Tips for padding resume with research?

[A8288103162]

---

Members don't see this ad.

When looking at match statistics, I'm a little confused at how the average matching resident has so many research activities and volunteer activities, especially as a DO student whose school offers little to no research opportunities.

That being said, I have done "research" with two different professors, one of which was somewhat relevant to trauma/surgery, presented a poster for that research at two different events, am president of a club that doesn't really do anything, and since second year started I've basically given up extracurricular stuff completely to focus on my studies.

Is research something that's easier to get into once you're in rotations? Is there a way to get research activities under my belt without sacrificing much time away from my primary job of passing classes and doing well on boards and rotations?

I will also say that as of right now I have not done any volunteering since I started medical school. Will this be frowned upon during residency match or will my board scores, rotation performance, letters, etc. mean far more to the typical program director?

BTW, I should probably say that as of right now I am more interested in IM/Cardiology, Gen Surg/Cardiothoracic Surgery (CT if I surprise the hell out of myself and crush the boards) But basically, I want to work on the heart when all is said and done.

Thanks in advance for any advice you all might have.

 

[rg2o3]

When looking at match statistics, I'm a little confused at how the average matching resident has so many research activities and volunteer activities, especially as a DO student whose school offers little to no research opportunities.

That being said, I have done "research" with two different professors, one of which was somewhat relevant to trauma/surgery, presented a poster for that research at two different events, am president of a club that doesn't really do anything, and since second year started I've basically given up extracurricular stuff completely to focus on my studies.

Is research something that's easier to get into once you're in rotations? Is there a way to get research activities under my belt without sacrificing much time away from my primary job of passing classes and doing well on boards and rotations?

I will also say that as of right now I have not done any volunteering since I started medical school. Will this be frowned upon during residency match or will my board scores, rotation performance, letters, etc. mean far more to the typical program director?

BTW, I should probably say that as of right now I am more interested in IM/Cardiology, Gen Surg/Cardiothoracic Surgery (CT if I surprise the hell out of myself and crush the boards) But basically, I want to work on the heart when all is said and done.

Thanks in advance for any advice you all might have.

First year here. Over break, I sent out probably 25 e-mails to physicians conducting research at a local MD school. Out of the 25 I received 2 e-mails in return. One of which is willing to do a project with me. So, I guess the take away is that if you want to get research, you need to reach out. We are hindered in that respect, so we need to be proactive as DO students.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

People may write multiple case reports or present a poster in more than 1 conference. That's how you pad your resume, but the problem is that people will see it as padding. If you gave me a person with a publication in a good journal (eg, NEJM), I'd prefer them over someone with 10 case reports and opinion pieces. You can't fool people at this level. You're no longer the sad undergrad that slips by with running PCR all day for a 5th author in your school's journal