but got no love. My mentor asked the kid when his interview at mass general was, and upon hearing that he didn't get one, my mentor asked for the kid's cell phone number. Within 1 hour, the director of internal medicine called the kid on his cell phone asking him to come to boston for an interview. Where did the kid match? Mass Gen.

That's the kind of clout this lab has. When they submit papers to a journal, they don't have to wonder where the article is going to get published, they get in wherever they desire. (Obviously they don't try to publish crap in Science, but if they have a paper they feel is worthy, it will get in)

You probably think I am full of crap, but I am writing this to ask you whether I should take a year off and work in this lab. My mentor really likes me, (I don't know why, I really haven't done anything, I think he likes me because I speak English and he can pronounce my name) and everytime I see him, he asks me to stay another year. I am an average student who will probably score average on the boards, should I spend a year and buff up my application with his rec letter and a few publications? At the very least, I would be able to get a residency spot at my home institution in almost any field I want. Is a letter of rec that powerful?

Thanks for any advice.......

Oh, and I guess I should add, I am not looking to get into Harvard or UCSF, I just want a good program in a good place (dream = University of Washington (seattle))

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Why not? Do it. Sounds like it is what you like to do AND well worth it. If it was me I would want take the year off to improve my chances at being where I wanted to be over a period of 4-? years.

That being said. It may be overestimating the power of this person's letter of Rec. I'd imagine the good research/publications are worth more than simply a letter.
 
I'm not saying that you shouldn't take the year off, but maybe I'm missing something.

Why can't the PI write an LOR for you now without the extra year?
 
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if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is

but if it is true, and you can support yourself that extra year, then sure. it seems like u got a location set in your head with something specific. if you don't and dont care going to any corner of the country, then might as well stay on track
 
I am not sure if I could get a rec letter now or not. They are pretty serious in this lab, and a summer sutdent isn't really worthy. Plus, I haven't been in the lab since the summer, if I were to do third year, and then go back for a rec letter, it would be two full years without seeing them.

They would be paying me a stipend like a grad student (i think about 19K), so I wouldn't have to worry about supporting myself.

There are many places I would do residency, but I want to be close to the mountains somewhere at a good program.
 
Sounds like a good opportunity. It seems worth it, and meaningful work to do. One year won't kill you, and the benefits seem to be there. Go for it.
 
If you WANT to do research, and you think that this extra year would be interesting and fulfilling, then it sounds like a good idea. Talk to other people in the lab - he's friendly to you now, but make sure that he won't turn out to be very difficult to work with. Don't do this solely for the letter though - if you hate research, then that year will just be miserable.
 
19K is under the NIH standard. Are you sure that this is a Nobel-caliber lab?

Definitely agree with Prowler.
 
I thought about doing something like this (sans the Nobel-prize winning PI). However, now I'm leaning away from it because supposedly the gap between year 2 & 3 can lead to forgetting important information and a rougher start on MS3. I have heard about issues in this regard from several sources now. One MD/PhD told me the half-life on this info is like 3 months or so. I already have a lot of research, so it's not a big deal in a way (I just want to keep up with my field). My current plan is just to fit in research where I can (summers, slower times). Then again, I'm not that interested in plastics, rad, ENT, or derm. I could wind up doing the year of research after all, of course. Also, you can do a research year after med school (maybe even before residency), which pays more and is more useful, so I'm told.
 
19K is under the NIH standard. Are you sure that this is a Nobel-caliber lab?

19K was an estimate, I haven't even brought money up to the PI yet. (Side note, what kind of snobby attitude are your trying to portray? I know this is an anonymous forum, but seriously, "are you sure this is a nobel caliber lab?" What kind of question is that? Did you expect me to say, "Why yes, you got me, I have been making this up" If you are like this in real life I feel sorry for you)

Since I am passed the deadline for a Dorris Duke or Sarnoff-like program, my PI would have to fund me out of his own personal research grant money. I don't even want to ask about finances until I am damn sure I want to do it.

The main thing stopping me is the risk of be thought of as a lab tech instead of an actual researcher. I kind of felt that way during the summers, and I don't want to be a bitch for an entire year.

I agree with the knowledge retention thing, that is a good point.

The more I think about it, the more I want to bust ass studying for the Step1 and then move on to the clinics. Thanks for helping me reason this one out. If I do well on Step1 and do well for the next two years, I should be fine residency wise.

Gracianks
 
19K is under the NIH standard. Are you sure that this is a Nobel-caliber lab?

Definitely agree with Prowler.

Actually, the higher the caliber the PI, the more willing folks are to work for nothing. Often high powered labs have lower salaries.

To the OP:
If you want to take this opportunity and you can support yourself and advance your career then go for it. Just do a bit of review now and then so that you don't lose your edge in terms of being ready to jump back into the clinical world when your year is done. Good luck and congrats on getting the nod from a Nobel laureate!:thumbup:
 
19K was an estimate, I haven't even brought money up to the PI yet. (Side note, what kind of snobby attitude are your trying to portray? I know this is an anonymous forum, but seriously, "are you sure this is a nobel caliber lab?" What kind of question is that? Did you expect me to say, "Why yes, you got me, I have been making this up" If you are like this in real life I feel sorry for you)

I was just messing with you. Much respeck. :cool:

Really compensation will probably not be an issue. If the school treats you like a student (i.e. you enroll in research credit), then there should be a standard stipend. Grad student pay is usually peanuts to the PI since it doesn't come with the benefits that staff are entitled to. Since the guy encourages you to keep working, I don't think he's going to shaft you on pay. Nobel winners don't impress me as much as they used to. Most of the big guns I've met in the basic sciences have turned out to be asses IRL. Your guy seems to be cool though.

Really the reputation of the PI doesn't change my advice in any case. My advice is always to avoid doing something half-assed, i.e. if you don't want to do the research, then don't do it. If you really believe in the project, then do it, but don't do it as a means to an end. This is the sort of thing that will probably arise in a residency program interview, so they will want to see some passion in your decision.

This sort of issue comes up in the MD/PhD forum from time to time, and there is a genuine worry of losing clinical knowledge between M2 and M3 for some students. I personally want to move along and get this stage of my education over with as quickly as possible.

:luck:
 
No worries, hard to tell intent on a message board.

I agree with your advice. My guys are pretty cool, but they definitely treat people as workers and knowing that I am doing it just to buff that resume would make it a long year. If I was really interested in academics, i would do it, but I figure I can do alright without the support from the big wigs.

Thanks for the help. And good luck to you too ( I don't know how to do a clover)

-auto
 
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