Research Questions from incoming student

[gobigorgohome22]

I will be starting Medical school this August and I am interested in pursuing research while in school. I have significant research background through undergrad (2 first author pubs in very low impact journals) and would like to continue with it. As I understand it, medical students usually don't have time to do research during the school year and mainly focus on research the summer after 1st yr. So my first question is, is this true?

Next, Since I am interested in ACGME residencies, is there a benefit to doing research at a ACGME associated schools? I was thinking it might be similar to an away rotation... OR is it better to just do research at my home institute (limited clinical opportunities)?

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[Petypet]

It is student and institution dependent. Most say don't do research during MS-1 because your priority is to learn. I followed this approach and did research summer after MS1 and wrote my paper and presented the research during MS2. In retrospect if you are organized and can plan, and are familiar with research, there is no reason why you can't start during your first year. You could at the very least get set up with a mentor, read some stuff, and dabble with it during the school year. If you feel overwhelmed with your course work, all bets are off and focus on school.

It doesn't matter where you do research so long as you are able to publish. Its better to have a 1st author publication, and present YOUR research at your home institution, rather than get tacked on as a 6th author at an ACGME site. If you don't think you can publish at your home institution then you need to go some where else so that you can get more publications. Keep in mind that in order to be successful, you will need more than a few weeks of time to get a first author pub, so somewhere close by would be preferable (ie not an away rotation).

I personally went to another site for the same reason that you mentioned, my home institution while it does publish, it is primary care focused. I don't intend to do primary care, and thus I had to go to a larger hospital to find more suitable research. My timeline was I contacted my home site around November, found out there was limited research on campus, and thus I found another opportunity around Feb. A lot of fellowships/internships have application deadlines around December/early winter.

 

[gobigorgohome22]

It is student and institution dependent. Most say don't do research during MS-1 because your priority is to learn. I followed this approach and did research summer after MS1 and wrote my paper and presented the research during MS2. In retrospect if you are organized and can plan, and are familiar with research, there is no reason why you can't start during your first year. You could at the very least get set up with a mentor, read some stuff, and dabble with it during the school year. If you feel overwhelmed with your course work, all bets are off and focus on school.

It doesn't matter where you do research so long as you are able to publish. Its better to have a 1st author publication, and present YOUR research at your home institution, rather than get tacked on as a 6th author at an ACGME site. If you don't think you can publish at your home institution then you need to go some where else so that you can get more publications. Keep in mind that in order to be successful, you will need more than a few weeks of time to get a first author pub, so somewhere close by would be preferable (ie not an away rotation).

I personally went to another site for the same reason that you mentioned, my home institution while it does publish, it is primary care focused. I don't intend to do primary care, and thus I had to go to a larger hospital to find more suitable research. My timeline was I contacted my home site around November, found out there was limited research on campus, and thus I found another opportunity around Feb. A lot of fellowships/internships have application deadlines around December/early winter.

Thank you for an informative answer!

 

[DrEnderW]

I agree with everyone @Petypet said above - it's going to be very student dependent.

Your primary responsibility in M1, especially in the beginning, should be to get acclimated to med school, do well on your exams, and begin shooting for whatever class rank your goal is. I wouldn't start research without a couple tests under my belt (at the earliest) to make sure you can get the kind of scores you're aiming for.

I wrote a review during M1 and touched and up submitted a lingering paper from before med school. Clinical reviews don't take as much time or effort as basic science so I suggest you go that route. It's essentially all computer work and can be done at your leisure. I never considered serious research at my home program as it wasn't going to be 100% publishable, in high impact journals, meet the # of pubs I wanted, or in the specialty I desired. For that reason I am now doing summer research at an ACGME program to meet those goals. It wasn't terribly hard to find opportunities and I would suggest emailing physicians whose research you are interested in around winter break. With that said, if there's something solid at your home program there's no reason not to go for that. I highly, highly suggest to not spend time spinning your wheels on projects that aren't going to get published or with PIs that don't routinely publish.

 

[gobigorgohome22]

Is it difficult for DO students to get started in ACGME lab or is there not much discrimination?

 

[Petypet]

Is it difficult for DO students to get started in ACGME lab or is there not much discrimination?

95% of the labs probably don't care. I am in the state of Ohio and I was not turned down by a single prof that I contacted (contacted about 10, none were DOs but 2 were associated with osteopathic-heavy hospitals). To find research, I wrote a nice email, gave them my CV, and demonstrated enthusiasm to do research. They salivated all over that because I am essentially free labor and a potential source of publications for said professors.

 

[gobigorgohome22]

95% of the labs probably don't care. I am in the state of Ohio and I was not turned down by a single prof that I contacted (contacted about 10, none were DOs but 2 were associated with osteopathic-heavy hospitals). To find research, I wrote a nice email, gave them my CV, and demonstrated enthusiasm to do research. They salivated all over that because I am essentially free labor and a potential source of publications for said professors.

What type of research did you end up going with (clinical, case study, wet bench, dry bench, etc.)?

 

[Petypet]

What type of research did you end up going with (clinical, case study, wet bench, dry bench, etc.)?

Actually though, I should mention, I applied for several very popular fellowships (vanderbilt, etc) and got none. Mind you I have a PhD and above average stats for a DO, and I would wager there may have been some bias in those applications.

I have 7 years bench experience so I avoided that like the plague. No reason to take time away from school do experience something I am already proficient at. I would recommend that as well, if you have a few years of undergrad research in bench work, try something new. Thus, I did some retrospective type studies and will have a few case studies as well.

 

[DrEnderW]

Is it difficult for DO students to get started in ACGME lab or is there not much discrimination?

I've been able to get research spots at top academic programs that would absolutely not take DOs for residency, but they seem open to students doing research. This is for both clinical and basic science research. From what I've seen, your past experiences and motivation are more of a factor than your current institution for this stage of research.