Too much lab work?

[el799]

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I recently posted about deciding between 2 labs for research work as an undergraduate. This decision has been so hard to the point where i am debating doing both. My question is, how would medical schools view me taking slightly fewer class credits so I have room for more research credit. Currently I do 15 hours per week in 1 lab for 3 credits. I am debating doing 10 hours per week in each lab for 4 credits. My ultimate goal is academic medicine as a career so I am prepared to explain this eventually in interviews. Also do research credits count towards sgpa?

 

[Housekeeping_Gene]

Not sure if research counts to sgpa, but that much research is by no means required for MD. They may even ask you why you're not applying MD-PhD with that amount. They would care more about your grades by far, and I would be careful about equating academic medicine with basic science work.

 

[el799]

Not sure if research counts to sgpa, but that much research is by no means required for MD. They may even ask you why you're not applying MD-PhD with that amount. They would care more about your grades by far, and I would be careful about equating academic medicine with basic science work.

Yeah I know this much research isn't required I just really enjoy it and definitely want to work as an MD in translational research. Additionally, one of the labs PI is a world renowned neurosurgeon who basically said if I work well ill get a sterling rec letter. As per my last post, I wont automatically make the switch because I am really interested in the lab I've been in for the last year and I Know med schools will like the commitment to the same lab for so long. My response to why not MD-PHD is that it just simply inst necessary anymore for an aspiring medical/translational researcher to go through the extra PHD schooling. And while I enjoy research, my ultimate goal is to work with patients for more than 50% of my time.

 

[chemdoctor]

I think it’s fine if you genuinely enjoy and are passionate about both labs. I’m considering that. But maybe try doing research a couple hours but not taking credits for it?

 

[Goro]

I recently posted about deciding between 2 labs for research work as an undergraduate. This decision has been so hard to the point where i am debating doing both. My question is, how would medical schools view me taking slightly fewer class credits so I have room for more research credit. Currently I do 15 hours per week in 1 lab for 3 credits. I am debating doing 10 hours per week in each lab for 4 credits. My ultimate goal is academic medicine as a career so I am prepared to explain this eventually in interviews. Also do research credits count towards sgpa?

I tend to discount research hours and look askance at people who lard up their apps with research coursework.

 

[Housekeeping_Gene]

Yeah I know this much research isn't required I just really enjoy it and definitely want to work as an MD in translational research. Additionally, one of the labs PI is a world renowned neurosurgeon who basically said if I work well ill get a sterling rec letter. As per my last post, I wont automatically make the switch because I am really interested in the lab I've been in for the last year and I Know med schools will like the commitment to the same lab for so long. My response to why not MD-PHD is that it just simply inst necessary anymore for an aspiring medical/translational researcher to go through the extra PHD schooling. And while I enjoy research, my ultimate goal is to work with patients for more than 50% of my time.

Yeah I mean do what you want as long as it doesn't affect your grades and ability to participate in clinical opportunities. MD programs will focus on your numbers and clinical experiences over your research, even if research is your eventual career choice. Also just an FYI, while being an MD-PhD is not required to do research, MD-PhD's are granted about 50% of all NIH funding that goes to MD PI's. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Goro]

Yeah I mean do what you want as long as it doesn't affect your grades and ability to participate in clinical opportunities. MD programs will focus on your numbers and clinical experiences over your research, even if research is your eventual career choice. Also just an FYI, while being an MD-PhD is not required to do research, MD-PhD's are granted about 50% of all NIH funding that goes to MD PI's. Just something to keep in mind.

LOVE the screen name!!!!!!😍😍👍👍

 

[el799]

I tend to discount research hours and look askance at people who lard up their apps with research coursework.

Is 4 credits over 3 lard?

 

[el799]

Yeah I mean do what you want as long as it doesn't affect your grades and ability to participate in clinical opportunities. MD programs will focus on your numbers and clinical experiences over your research, even if research is your eventual career choice. Also just an FYI, while being an MD-PhD is not required to do research, MD-PhD's are granted about 50% of all NIH funding that goes to MD PI's. Just something to keep in mind.

Cool! The other thing about the new lab is since the PI is an MD, they hinted at clinical opportunities involved

 

[el799]

I tend to discount research hours and look askance at people who lard up their apps with research coursework.

Also will a letter from a world renowned neurosurgeon carry anymore weight than my current PI?

 

[Goro]

Also will a letter from a world renowned neurosurgeon carry anymore weight than my current PI?

No. Other than Ben Carson or @neusu , I can't think of any famous neurosurgeons. Your PI likely better knows you than the neurosurgeon.

 

[el799]

No. Other than Ben Carson or @neusu , I can't think of any famous neurosurgeons. Your PI likely better knows you than the neurosurgeon.

Sorry to bring up an old thread but as I posted this originally, I also had my parents ask a family friend who plays a vital role in admissions at one of the T20 med schools. They told me that med schools are looking more and more for people who are focused early on into what that want to end up practicing/researching in and told me to go with the neurosurgeon. Have you gotten any wind of med schools wanting specialization early on? I am now more confused than ever and it is driving me insane

 

[Goro]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but as I posted this originally, I also had my parents ask a family friend who plays a vital role in admissions at one of the T20 med schools. They told me that med schools are looking more and more for people who are focused early on into what that want to end up practicing/researching in and told me to go with the neurosurgeon. Have you gotten any wind of med schools wanting specialization early on? I am now more confused than ever and it is driving me insane

This is news to me.
Let's ask some ionospheric Adcom members:
@LizzyM ?
@gyngyn?

 

[LizzyM]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but as I posted this originally, I also had my parents ask a family friend who plays a vital role in admissions at one of the T20 med schools. They told me that med schools are looking more and more for people who are focused early on into what that want to end up practicing/researching in and told me to go with the neurosurgeon. Have you gotten any wind of med schools wanting specialization early on? I am now more confused than ever and it is driving me insane

No. In fact, they might be a bit concerned about someone who comes in convinced that they are preparing for a specific subspecialty or a specific difficult to match residency. Pediatrics, OB, family medicine, psych,, geriatrics not so much... but derm, ortho, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery would generate some concern.

 

[mcloaf]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but as I posted this originally, I also had my parents ask a family friend who plays a vital role in admissions at one of the T20 med schools. They told me that med schools are looking more and more for people who are focused early on into what that want to end up practicing/researching in and told me to go with the neurosurgeon. Have you gotten any wind of med schools wanting specialization early on? I am now more confused than ever and it is driving me insane

This person is giving you bad advice.

 

[Dr. Scribe]

It’s not about how much research you do- what matters is how productive you are.

1000s of research hours without a publication makes me question what a person was really doing the whole time he/she was in lab

 

[Lost In Transcription]

I would say focus on one lab, and do something substantial. Don’t split your time.

 

[el799]

It’s not about how much research you do- what matters is how productive you are.

1000s of research hours without a publication makes me question what a person was really doing the whole time he/she was in lab

Yep not too worried at that. 2 papers in my first year a 3rd on the way... other lab seemed to imply frequent publicatio

 

[ExcitatorySynapse]

It’s not about how much research you do- what matters is how productive you are.

1000s of research hours without a publication makes me question what a person was really doing the whole time he/she was in lab

That’s not fair. I find that at many good labs, especially those who aim for high flying journals, publications are not exactly churned out. One of my mentors chewed me out when i was trying to rush and told me that he had this postdoc work on something for like 5 years and at the end she published two papers in Nature and nature methods. Another lab I was in, run by a hotshot prof at a top school, has PhD students publish 1 paper after 5 years. The last lab I worked in has had the data for a long time but this PI wants to keep adding figures. Also, sometimes you leave a lab and they publish something three years later and don’t credit you because you didn’t actually produce any of the data on the paper, even if you did plenty of preliminary
work. It’s really not so simple. I know a guy who did all of the experiments for a paper over winter break, and I know people who have toiled away for years.