Two questions

[The Deep]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey again, I just had two more questions.

1. Would It be alright to shadow just one doctor over my 4 years (A primary care pediatrician for around 100 or so hours during winter break? Am I expected to shadow other fields too?

2. I got invited to do a lab that studies fish and the electric fields they utilize to perceive their environment. It sounds very interesting, but the head of the lab (who is the chair of the psychology department) warned me that he isn’t currently very active in the lab and that he only has a masters student who he finds “odd”. He told me I’d learn how to use the equipment but then isn’t he doing a majority of the work on my own. In a way this gives me the opportunity to do my own project. I’m not sure if that would be looked at as better in my med school apps if I led my own project/took leadership in a lab.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I generally recommend shadowing at least two different types of doctors (even if it's like 50 hours for one but only 5-10 for the other) just to have a little bit more perspective (for most of us, shadowing is the only real opportunity we get to see what your life is going to be like for the rest of your life), but from an admissions perspective, I doubt you would get dinged for only shadowing a single doctor, especially if it's a primary care physician.

Regarding your second question, I would be wary of a PI saying he's not that active in the lab, especially if you don't have much of a research background yourself yet (which is great because you're starting out and learning!). The infrastructure and leadership present in the lab is very important to productivity and finding your own niche in the lab. I would recommend looking for a more established lab that's busy and hopefully has an active PI, multiple graduate (hopefully PhD, not masters) students, and a history of having undergraduates (or medical students) in the lab as well. A productive publication record is also valuable, though less so at the undergrad level. In terms of subject matter, as long as its scientific research, the subject itself won't really matter.

 

[panbimbo]

1. Anything more than 100 hours shadowing in MULTIPLE fields is overkill. You will see once you start. Shadowing is interesting for the first two hours. Then it becomes utter boredom. You don't get to do anything but watch. Very important, yes, but mind-numbingly boring. I would suggest 10 or 20 hours for a few specialties.

2. Do research that you like. Med schools don't care what it is about. As long as you use the scientific method, you are gucci. And that lab seems a bit fishy to me... (no pun intended).

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

1) you’re fine, although as wedge said it’s probably good to see a couple fields just for your own personal education.

2) stay away IMO. A lab that doesn’t have any post-docs or PhD candidates is going to have very little motivation to publish, especially if it’s an older, tenured professor. If I were you I’d try to get involved with clinical rather than basic/translational research too. The time required for clinical research to be published is much shorter, and the hours more flexible vs bench work. If your undergrad is attached to a med school, maybe you can try to find a Dept you’re interested in and ask if anyone in the dept needs help with data entry.

All that said, If you’re really strapped and can’t find a project but are dying to get some research experience then go for it. Just don’t be surprised if it never goes anywhere.