Value of a systematic review?

[croez]

For residency applications, how much value does a systematic review have? I have been working with a physician on a few projects- mainly case reports and database analyses (i.e. comparing treatment outcomes by using large, previously published, databases) for which I will be 1st author on. He's recently given me the opportunity to start a systematic review, which I'm hesitant to start because of the time commitment. In the time it would take to do the SR, I could probably finish (literature review --> writing manuscript) 3-4 smaller projects.

However, all my current research is "easy" in that I feel like they can be churned out in just a month or so. Would it be beneficial for me to do the SR then, so I have more than just one type of research on my app?

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[mvenus929]

A systematic review is a higher level of paper than a case report or retrospective analysis. It will be noted as such.

If you already have some publications, why not jump on the more challenging project? It certainly is not going to hurt you.

 

[WheezyBaby]

A systematic review is a higher level of paper than a case report or retrospective analysis. It will be noted as such.

If you already have some publications, why not jump on the more challenging project? It certainly is not going to hurt you.

Agree, I would just make sure you have the time. A well done systematic review is a reasonably significant undertaking

 

[GoSpursGo]

I would generally not recommend that someone’s first pub be a systematic review, because it is such a time suck and only results in one line on your CV. That said, if you’re already doing well in terms of volume of publication, then getting experience with a potentially higher-impact publication and widening your research skill set could be valuable. Since you have several pubs already banked, it seems like this could be a good opportunity for you

 

[futureapppsy2]

Like others have said, a good systemic review is an incredibly time-consuming undertaking--the first systemic review I worked on was with a PI who had PI'd multiple R01-level grants, and she still said that the systemic review was the most work she'd ever put into a paper. On the plus side, if published, they tend to get cited a lot.

 

[Lawpy]

Systematic reviews are good

 

[Dral]

If you can handle the time/difficulty, I am of the opinion that a going in depth on a topic is more worthwhile on an app than a bunch of more superficial pubs.

 

[croez]

Thank you all for the advice- I will be starting the SR.

 

[DameJulie]

I remembered seeing a faculty SDNer said that he/she would ask the PD to interview an applicant if they are lead authors for a SR, simply because of the rigor, commitment they brought in a project.

The price is that SR is likely to yield more work than most clinical projects, and you need to be very knowledgeable about the topic to lead one. Good luck!