Why did I act like such an idiot?

[Futuredoc1364]

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I am an MS1 and my school requires us to do a research project. So over the course of the past few weeks, I had done some search about the available projects in different departments to see what's available for this summer. I am mostly interested in clinical research, because I had basic science in college. So anyway, I contacted about 5 different faculty members (mostly MD's) saying that I like their research interests, and is it possible for me to meet with them for a few minutes to talk. Only one of them got back to me.

Nonetheless, I was mostly interested in the research of his collaborator than his research, but his collaborator is extremely busy so I had to go see the first guy. Ironically, while I was in the office, the second busy guy (MD) walked in (they both share an office), and started saying that he has some project that he is going to start with some other PhD in the department of biochem. He basically said that it would be clinical because it would involve human blood. Nonetheless, it is basically proteomics research with techniques that I have done in the past. Now I LOVE that kind of research, but I used to think that clinical research would involved more patient contact and thought it would be better to do something different in med school as I had done this kind of research extensively in undergrad. So anyway, he talked to me for like 4 minutes and said that I should take some IRB thing and just wait. This was on Wed. by the way. He did not give me any details.

So anyway, I have noticed that the department of pathology runs interesting research projects. I am not interested in path per se, but just they are mostly clinical. So I talked to a pathologist yesterday who teaches our class and she said that it seems that I am committed to this biochem project, and if I am not sure that I want to be committed I should let them know ASAP. So I did just that, (talking to the first guy who I made the appointment with not the busy MD) saying that I would love to participate in the lab, but I am still looking. The pathologist is going to try to ask all of the faculty members in her department to see if they have anything and get back to me by next Tues.

But I am worried that what I did, did not come across right for the biochem project. I think I should have waited to see if there is actually another project before going to the office and telling that about not being committed. Now I didn't say that I would not do the project, just said that I am still looking into other things.

I feel worried that the pathologist might not actually be able to find me something and considering that I had already contacted so many other faculty with no response, I might not be able to find another good project. So what I am thinking I should do is to send an email ASAP to the PhD in the biochem department saying that I have talked to the MD and am looking forward to the research project this summer and whether he likes me to read some papers, etc. between now and the summer. This way, I could still possibly cancel in case I find another REALLY interesting project.

I just think I should have NEVER gone to their office yesterday saying that I am still looking into other things becuase I have not found any other things and this lab seems to be a great lab. Oh well, live and learn.🙁

Any suggestions? Should I send the email now, or should I wait to see if the pathologist finds me a project early next week. I am worried that I might lose this project if I wait too long, because this lab is popular.

 

[typeB-md]

Holy **** you need to calm down.

Reading your anxiety-entrenched, stream-of-consciousness explanation is enough to induce a nervous breakdown.

It's not a big deal that you talked with them and told them you were still looking. Something will likely come up and you'll be fine. You seriously need to take some Prozac if you think the above events are anywhere near as bad as you have made them sound.

Maybe change your username to somethign more appropriate. Might I suggest: FutureUlcer or FutureAcademicAttending

 

[Futuredoc1364]

😀 I love your sense of humor. Yeah, I think I worried about this too much mainly because I have contacted so many people and none have gotten back to me. Also stress of school sometimes gets to me you know. So I am like OK, I need to get what I can get.

In all honesty, I didn't say anything bad, and I am going to email the PhD saying that I am interested.

I got to say you are mean though, Futureulcer for my username?🙄

 

[Abilene85]

If you have been having problems getting responses from e-mail, try stopping by their offices. A prof once suggested that to me, because it shows more initiative than just sending out a form letter style e-mail and kicking back on the couch while you wait for someone to write back.

 

[typeB-md]

😀 I love your sense of humor. Yeah, I think I worried about this too much mainly because I have contacted so many people and none have gotten back to me. Also stress of school sometimes gets to me you know. So I am like OK, I need to get what I can get.

In all honesty, I didn't say anything bad, and I am going to email the PhD saying that I am interested.

I got to say you are mean though, Futureulcer for my username?🙄

I'm not mean at all, just trying to make a point that you need to keep things in perspective.

You don't need to go all hara-kiri on yourself because you made a minor misjudgment (if you can even label it as such).

 

[NSAIDAllergy]

So anyway, I have noticed that the department of pathology runs interesting research projects. I am not interested in path per se, but just they are mostly clinical.

You never know what you'll be interested in by the time you have to pick a specialty. Maybe you'll be a pathologist. All I'm saying is it couldn't hurt.

 

[Futuredoc1364]

Thanks for all the responses. In fact I got an email on Friday evening from one of the pathology MD/PhD faculty members and he took ONE hour on that same day to explain some possible research projects he is looking into in which I can participate. That says a lot when a physician takes so much of their time to meet with a student to talk about research.

I think he is new to our school so he is not on the work-study program to provide funding for me over the summer. But that's not a big deal, because I got him an application that he can fill out to apply for the work-study. It will be great if I actually end up working with him, because it is basically he and I working together. He did warn me that there is a chance we don't get good data for publication. Honestly, I like to work with someone who is friendly even if it does not lead to a publication. The work is basically going to be looking at pathology slides prepared by immunohistochemical staining. I do enjoy histology now, so I am thinking that's not going to be a big challenge.😉

 

[TMP-SMX]

Thanks for all the responses. In fact I got an email on Friday evening from one of the pathology MD/PhD faculty members and he took ONE hour on that same day to explain some possible research projects he is looking into in which I can participate. That says a lot when a physician takes so much of their time to meet with a student to talk about research.

I think he is new to our school so he is not on the work-study program to provide funding for me over the summer. But that's not a big deal, because I got him an application that he can fill out to apply for the work-study. It will be great if I actually end up working with him, because it is basically he and I working together. He did warn me that there is a chance we don't get good data for publication. Honestly, I like to work with someone who is friendly even if it does not lead to a publication. The work is basically going to be looking at pathology slides prepared by immunohistochemical staining. I do enjoy histology now, so I am thinking that's not going to be a big challenge.😉

Ha. You just wait. You think immunohistochemistry is easy. Just wait until you stain something that has a very low concentration in the cell. Plus, it's a pain in the ass to go from too dark to too light (if you are lucky). It's interesting stuff nonetheless.

 

[Futuredoc1364]

I never said it was easy, and he told me upfront that it might not work.😉

Yeah, so I looked up this pathologist's publication record and it does not seem that impressive. He also does not have a lab yet. He finished his MD/Ph.D. from my school in 1998, got his post-doc training done in 2000 and finished his residency during the last few years. Now his webpage does not list ANY publications at all, and I could only locate one publication on pubmed from him. I should mention that I am thinking that he has been mainly busy with clinical work, so that might be the reason for his small number of publications. He also does not have his own lab yet. Is this alarming?

I used to think to get the PhD and finish the post-doc, you are supposed to have had a certain number of publications or something like that. Am I right?

This is alarming considering that MD/PhD's should have many more publications than MD's. On the other hand, he is very approachable and friendly. He also gave us a few lectures last semeter, and I have to admit that they were some of the best histology lectures I have had so far and he also seems very intelligent (which I am sure he is b/c he is an MD/PhD 😀).

I have heard that research is important, especially if it is in a field that you want to pursue as a specialty. I like opthalomology, neurology, and pathology and some other fields even though I am not sure of any of them. Nonetheless, it seems impossible to find the perfect combination. I mean some faculty here have like 4 publications a year but it is so challenging to get a hold of them and talk to them. And besides they are not that friendly because they are so busy and have too many things to deal with.

Another good aspect of working with this pathologist is that I get to work along with an MD/PhD faculty, and I think he is collaborting with some other labs. So I have to think about this, because it is still not too late to say no. Would I want to work with someone who is very friendly and approachable, but has not had many publications? Or is it better to work with someone who has had a lot of publcations, but is not going to know you at a personal level because he/she is busy with too many things? 😕

For some reason I am leaning to work with this pathologist though because I am thinking that I should choose something and stick with it. This research project is not going to make or break my life anyway. So I might as well work with someone who I am comfortable with, even if the outcome is not as great. But I guess I am obsessive, and I always tell myself: "what if I haven't looked at all the options here before making a decision?". But in reality, there is always a chance that I might regret my decisions in the future even if I take a year to think about each.

I didn't know finding a good research project in med school could be this challenging.

 

[diosa428]

#1 - no good researcher would get angry at you for saying that you're still looking into other labs. This is because most good researchers want you to get involved in a project you're truly interested in so that you will be motivated to work hard and learn. I'm not saying that it won't upset someone, but if it does, perhaps they aren't the best mentor anyway.

#2 - I don't know what the likelyhood is that you'd get a publication out of a summer long project anyway, unless you happened to walk in on a project that was already halfway done. Is this just a summer research position? If it is, it really may not matter that you get published. Don't get me wrong, getting published is great, but if you're author 47 out of 48, that really doesn't say much. If the project is supposed to last longer (like a whole year) then you might want to find a lab that is more established b/c you will have a longer time to come up with results and therefore an increased chance of getting published as a first author (something which is extremely unlikely if you have a 3 month project).

 

[Futuredoc1364]

I actually ended up talking a bit more to the pathologist about my concerns and what the project would exactly entail. He actually told me that there is a high possibility that I wouldn't be able to get paid through his department because of budget issues. Now we all know that it is nice to get paid, and he agreed.

The thing that I like about him is the fact that he actually gave me a few good suggestions about how to look into some other things before making a decision. So over the course of the last two days, I have emailed about 6 other faculty members. Some have gotten back to me saying that they are already committed to other students, some saying that they can meet with me, and some haven't gotten back to me.

In my opinion, the best way to figure out the best research project is to keep contacting as many faculty as possible and see how many responses I get. It is still a long time to the summer, so I think there are still faculty out there who might have positions in interesting areas.