I did a search for this topic but could not find any old threads. Is it really important to do research while in medical school? Can it make or break a residency application? I spent this past summer in Costa Rica studying spanish and working in a hospital and I would like to do the same thing again next summer (I am on a 5 yr.schedule) to continue improving my spanish. The only problem is that I have a nagging voice in the back of my head that keeps saying ‘You should really do research.’ On the other hand, how much research can I really get done in 7 weeks (length of our summer)? Would I do better to try and do a project year round? Will I be shutting doors if I don’t do some type of research while in school? Also, if I decide, say around year four, that I really want to do optho or something hypercompetive could I take a year to do research then and strengthen my application?
Any thoughts?
Quote:
I did a search for this topic but could not find any old threads. Is it really important to do research while in medical school? Can it make or break a residency application? I spent this past summer in Costa Rica studying spanish and working in a hospital and I would like to do the same thing again next summer (I am on a 5 yr.schedule) to continue improving my spanish. The only problem is that I have a nagging voice in the back of my head that keeps saying ‘You should really do research.’ On the other hand, how much research can I really get done in 7 weeks (length of our summer)? Would I do better to try and do a project year round? Will I be shutting doors if I don’t do some type of research while in school? Also, if I decide, say around year four, that I really want to do optho or something hypercompetive could I take a year to do research then and strengthen my application?
Any thoughts?
Hi there,
Research can make the difference in securing a competitive residency. If you are interested in surgery or any of the surgical specialties, research is a definite plus factor with all things being equal.
You can get quite a bit of research done during your free summers if you find the right mentors and slots. I was able to get lots done in addition to teaching and doing a fellowship.
You will not be shutting doors if you don’t do research but you can easily find projects that take a couple of hours on the weekends if this is an interest. Do not do research just because you “think” it will look good. Do research because you are interested. If you do well in your studies and on your boards, you will be able to match without research. If you are struggling with coursework, you need to put your energies there and forget research because research will not make up for a poor performace in coursework.
If you decide that you want to do neurosurgery, optho or derm, you have to track early. These are not residencies that you can decide on during your fourth year and then hope to match. It doesn’t work that way and research won’t matter during your fourth year anyway because residency applications should be done by October and interviews start in September.
Natalie
