What would be more impressive to a program director? A book or a research paper?

[Downstatedoc]

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Basically I am shifting ideas between writing a book on healthcare policy versus involving myself in cardio research....lets assume both would take the same amount of time...which would you rather have on your CV? I am leaning towards the book, because while it may take more effort, it is a guaranteed product, as opposed to a research paper.

thanks.

 

[Blade28]

Basically I am shifting ideas between writing a book on healthcare policy versus involving myself in cardio research....

By "cardio," do you mean Cardiology or Cardiothoracic Surgery?

 

[Downstatedoc]

well, i meant cardiology. but i would consider research in CT surg..even though i doubt i would pursue it as a career.

 

[Reimat]

I am leaning towards the book, because while it may take more effort, it is a guaranteed product, as opposed to a research paper.

I'd venture to say getting a research paper published is much more likely to happen than getting a book published. Unless you have a strong track record of writing/publishing, you'll probably have a hard time getting a book published. Especially in health policy, unless you are working with or are an expert in the field.

 

[Rogue_Leader]

What if he means getting a chapter published in a book being edited by a well known person?

 

[Downstatedoc]

assuming i could have it published and appearing on amazon.com, which would you go for?

 

[katarina]

Which one do you care more about? Healthcare policy or the cards research? I don't think it's a good idea at all to do something over another based on which will be more impressive to a PD, or which will look better on a CV.

Call me naive, but I hate to think that CVs today are carefully constructed strategies to get ahead and not merely a list of things you did because you were genuinely interested in them.

 

[Winged Scapula]

assuming i could have it published and appearing on amazon.com, which would you go for?

If this was a book you wrote yourself and published yourself, it would be less impressive, IMHO, than a paper written in a peer reviewed journal or a chapter in a book edited by your peers.

Anyone can write a book and self-publish and offer it for sale. It does represent hard work but the others show that there is perhaps some quality review of your work.

All in all, it probably doesn't make a significant difference as those kinds of things are far down on the list of factors PDs are looking for when reviewing applications.

 

[Blade28]

If this was a book you wrote yourself and published yourself, it would be less impressive, IMHO, than a paper written in a peer reviewed journal or a chapter in a book edited by your peers.

Agreed.

 

[KCShaw]

If you want to know what a program director would think, I'd start asking program directors.

Personally, for a potential resident I think it's a bonus to see productivity in their field of interest -- the nature of that productivity doesn't necessarily matter. Sure, having a big grant and publishing in a major peer-reviewed journal is nice icing, as is a chapter or an entire book (honestly, whether it's medicine related or not.. if it's quality material). But unless I'm looking to crank out research hounds as a goal of my program, I'm not going to skip over another well-rounded applicant with good scores and top social skills at an interview for a published person who lacks those qualities/skills.

Of course, what you're really asking is "all other things being equal" (which, of course, they never are). All other things being equal, I confess I would be more impressed by a person who authored a quality text than authored a single quality peer-reviewed research paper. Your mileage may vary.