finks Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Research experience, to do or not to do??? So I was talking to a friend the other day about medicine and she was shocked to hear that I had no research experience. She mentioned that everyone she knew who had gotten into med at UBC had considerable research experience. So now I’m left wondering if this is true and should I look to do some research this summer? Also with no background in it how do I get involved? And will I just be cleaning instruments etc? or doing something useful? Thanks in advance for your replies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlatan Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 (1) Most people accepted will have some research background. (2) A few people accepted will have extensive research background (e.g. MSc, PhD). (3) A few people accepted will have little or no research background (but these people usually make up for the lack of research by other outstanding things in their application). Research is not a requirement to medical school entry. However, it will be looked upon positively because it demonstrates scientific inquiry in an applicant. Different research supervisors treat "first-time" students differently. Some expect you to wash dishes and mow their backyard, others give you an independent scientific project with lots of support. It depends on your luck, so just make sure you are clear what you will be doing when interviewing with the research supervisor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMike Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 I find getting involved in research at an undergrad level is a lot like the way they portray surgery residency on Grey's. I had no research experience at all and applied for an NSERC last summer and got one. My first day, I handled rats alone for 3 hours. But depending on your supervisor/quality of grad students, you can work your way up. So long as you're willing to: stay late, not complain, volunteer for extra work that has to be done anyways, contribute meaningful ideas, and the people you work with aren't total knobs, you'll move up. By the end of the summer I was performing brain operations on rats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star1234 Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 In my opinion, research is very important if you want to become a doctor. Doing research teaches you certain problem solving/trouble-shooting skills that you really can't learn anywhere else. In the end, you will probably be a better-rounded physician if you are familiar with the research world. So I would do it not just to give yourself a better chance of getting into med school, but also because it'll really open your eyes to a different way of working and thinking. Ya, at the beginning, you'll probably be doing pretty monotonous stuff but after you get more familiar with the lab and the experiments, your supervisor will start trusting you more and you might discover something really cool! And honestly, when I first applied to do research, I just emailed every professor in my department and hoped for the best! Hopefullly you'll get a couple of profs that are interested and from there you can choose which one you think will give you the best project/working environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaVen777 Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 I think research was a great experience for me. I enjoyed it for 2 reasons, 1.) it really taught me how to problem solve and work independently in a scientific research based environment. For the first 2 weeks of my first summer of research, I did nothing but wash lab dishes. But by the end of the first summer, and during the second summer I was in charge of a grad level project (eventually an incoming grad student came in and took over the project and got their masters with it) and did dozens of different procedures. 2.) I learned that I didn't like the research as much as I thought I did. I missed the direct help I could give to people. Not enjoying research as much as I thought I would was one of the big steps towards realizing I would probably enjoy medicine much more. If you can do some research, go for it! it's not just another stupid box you have to check in your application, it's a worthwhile endeavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finks Posted April 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 Thanks for the replies, I appreciate everyone’s opinion. So basically how do I get involved? Just email the labs that are doing research that interests me? Another issue I have is time, I have a part time job that I need to continue with this summer so were you all doing research full time? was it volunteer? Will there be some labs that are flexible in terms of time and when I can come in? or are most positions only full time gigs? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMike Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 I got a summer scholarship so I worked full time. But there's 4 people that volunteer at my lab. It really takes stress off the grad students, and so long as you're intellectually intact I can't see how a supervisor wouldn't want to give out unpaid labor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngdad Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 I find getting involved in research at an undergrad level is a lot like the way they portray surgery residency on Grey's. I had no research experience at all and applied for an NSERC last summer and got one. My first day, I handled rats alone for 3 hours. But depending on your supervisor/quality of grad students, you can work your way up. So long as you're willing to: stay late, not complain, volunteer for extra work that has to be done anyways, contribute meaningful ideas, and the people you work with aren't total knobs, you'll move up. By the end of the summer I was performing brain operations on rats. Mike I work with Rats and study the brain. What kind of stuff are you looking at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMike Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 The lab I work at is working on novel rehabilitation strategies for stroke, including methods for reducing inflammation, and promoting recovery in a rat model. What are you doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngdad Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 The lab I work at is working on novel rehabilitation strategies for stroke, including methods for reducing inflammation, and promoting recovery in a rat model. What are you doing? Cool. My lab is all about neurogenesis. Growing new brain cells. Exercise promotes it. Exercise shows reversal of some of the effects of neurological diseases by promoting the growth of new cells. Maybe a pill will someday haha. My project is all about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Do you induce stroke? Or do you look for markers that indicate recovery/inflammation reduction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMike Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 both. The main model we use is an endothelin-1 injection, which is a potent vasoconstrictor. So we put the rat asleep, drill into its skull, insert a needle into the area of interest (we use the primary motor cortex) and let it wake up. So the animals with injection will show series deficits in the use of their paws, and we use lots of different tactics to rehabilitate the injury, and use tests to measure the use of their forelimbs (walking a beam without fault, using both paws to support themselves instead of their 'good' paw, etc. We will also then look at molecular things like various growth factors that are up-regulated during rehabilitation/exercise. My honours project will be looking at coupling rehab to times of the day when growth factors are elevated to hopefully maximize recovery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlunkingWithStyle Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 The lab I work at is working on novel rehabilitation strategies for stroke, including methods for reducing inflammation, and promoting recovery in a rat model. What are you doing? My lab uses supercomputers to study gene regulatory networks in mouse and humans and predict gene to disease linkages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwh333 Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Research experience, to do or not to do???So I was talking to a friend the other day about medicine and she was shocked to hear that I had no research experience. She mentioned that everyone she knew who had gotten into med at UBC had considerable research experience. So now I’m left wondering if this is true and should I look to do some research this summer? Also with no background in it how do I get involved? And will I just be cleaning instruments etc? or doing something useful? Thanks in advance for your replies fink, research is not a must, but it's just something more that you can use to show your diversity etc. My friend got into UBC med last after 3rd year undergrad and he did no research whatsover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cococrisps Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Coop would be a great opportunity. I'm starting coop in may for 16 month straight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSmith19 Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 What does BC think of paid research experience? Is it the same as volunteer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewfieMike Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 two schools of thought on this one. -if it's volunteer work, than it's another EC for you -if it's paid work, it won't pack a real punch unless you get a national award (NSERC, for ex.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thami Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 What does BC think of paid research experience? Is it the same as volunteer? I've heard it really doesn't matter, since UBC takes into account both work and unpaid activities when coming up with your NAQ score (someone correct me if I'm wrong). In the end it probably depends on what you get out of your time in research (try to get project exposure - it is much more fun). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngdad Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 two schools of thought on this one. -if it's volunteer work, than it's another EC for you -if it's paid work, it won't pack a real punch unless you get a national award (NSERC, for ex.) Maybe. But I tend to think the paid work looks better. I was taken on as a volunteer in my lab last year. My PI liked me and decided to pay me this year. Volunteers can be terrible and still have that line on their CV. No scientist will pay a lousy researcher in their lab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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