When to start thinking about M1/M2 summer plans?

[deleted903608]

Hi,

Basically title: When is the appropriate time to start contacting researchers about summer positions? I just started my M1 year but I am seriously considering surgical specialties and want to make sure I do everything early on to make myself competitive for residencies, so I've already identified a few projects in my school's database that I'd be interested in. On the other hand, I don't want to come off as too much of a gunner, and I also don't really have much to offer yet (I've only been in med school for like a month!). So, should I start now or relax and wait a few more months before actively contacting researchers?

Thanks in advance!

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[kb1900]

It’s never to early to start research and nobody is going to hold it against you or call you a gunner except maybe your classmates who don’t really matter


I’d say the majority of my class didn’t start contacting PIs until after winter break, but plenty of them (esp those pursuing surg specialities) started earlier than that and were involved in several projects by spring time which carried through the summer.

 

[kb1900]

Also you have plenty to offer even if you just started medical school. Because 90% of student research is chart review and data entry and basic statistics which requires minimal knowledge.

 

[Save a life]

I would start sooner rather than later. Suprisingly, a lot of summer med school research funding has deadlines early like December or January. Look around on surgical society websites for med school scholarships and see what your med school has to offer. If you can, identify a mentor and a project early and then you can fill out the necessary paperwork and get funding.