Worth Staying in Lab With Questionable Pubs?

[sahdagah]

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Posted this in the research forum, but am posting here now for more exposure.

Incoming MS1 here! I'm wondering if it's worth staying in the lab I've been in for 2 years now. We mainly do literature reviews and meta-analyses. My PI publishes about 1-2x every month, and if I really put in work, I could crank out at least 4 pubs per year (currently have 4 first-author pubs). I have some concerns, though:

• We publish in a very small journal that I guarantee nobody would recognize (it's a niche but definitely interesting field)
• None of our papers have any statistical analyses, including the meta-analyses
• A decent amount of his papers are poor quality (sometimes obviously written by AI, but I think my PI is too old to notice). This affects me when I have people in my group using AI, but has only happened twice.
• Our papers can only be found on our journal's website and Zenodo, so I'm not sure how credible that makes them look
• It usually takes about 3-6 weeks to publish after submitting papers to our PI, which feels short and makes me question how thorough the review process is

Honestly, I've learned a lot since starting (mostly how to navigate through the literature and find flaws in papers), but recently I've started thinking about how these papers will be perceived on my ERAS application. I don't want future faculty to read through my pubs and laugh.

Should I ditch this lab and join a new one once I'm in medical school? Or should I play the game of modern research and focus on cranking out as many pubs as possible. Also, should I not even bother listing these on my ERAS when the time comes? I am willing to PM the journal or example papers if it helps.

TLDR: In a lab that mostly does literature reviews and meta-analyses. Could probably get 4+ pubs a year, but the journal we publish in is super niche, papers don’t have any stats (even meta-analyses), and some have AI. Starting to worry that listing these on my ERAS might hurt more than help. Thinking about switching to a more reputable lab once I start med school and only listing the papers I’m proud of.

 

[mistafab]

Sounds like you've gotten what you needed to out of the lab.

Med school is a lot. I'd just focus on school. At some point you may be interested in a particular field more than others and will want to start specialty-specific research if it is needed.

Good luck.

 

[Redpancreas]

I agree with above. To add to it, that specialty specific work will needed to be PubMed indexed for it to carry weight, especially in competitive fields.

 

[purpledoc1]

Posted this in the research forum, but am posting here now for more exposure.

Incoming MS1 here! I'm wondering if it's worth staying in the lab I've been in for 2 years now. We mainly do literature reviews and meta-analyses. My PI publishes about 1-2x every month, and if I really put in work, I could crank out at least 4 pubs per year (currently have 4 first-author pubs). I have some concerns, though:

• We publish in a very small journal that I guarantee nobody would recognize (it's a niche but definitely interesting field)
• None of our papers have any statistical analyses, including the meta-analyses
• A decent amount of his papers are poor quality (sometimes obviously written by AI, but I think my PI is too old to notice). This affects me when I have people in my group using AI, but has only happened twice.
• Our papers can only be found on our journal's website and Zenodo, so I'm not sure how credible that makes them look
• It usually takes about 3-6 weeks to publish after submitting papers to our PI, which feels short and makes me question how thorough the review process is

Honestly, I've learned a lot since starting (mostly how to navigate through the literature and find flaws in papers), but recently I've started thinking about how these papers will be perceived on my ERAS application. I don't want future faculty to read through my pubs and laugh.

Should I ditch this lab and join a new one once I'm in medical school? Or should I play the game of modern research and focus on cranking out as many pubs as possible. Also, should I not even bother listing these on my ERAS when the time comes? I am willing to PM the journal or example papers if it helps.

TLDR: In a lab that mostly does literature reviews and meta-analyses. Could probably get 4+ pubs a year, but the journal we publish in is super niche, papers don’t have any stats (even meta-analyses), and some have AI. Starting to worry that listing these on my ERAS might hurt more than help. Thinking about switching to a more reputable lab once I start med school and only listing the papers I’m proud of.

Why don't you just focus on medical school right now? You could take a break from the lab and continue in the summertime, maybe. Medical school is a HUGE commitment.

"Niche" pubs show up everywhere, by the way. Don't assume that what you put into print won't follow you around everywhere.

 

[sahdagah]

Why don't you just focus on medical school right now? You could take a break from the lab and continue in the summertime, maybe. Medical school is a HUGE commitment.

"Niche" pubs show up everywhere, by the way. Don't assume that what you put into print won't follow you around everywhere.

My PI is extremely laid back, so it's kind of a work-at-your-own-pace type of lab. I'll also be going to a P/F + full NBME school, and the current students there constantly emphasize how much free time they have. Not to downplay how time-consuming medical school is gonna be, but I think my situation allows for me to continue in the lab once I start medical school.

If I find myself struggling to keep up with classes, I'll definitely, at the very least, take a break from the lab.

 

[Goro]

Posted this in the research forum, but am posting here now for more exposure.

Incoming MS1 here! I'm wondering if it's worth staying in the lab I've been in for 2 years now. We mainly do literature reviews and meta-analyses. My PI publishes about 1-2x every month, and if I really put in work, I could crank out at least 4 pubs per year (currently have 4 first-author pubs). I have some concerns, though:

• We publish in a very small journal that I guarantee nobody would recognize (it's a niche but definitely interesting field)
• None of our papers have any statistical analyses, including the meta-analyses
• A decent amount of his papers are poor quality (sometimes obviously written by AI, but I think my PI is too old to notice). This affects me when I have people in my group using AI, but has only happened twice.
• Our papers can only be found on our journal's website and Zenodo, so I'm not sure how credible that makes them look
• It usually takes about 3-6 weeks to publish after submitting papers to our PI, which feels short and makes me question how thorough the review process is

Honestly, I've learned a lot since starting (mostly how to navigate through the literature and find flaws in papers), but recently I've started thinking about how these papers will be perceived on my ERAS application. I don't want future faculty to read through my pubs and laugh.

Should I ditch this lab and join a new one once I'm in medical school? Or should I play the game of modern research and focus on cranking out as many pubs as possible. Also, should I not even bother listing these on my ERAS when the time comes? I am willing to PM the journal or example papers if it helps.

TLDR: In a lab that mostly does literature reviews and meta-analyses. Could probably get 4+ pubs a year, but the journal we publish in is super niche, papers don’t have any stats (even meta-analyses), and some have AI. Starting to worry that listing these on my ERAS might hurt more than help. Thinking about switching to a more reputable lab once I start med school and only listing the papers I’m proud of.

Sounds like your PI is publishing in predatory journals. Time to find another lab.

 

[sahdagah]

Sounds like your PI is publishing in predatory journals. Time to find another lab.

After reading the replies, I've decided to finish my current paper in progress and then leave the lab for a new one.

My main concern now is if faculty reviewing my ERAS will notice this. If they do, will they care? How common is this issue in residency admissions? I put a lot of effort into these papers and gained valuable experience and knowledge in this field. I was really looking forward to discussing my research and the field during interviews, but now I'm not even sure if I should include these publications. Should I not? I wish I had known what to look for in a lab before putting in all this work.

 

[mistafab]

After reading the replies, I've decided to finish my current paper in progress and then leave the lab for a new one.

My main concern now is if faculty reviewing my ERAS will notice this. If they do, will they care? How common is this issue in residency admissions? I put a lot of effort into these papers and gained valuable experience and knowledge in this field. I was really looking forward to discussing my research and the field during interviews, but now I'm not even sure if I should include these publications. Should I not? I wish I had known what to look for in a lab before putting in all this work.

Don't bother freaking out about this. You did the work. Just put it on there. You followed your PIs lead and learned a lot - that's the point. I as a faculty member am not going to go through your pubs with a magnifying glass. I will look in your CV to see if there are any interesting topics in your research and talk about them with you. You'll have pubs down the road that will be more important anyway. That's my 2 cents.

Do not underestimate what it takes to do well in med school. Passing does not equal doing well. The more you learn, the better you will be, period. Do not fool yourself - get some data. Get there and do well first, and at that point you can take on extra work.

 

[sahdagah]

Don't bother freaking out about this. You did the work. Just put it on there. You followed your PIs lead and learned a lot - that's the point. I as a faculty member am not going to go through your pubs with a magnifying glass. I will look in your CV to see if there are any interesting topics in your research and talk about them with you. You'll have pubs down the road that will be more important anyway. That's my 2 cents.

Do not underestimate what it takes to do well in med school. Passing does not equal doing well. The more you learn, the better you will be, period. Do not fool yourself - get some data. Get there and do well first, and at that point you can take on extra work.

Thanks for this, and everyone's advice - really helped me out a ton.

 

[SurfingDoctor]

Posted this in the research forum, but am posting here now for more exposure.

Incoming MS1 here! I'm wondering if it's worth staying in the lab I've been in for 2 years now. We mainly do literature reviews and meta-analyses. My PI publishes about 1-2x every month, and if I really put in work, I could crank out at least 4 pubs per year (currently have 4 first-author pubs). I have some concerns, though:

• We publish in a very small journal that I guarantee nobody would recognize (it's a niche but definitely interesting field)
• None of our papers have any statistical analyses, including the meta-analyses
• A decent amount of his papers are poor quality (sometimes obviously written by AI, but I think my PI is too old to notice). This affects me when I have people in my group using AI, but has only happened twice.
• Our papers can only be found on our journal's website and Zenodo, so I'm not sure how credible that makes them look
• It usually takes about 3-6 weeks to publish after submitting papers to our PI, which feels short and makes me question how thorough the review process is

Honestly, I've learned a lot since starting (mostly how to navigate through the literature and find flaws in papers), but recently I've started thinking about how these papers will be perceived on my ERAS application. I don't want future faculty to read through my pubs and laugh.

Should I ditch this lab and join a new one once I'm in medical school? Or should I play the game of modern research and focus on cranking out as many pubs as possible. Also, should I not even bother listing these on my ERAS when the time comes? I am willing to PM the journal or example papers if it helps.

TLDR: In a lab that mostly does literature reviews and meta-analyses. Could probably get 4+ pubs a year, but the journal we publish in is super niche, papers don’t have any stats (even meta-analyses), and some have AI. Starting to worry that listing these on my ERAS might hurt more than help. Thinking about switching to a more reputable lab once I start med school and only listing the papers I’m proud of.

Meta-analyses that don't have stats?! That kinda of paper deserves to be in a flaming hot dumpster...

Not your fault, but that "lab" should be taken out to the woods like Ol' Yeller.

 

[futureapppsy2]

I agree with above. To add to it, that specialty specific work will needed to be PubMed indexed for it to carry weight, especially in competitive fields.

Yeah, the quick timeline and lack of indexing are massive red flags.