How critical is research?

[Guest thesaug]

Hi everyone...

 

Just had a question about research during medical school. At this point, I am not sure what field of medicine I want to go into and I am planning on doing some observerships to figure that out. Im thinking that I will be able to do a bulk of the exploration during my summer after first year. Due to this, I dont think I will be doing research as I wont be sure what area to focus the research on.

 

How important is research for gaining the residency of your choice? Is there a particular time when most students conduct research? The other reason I am asking is that I am also planning on going to India next summer so I pretty much wont have any time.

 

Thanks!

 

thesaug

[Guest UTMed07]

How important is research for gaining the residency of your choice?

Depends on the residency. Some residency programs are more keen on researcher types 'cause the field is relatively young and there is much active research.

 

Depends on the program director. Some program directors at some schools are more keen on research than others.

 

Is there a particular time when most students conduct research?

Research can be done during the summers (there are something like 75-85 scholarships for 1st and 2nd year med students at U of T---click here for info)... or as an elective.

 

At U of T... you have an opportunity to learn more about this stuff if you go to the free dinner talks they have about residency in September & October. In the talks the program directors usually come by do a little electronic slide show and talk about what they look for in a resident. You get food... and the food is yummy --I'd recommend going to the talks you think might be interesting.

[Guest thesaug]

thanks for the info! I'll for sure check them out!

[Guest Ian Wong]

I believe that research can be an important part of any residency application. The reason for this is that it shows commitment to your specialty. In trying to decide who to interview, program directors often try to select people who they think have shown dedication to that specialty.

 

Especially now with the new e-CaRMS format, where all of the applications are essentially standardized, showing interest in your given specialty of the research as well as electives has become increasingly important. The reason for this, is that it is very easy to flip to that part of the e-CaRMS application, and see whether or not the student has been productive in the areas of research and electives for that specialty. It often becomes readily apparent at that point whether you are truly interested in that specialty, or if you are using that specialty as a backup option.

 

Research can be done at any time during medical school. Obviously, the most the time you'll ever have in medical school is probably in the summers after first and second year of medical school. Still, many medical students manage to fit in research during third year as well, when their interest in a given specialty solidifies further.

 

As noted above, some specialties are more interested in research than others, and some residency programs are more interested in research than others, particularly those larger, academic programs. Toronto definitely emphasizes the academic factor in many/most of its residency programs, moreso than any other Canadian city.

 

It is still possible to match to virtually any competitive specialty without research, however it's just another facet of a well-rounded application which can help you to get the interviews which you need in order to improve your chances of matching.

 

Ian

[Guest Steve U of T]

Just curious, can specialty-specific research done prior to medical school have much importance at the residency/fellowship stage? I've done some vascular surgery research over the past year, and an abstract I wrote has been accepted for presentation at the Canadian Society of Vascular Surgeons annual meeting (strangely enough, if I get off a waiting list and start med school in September, I probably won't be able to go to that meeting). Years down the road, would that make a difference in my application?

 

Realistically, I know that research I do in medical school will carry more weight, but I'm just curious (and others may be too) whether research prior to that matters at all.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Realistically, I know that research I do in medical school will carry more weight, but I'm just curious (and others may be too) whether research prior to that matters at all.

It's an extreme and isolated example (isolated, in that I don't know of any other individuals who have done this) but one person I know of completed a PhD in basic sciences at UofT. As far as I know, this was viewed as a big positive when she was considered for a residency position in plastic surgery in Toronto. (She won one of the positions.)

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest UTMed07]

Realistically, I know that research I do in medical school will carry more weight, but I'm just curious (and others may be too) whether research prior to that matters at all.

I think when doesn't matter so much as what and the productivity. If you do a complex research project and publish a paper in a peer-reviewed journal before med school--IMHO that gets valued more than 2-3 months of research work (as med student) that ends with no presentation or abstract.

 

I think the program directors are looking for ability to do research... but who knows but 'em.

[Guest McMastergirl]

It doesn't matter when you did the research. If you did a Masters or summer research project or whatever before med school, that counts as research experience.

 

Ask the residents in your chosen program(s) if they did research and how key it was to their success in matching.

[Guest 2 plus 2 is 4]

Hey McMastergirl

 

How do Mac students generally fit research into their schedules and what kind of research do most do clinical or lab?

[Guest katwoman2003]

I can see how research during pre-med could help during CARMS, but what about people like me, who just got into med school with a B.Sc., and haven't done much major research? Will making it up during med school help with the CARMS process?

 

K

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Will making it up during med school help with the CARMS process?

It can't hurt at all, especially if the research you conduct is in the area into which you'd like to match.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen