Building relationships at different schools?

[dooogs]

How do people go about doing this? Im currently doing 3 projects at different schools but could not imaging adding another one. I'm definitely at the limit of my research time. Research definitely seems like a great way to network but is it necessary to do it at each school to get a good chance there? Is elective performance enough otherwise? (hoping to apply to a top 3 competitive speciality, currently M1)

[anbessa21]

Certainly being involved in projects is a great way build connections in the field, particularly as a pre-clerk. Be wary of stretching yourself too thin - both for the sake of ensuring quality and timely work, but more importantly for your own mental health and well being. You certainly do not need to perform research at every program to which you intend to apply. In smaller fields, everybody knows everybody, and by word of mouth, your PI's/staff's network in some ways become your own. However, focusing on your home school plus a select one or two other institutions (which may later comprise your top 3 ranks) is certainly feasible and high yield.

All this considered, make sure you leave enough time to enjoy your med school experience; join clubs/intramurals that interest you (thanks COVID, but you’ve still got time), make lifelong friendships, and focus on building a strong knowledge base that will serve you well as a clerk. The connections and networks you'll build in the coming months/years are analogous to a wobbly jenga tower. They need to be stacked up on a solid foundation of elective performance and affability or else it’ll all come tumbling down.

[dooogs]

12 minutes ago, anbessa21 said:

Certainly being involved in projects is a great way build connections in the field, particularly as a pre-clerk. Be wary of stretching yourself too thin - both for the sake of ensuring quality and timely work, but more importantly for your own mental health and well being. You certainly do not need to perform research at every program to which you intend to apply. In smaller fields, everybody knows everybody, and by word of mouth, your PI's/staff's network in some ways become your own. However, focusing on your home school plus a select one or two other institutions (which may later comprise your top 3 ranks) is certainly feasible and high yield.

All this considered, make sure you leave enough time to enjoy your med school experience; join clubs/intramurals that interest you (thanks COVID, but you’ve still got time), make lifelong friendships, and focus on building a strong knowledge base that will serve you well as a clerk. The connections and networks you'll build in the coming months/years are analogous to a wobbly jenga tower. They need to be stacked up on a solid foundation of elective performance and affability or else it’ll all come tumbling down.

I would prefer to stay at my home school program but this may change due to partner's job. I guess not knowing which program to focus on to build relationships is making me feel like I have to cast a wide net. Definitely, been very busy with the projects but I guess that's the only positive about COVID - more time for projects. I plan on reading up on speciality topics during the summer, as I do feel that I should be more proficiency in the clinial side of things. Maybe I am underestimating the value of that

[Artier]

You certainly do not need to do research at a particular institution to match there for residency. Some students do research outside of their home school and this can help, but most don't. By the time you reach clerkship, cross-country electives will surely resume so you can use these to show interest at particular centres.