Summer Research for Medical Students

[UBCthrowaway123]

Hi everyone!

I recently received an offer to both U of T and another medical school in Canada, and it looks like I will take the other offer. However, I would still like to spend at least one summer in Toronto doing research. I was wondering how difficult it usually is for visiting medical students to find a paid research opportunity over the summer. 

Additionally, I was wondering what the main sites and avenues were for medical students looking for summer research. It looks like the CREMS program is only for U of T medical students, and many of the programs here seem to be geared towards undergraduate students. https://medicine.utoronto.ca/research/summer-student-program-information

Are medical students encouraged to apply to these programs as well? Where do many medical students end up going if they are interested in research? Would love to hear some experiences! 

(Also, does CAMH take medical students for research? I couldn’t figure out for sure via their website). 

Thanks! 

[conditional knockout]

Sorry I'm new too, so don't have any answers for you. However, I am wondering about the importance of research in medical school. Is it a must, or are there other extracurriculars that one can become involved in to make a strong residency application?

[heartandsoul]

I am wondering the same thing too? Also does everyone do research in the summers or are there people who is able to find something paid that is not research?

For CAMH, they do take med students, I've worked with one before

[ToughLuck]

So CREMS - that is a program focused on matching researcher to UG med student at UofT. There are about 40 positions per year, across the 1st-2nd year cohorts. They have some funding, which means usually 5K for 10+ weeks of work. Also, there is a requirement to submit and present the work in at least one conference. These projects are usually free for all with some interview process, but some of them could be designated to a specific student as per previous relationship.

There are other research opportunities at UofT, as research is a big thing in Toronto. This could be your independent research arising from the Health Science Research course in 2nd year, and advocacy research from your Health in the Community course in 1st or 2nd year, as well as other research of your interest. If there is something Toronto is not missing - its PIs. The only type of research that would be limited to summer is wet lab, and therefore if you are interested in that, you have to figure out a site, a PI and a project in advanced. Some of them are CREMS, and some are not.

Regarding the need for research? Well that depends on you. Are you interested in it? Are you doing it just for the CV? Is it "required" in order to be a good CARMS candidate for your specialty of choice? In general, if you hate research, and your specialty looks for candidates who have a lot of research background... you might have to rethink your residency program choice.

[conditional knockout]

On 5/28/2020 at 5:25 PM, ToughLuck said:

So CREMS - that is a program focused on matching researcher to UG med student at UofT. There are about 40 positions per year, across the 1st-2nd year cohorts. They have some funding, which means usually 5K for 10+ weeks of work. Also, there is a requirement to submit and present the work in at least one conference. These projects are usually free for all with some interview process, but some of them could be designated to a specific student as per previous relationship.

There are other research opportunities at UofT, as research is a big thing in Toronto. This could be your independent research arising from the Health Science Research course in 2nd year, and advocacy research from your Health in the Community course in 1st or 2nd year, as well as other research of your interest. If there is something Toronto is not missing - its PIs. The only type of research that would be limited to summer is wet lab, and therefore if you are interested in that, you have to figure out a site, a PI and a project in advanced. Some of them are CREMS, and some are not.

Regarding the need for research? Well that depends on you. Are you interested in it? Are you doing it just for the CV? Is it "required" in order to be a good CARMS candidate for your specialty of choice? In general, if you hate research, and your specialty looks for candidates who have a lot of research background... you might have to rethink your residency program choice.

What specialties would you say place the least emphasis on research, both as an applicant, and as part of the residency program?

[ToughLuck]

2 hours ago, conditional knockout said:

What specialties would you say place the least emphasis on research, both as an applicant, and as part of the residency program?

I doubt I can really tell you for certain which residencies don't need research and which do. I can say that research is a good way of showing true interest in a specialty, and therefore it is another indicator for residency programs that you truly understand the field and are truly passionate about it. 

Research is always useful. Even if you do some qualitative research about a niche topic or some QI research, you can always put a spin on it. Remember that 1 of the competancies of the CanMEDS - scholar - has the key concept of "researcher". 

That said, the least competitive specialties tend to put the least amount of weight on research. The more competitive view it as a way to distinguish between the good candidates and great candidates.

[conditional knockout]

1 minute ago, ToughLuck said:

I doubt I can really tell you for certain which residencies don't need research and which do. I can say that research is a good way of showing true interest in a specialty, and therefore it is another indicator for residency programs that you truly understand the field and are truly passionate about it. 

Research is always useful. Even if you do some qualitative research about a niche topic or some QI research, you can always put a spin on it. Remember that 1 of the competancies of the CanMEDS - scholar - has the key concept of "researcher". 

That said, the least competitive specialties tend to put the least amount of weight on research. The more competitive view it as a way to distinguish between the good candidates and great candidates.

Fair enough, I appreciate the insight. Since family med is competitive, does that make it value research? I feel like I haven't heard of any family physicians in my area engaging in research.

[ToughLuck]

Just now, conditional knockout said:

Fair enough, I appreciate the insight. Since family med is competitive, does that make it value research? I feel like I haven't heard of any family physicians in my area engaging in research.

Some family docs do research, and some don't. It is up to their setting and desire. Some even have research hours/day allocated in their work week. It is not a must to do research if you wish to become a family doc, but it would be a great way to make connections with academics in the field, and understand the needs of the community you are serving.

[medicallyricalmiracle]

2 hours ago, conditional knockout said:

Fair enough, I appreciate the insight. Since family med is competitive, does that make it value research? I feel like I haven't heard of any family physicians in my area engaging in research.

Who said family medicine is competitive? Several family med residencies go completely unfilled every year. I’ve been told if you rank family med as your 3rd choice on Carms you’re basically guaranteed a match. 

[dooogs]

29 minutes ago, supadupafly said:

Who said family medicine is competitive? Several family med residencies go completely unfilled every year. I’ve been told if you rank family med as your 3rd choice on Carms you’re basically guaranteed a match. 

I guess UofT family med is competitive (probably a lot of people want to live in the GTA)

EDIT: I meant it more like a question (I have no idea?!)

[Galaxsci]

1 hour ago, dooogs said:

I guess UofT family med is competitive (probably a lot of people want to live in the GTA)

EDIT: I meant it more like a question (I have no idea?!)

Toronto family med is definitely competitive for a family med program, but family med in general is not. I know lots of people who matched this year, both to Toronto and to other family med (and many other Toronto residency programs), without any research in the field. 

As for programs that are known to "require" research, it's all the ones you'd expect, as they're the most competitive fields overall: Plastic surgery, ophthalmology, dermatology, etc. In most fields, research in the field can't hurt your application, but in some (like the aforementioned highly competitive ones), it's more of a requirement than a recommendation.

If you're interested in relative competitiveness of different fields, check out the CaRMS data, it's all publicly available: https://www.carms.ca/data-reports/r1-data-reports/

 

[JohnGrisham]

2 hours ago, supadupafly said:

Who said family medicine is competitive? Several family med residencies go completely unfilled every year. I’ve been told if you rank family med as your 3rd choice on Carms you’re basically guaranteed a match. 

Not yet a medical student    Many of the desirable cities are fairly competitive for FM, and some programs in general (UofT, UBC, UofA are all very competitive). Some specific sites are hyper-competitive(downtown toronto, downtown vancouver).  Of course, overall FM is not comparatively competitive, especially if you are willing and able to move anywhere!