Tullius Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Hello, been lurking for a while and finally made an account. I have read on this forum that it's relatively uncommon to have a peer-reviewed publication prior to applying for medical school. By this I don't mean a poster, or submission to an "undergraduate research journal" but rather published work in a traditional journal. Most people I know in person who are applying to medical school have at least one publication meeting this definition. Many have two or three publications like this, and some have at least one first-author publications of this kind. Is it a representative sample? Probably not. But it certainly doesn't seem to be nearly as rare as is described around here. Perhaps it was once rare, but is no longer a differentiator among applicants? I welcome your thoughts. Any supporting data is particularly welcome if you know of any. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeministKilljoy Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 I don't! I've spent the past 8 years working as a clinician in the community. No research experience here! But tons of awesome life and clinical experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majinpatrick Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Although I have 1 first author in a "traditional" journal from 3rd year undergrad, I would say most people who get in do not.. there is huge sample bias so it may seem that everyone has at least a publication. I am currently not in med school, but I have 9 other friends who were accepted who do not have any publications like that. So thats 1/10 from just us and it is probably even less frequently than that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdj78we9jtf2o3mgfvj298j Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Very few have a publication and even fewer are first author. A large proportion have some sort of research experience though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falling Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Its basically impossible to get in if you don't have at least 1 paper in a high impact journal like Nature or Cell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPatting Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Its basically impossible to get in if you don't have at least 1 paper in a high impact journal like Nature or Cell. Darn... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robclem21 Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 I think it depends on the school. Schools like U of T that place high emphasis on research, and therefore admit a larger number of applicants with graduate degrees are more likely to have students that have published prior to medical school. Other schools with less emphasis on research and more on other things may have less with prior publications. I would be surprised if the number was consistent across schools or if anyone even has an accurate guess of this. Again, this site is likely equally biased as any other sample you will take. Personally I have a MSc. As a result, I had 3 before I started school (2 first author) with 2 more (2nd author) in progress. I had 0 after my undergrad though. Take that for what its worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharmingHedgehog Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Didn't do a traditional undergrad, had no publications and only 2months worth of research experience that ended up in a poster. Still got into med school. Most people in my class haven't published Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tullius Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 I think it depends on the school. Schools like U of T that place high emphasis on research, and therefore admit a larger number of applicants with graduate degrees are more likely to have students that have published prior to medical school. Other schools with less emphasis on research and more on other things may have less with prior publications. I would be surprised if the number was consistent across schools or if anyone even has an accurate guess of this. Again, this site is likely equally biased as any other sample you will take. Personally I have a MSc. As a result, I had 3 before I started school (2 first author) with 2 more (2nd author) in progress. I had 0 after my undergrad though. Take that for what its worth. Hmm so other than U of T which are the schools the place more emphasis on research, do you think? Seems like all of them claim to value it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakes&planes Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hmm so other than U of T which are the schools the place more emphasis on research, do you think? Seems like all of them claim to value it. At other schools research = any other EC. Dedicating a large amount of time to it and being recognized for your skill via pubs etc. is good for you. U of T seems to consider it something overly special though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robclem21 Posted November 13, 2015 Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 At other schools research = any other EC. Dedicating a large amount of time to it and being recognized for your skill via pubs etc. is good for you. U of T seems to consider it something overly special though. Because Research = $$$ and prestige Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emojis4Life Posted November 13, 2015 Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 Didn't do a traditional undergrad, had no publications and only 2months worth of research experience that ended up in a poster. Still got into med school. Most people in my class haven't published Really? This is kind of a relief to hear Seems like everyone has at least one publication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanmari Posted November 13, 2015 Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 Had 0 pubs and 0 posters, was lucky enough to be accepted on 1st attempt out of undergrad. A lot of it is crapshoot but just letting you know rsx isn't mandatory (or at least wasn't in my cycle) for UT. Caveat: still better to have it than not, obvs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amichel Posted November 13, 2015 Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 I had no research experience whatsoever, never mind publications. I got into multiple schools (including OOP) as a 3rd year. Try not to worry too much about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi Posted November 13, 2015 Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 I was accepted on my first attempt with neither research nor a publication. Don't sweat it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W0lfgang Posted November 14, 2015 Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 Research is overrated, even from med school to residency. Focus on grades and MCAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_ _ Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 I have this theory it's more of a 'correlation' rather then a 'causation' relationship when it comes to research and med school acceptance Most people applying to med school (not all, please don't attack me) are coming from science undergrad degrees Thus, most people interested in science, at some point, test out their interest in research. Given that you're spending 4 years studying the stuff, it's only natural to want to see science 'in real life' Also, there's not a whole lot of summer jobs a BSc student is qualified for, outside of retail/waiting tables, besides research jobs. Hence, research experience, and possibly publications Further, grad students generally have better ECs long-term, more favorable GPA weighting, and probably more life experience and better interview skills. And yes, more publications from their graduate degree. But the fact they have publications is probably just a consequence of all those other things that made them a stronger applicant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdj78we9jtf2o3mgfvj298j Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 I have this theory it's more of a 'correlation' rather then a 'causation' relationship when it comes to research and med school acceptance Most people applying to med school (not all, please don't attack me) are coming from science undergrad degrees Thus, most people interested in science, at some point, test out their interest in research. Given that you're spending 4 years studying the stuff, it's only natural to want to see science 'in real life' Also, there's not a whole lot of summer jobs a BSc student is qualified for, outside of retail/waiting tables, besides research jobs. Hence, research experience, and possibly publications Further, grad students generally have better ECs long-term, more favorable GPA weighting, and probably more life experience and better interview skills. And yes, more publications from their graduate degree. But the fact they have publications is probably just a consequence of all those other things that made them a stronger applicant Well OMSAS has a research section for a reason. It's clear that schools do value research to an extent, in the same way they value awards, volunteering, employment, and extracurriculars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 ha, many RESIDENTS don't have a first author paper...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emojis4Life Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 I'm assuming most have at least one pub though? Even if not first author Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 Most residents might have one publication. It depends on program requirements. For example my program requires that you have at least one paper submitted to a journal and one other research project you "worked" on during residency. You also need to always have one project active. You technically could have zero publications and be fine. Another program I know only requires only that you have completed one research activity during residency. That's it. Some people in my program have multiple papers published (with some percentage as first author). Others in my program will only do the minimum (for example me). It depends on your career goals and life/training priorities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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