MD & DO Too early to contact potential mentor?

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Hey y’all,
I’ve been sitting on this question for a while. There’s a field of medicine that I’m really interested in pursuing, but my school doesn’t have a department in this specialty. Would it be too early to contact a potential mentor in this field, if I’m an incoming M1? The physician in mind isn’t affiliated with my school in any way, but is located nearby. If the chance arises, i’d be very interested in doing research with this physician for the summer between M1 and my last two years of medical school.

What do you guys think? Bad idea to contact him now? Or should I wait until later in my school year to contact him? Thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

I don't see why it would be a bad idea

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

I don't see why it would be a bad idea

I don’t either, but my mentor (who’s the dean at another m-school) advised me not to. I still don’t understand why

 

[Donald Juan]

I don't think it's a bad idea to hit the ground running if you already have a strong interest. If you were doing this for like 5 different specialties then I would say don't waste everybody's time.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

This happens to me all the time. Offer your services in research, or just simply ask to shadow. I’m sure that most people, especially if it is a surgical subspecialty, will be happy to have you.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Thanks everyone, I’m going to contact him later on this week! Truly appreciate the fast responses