Vallinar Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 It seems that in order to be competative for a speciality you need to do alot of research and electives in that specific specialy... but as of now i don't know what speciality i want to go into for sure... and i probably won't until i've done some rotations and electives. So for the summer of first year and second year i am likely going to do research, but i don't know what field to do it in. anyone else in this situation? does research still help you get matched to a speciality even if it isn't in the field you ultimately choose to go in? What's the best way to go about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Make a list of the more competitive specialties (of course, this varies from year to year, but there are trends, and having done research will be particularly helpful in some fields). Read books like Freeman's Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty, forums like this one and SDN (especially for threads where people talk about why they chose one field over another), and related websites. Combined with self-assessment and reflection, hopefully you should be able to narrow down which specialty is most suited to you.. then do research in that area. This will stand you in good stead if you do decide to apply to that field, while being less stressful on you if you subsequently decide to apply to a less competitive specialty. If undecided, many research projects are applicable to more than one area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 Research in the area you plan on applying to is a bonus....as it demonstrates interest. However, you can demonstrate interest in other ways, such as doing electives. Research in any area helps you in the sense that it shows you are capable of doing research and are interested in research. There are some school that really encourage research, so by doing some in any area helps out with that. Given that these will be the last 2 summers of your life, I would suggest choosing a project that you will enjoy working on rather than choosing a project solely for getting into a specialty you might not even know you will like. Of course, if 2 projects are equally interesting to you, then perhaps it could be argued your best strategy would be to choose the one that is in the more competitive field. Doing research also lets you get to know the staff/faculty so can be good for networking. But again, there are other opportunities for these kinds of things. I did research after my first year, it is in a field that is not related to what I will be applying to. I will not be using any of the faculty I worked with/met for my references. That summer, kind of helped me realize that I didn`t want that particular specialty. I am not worried that I don`t have any research experience in the specialties I will be applying to...the 2 specialties I am considering were pretty far down on my list of specialties I was interested in in 1st and 2nd year. So sometimes despite your best planning, things change. Some of my friends also did research in areas they will not be applying to. In summary....do something that you are interested in now, knowing that what you might be interested in later could change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DungeonMan Posted June 8, 2008 Report Share Posted June 8, 2008 Satsuma's right. Pick something you like knowing full well you may like something better later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
med.student Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 Satsuma's right. Pick something you like knowing full well you may like something better later. the mind always comes up with new ideals to stimulate itself. you have to be dedicated to what you chose. at times it feels like a big mistake, but it pays of later. stick to your decissions, the fruits will follow!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastalslacker Posted December 1, 2008 Report Share Posted December 1, 2008 Why do research? If you aren't sure what you want to do, why not take advantage of the summer to explore some different specialties. Do some thinking about what you might like to do and set up a couple weeks or a month in a few different things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
med.student Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 oh how one tracked can people get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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