When should you to research?

[BedroomBully11]

When should you DO** research

 

Hey guys,

 

Just wanted to know when some of you think the most advantageous time to do research is? For instance, is it better to do research in your first two years and study for the MCAT in your third year? Let me know what you think.

[rmorelan]

Always been a bit of a fan of writing the mcat just after second year. The material is fresh, it gives you a good chance if needed to rewrite, and it frees up your 3rd year summer for research etc when you can more effectively capitalize on it.

[schmitty]

There is not 'best time' for research...if you enjoy it, try to start as early as possible. Why not first year? I have given co-op positions to grade 11 and 12 students in my lab. We also have 1st and 2nd year volunteers - they usually do menial tasks at first, but it doesn't matter, the point is that you will have experience in later years to get paid or awarded research positions like NSERC or 4th year thesis projects. This is how I did it: volunteered in lab, worked (work-study program) in physiology lab, work-study in ob/gyn anaesthesia simulations, NSERC summer awards, part-time research assistant while also doing 4th year project, then full-time RA (led to 3 second-author pubs!) while taking a couple courses, then MSc, now lab manager.

 

Most of that was done during the school year as I had to move home (rural) and work during the summers for financial reasons.

 

Another word of advice - do not go into a lab as a volunteer and be all down and grumpy when they have you fill pipette tips for 2 hours, or autoclave glassware, or mix stock solutions. These are the things you do to get your foot into the door (I did them at the start!). While you are there, make friends with the lab members (grad students are best) and ask them if they need help with anything - show interest and an enthusiasm to learn. While in one of my early lab positions, I did mostly crap jobs, but I got to know some of the grad students and the tech (prof didn't know me at all really) and got them to include me on a bunch of surgeries and dissections of rats and guinea pigs as well as reading sections of slices kidneys - very cool! I did this in later positions as well as little side projects led to publications and much more experience in general. Not to mention, I impressed people along the way and it led to a lot more opportunities.

 

EDITL as for hte MCAT thing, I agree with rmor above - however, I wrote it the summer AFTER completion of my MSc (I'm non-trad) and I did fine though admittedly, I taught high school science and math for about 3-years before that during my spare time so that helped keep the basics fresh.

[BedroomBully11]

Always been a bit of a fan of writing the mcat just after second year. The material is fresh, it gives you a good chance if needed to rewrite, and it frees up your 3rd year summer for research etc when you can more effectively capitalize on it.

 

This was interesting to me. I am new to researching about the process of getting to Medical School. I am yet to find someone who believes writing this exam in the second year is the most beneficial time to do so. To be honest it makes the most sense tho right. So within your first two year in University you would have already taken all the prerequisites then?

[peachaso]

I think it is best to start summer after 1st year. Then if you want to go to a top grad school you can continue research until you graduate so that you get enough experience.

[BedroomBully11]

There is not 'best time' for research...if you enjoy it, try to start as early as possible. Why not first year? I have given co-op positions to grade 11 and 12 students in my lab. We also have 1st and 2nd year volunteers - they usually do menial tasks at first, but it doesn't matter, the point is that you will have experience in later years to get paid or awarded research positions like NSERC or 4th year thesis projects. This is how I did it: volunteered in lab, worked (work-study program) in physiology lab, work-study in ob/gyn anaesthesia simulations, NSERC summer awards, part-time research assistant while also doing 4th year project, then full-time RA (led to 3 second-author pubs!) while taking a couple courses, then MSc, now lab manager.

 

Most of that was done during the school year as I had to move home (rural) and work during the summers for financial reasons.

 

Another word of advice - do not go into a lab as a volunteer and be all down and grumpy when they have you fill pipette tips for 2 hours, or autoclave glassware, or mix stock solutions. These are the things you do to get your foot into the door (I did them at the start!). While you are there, make friends with the lab members (grad students are best) and ask them if they need help with anything - show interest and an enthusiasm to learn. While in one of my early lab positions, I did mostly crap jobs, but I got to know some of the grad students and the tech (prof didn't know me at all really) and got them to include me on a bunch of surgeries and dissections of rats and guinea pigs as well as reading sections of slices kidneys - very cool! I did this in later positions as well as little side projects led to publications and much more experience in general. Not to mention, I impressed people along the way and it led to a lot more opportunities.

 

EDITL as for hte MCAT thing, I agree with rmor above - however, I wrote it the summer AFTER completion of my MSc (I'm non-trad) and I did fine though admittedly, I taught high school science and math for about 3-years before that during my spare time so that helped keep the basics fresh.

 

 

Thank you for such an informative answer. Do you know of any places in Ontario that let student's volunteer in research? If so please let me know asap

[BedroomBully11]

Ontario Science Center.

 

 

wow didn't know that. I'll have to look into that. I imagine it would be a pretty interesting place even to just volunteer.

[schmitty]

Thank you for such an informative answer. Do you know of any places in Ontario that let student's volunteer in research? If so please let me know asap

 

Are you in UG? If so, find a lab that is doing research that interests you (at an early point almost any work should interest you), try physiology labs, cell biology, nutrition, medicine, etc...then do some research on the prof and their recent articles (search pubmed) and start writing emails or dropping in to see graduate students. You can outright ask after explaining your interest in their work if they would have anything that you could help with as a volunteer. This will open the door later for better, possibly paid positions. This is pretty well how I got all my research positions - chat up the prof/grad students and impress them with your knowledge about their specific research.

[BedroomBully11]

Are you in UG? If so, find a lab that is doing research that interests you (at an early point almost any work should interest you), try physiology labs, cell biology, nutrition, medicine, etc...then do some research on the prof and their recent articles (search pubmed) and start writing emails or dropping in to see graduate students. You can outright ask after explaining your interest in their work if they would have anything that you could help with as a volunteer. This will open the door later for better, possibly paid positions. This is pretty well how I got all my research positions - chat up the prof/grad students and impress them with your knowledge about their specific research.

 

 

I am not currently in UG. I have sent you an DM explaining to you my position. I am only 18 year's old. I took a year off when I came out of high school.

 

Someone told me I would be able to volunteer with some sort of research even if I wasn't in my undergrad. Obviously the positions would be more interesting in beneficial if I was in my undergrad but i'm not.

 

However, this year I have been accepted for a summer volunteering position at Lakeridge Health in Oshawa. Il be waiting with patients until the Doctor comes and see's them etc. I am also hoping to keep this up through out that 1 year of General Art's and Science I talked to you about.

[schmitty]

I am not currently in UG. I have sent you an DM explaining to you my position. I am only 18 year's old. I took a year off when I came out of high school.

 

Someone told me I would be able to volunteer with some sort of research even if I wasn't in my undergrad. Obviously the positions would be more interesting in beneficial if I was in my undergrad but i'm not.

 

However, this year I have been accepted for a summer volunteering position at Lakeridge Health in Oshawa. Il be waiting with patients until the Doctor comes and see's them etc. I am also hoping to keep this up through out that 1 year of General Art's and Science I talked to you about.

 

Great, thanks good. Any sort of research/volunteering you do now will definitely help with getting better positions once you start UG.

[Lonney]

3rd year because all profs are willing to take you assuming you have good marks, etc. 1st years and 2nd years it's hard to find a prof because you have no experience no matter what you say. (legitimately ask yourself how much you can do independently in a lab without destroying something or wasting all your time). 4th year too late.

 

Meh

 

1/2 of my class got into a lab as a first year ( around 25)

[schmitty]

To be honest, research is NOT required for medicine. End of story.

 

You are answering a question nobody asked...

[peachaso]

Just general advice to all you premeds. Research is not required for medicine, but if you choose to research, please join the cancer field. We need to cure cancer.

 

Are you trying to troll? I can't quite tell.

[peachaso]

No, you guys just make most people believe that research is absolutely required when it is clearly not. In fact if you do too much research be prepared to answer the question "So why are you applying to medS and not gradS"? at your interview.

 

Oh, I agree that research isn't absolutely necessary to get into med school, but I was referring to the following: "... but if you choose to research, please join the cancer field. We need to cure cancer." There are tons of other prevalent, debilitating/life-threatening, and - I dare say - fascinating diseases besides cancer, to say nothing of the vast worthwhile research beyond the scope of medicine.

 

And FYI, I'm going to do more than cleaning dishware.

[schmitty]

And also med schools will pretty much instantly-accept if you had done cancer research before.

 

LMAO............

[Leon]

If you discover or work on a cancer gene. Sorry for being so general but doing cancer research bumps up your application A LOT.

 

Mind if I ask what stage of the process you're at? Pre-med, med or post-med? I'm curious because many of your posts are written with strong authority - the type of tone I would only expect from someone actually familiar with the selection process.

[Leon]

There is far too much negativity and misinformation in this thread. Here is my perspective:

 

Research is not essential for medicine. However, research can be used to show some very important things. I started volunteering in a lab in my first year. After 4 months, I started working for grad students and assisting with their projects. After 4 months I started doing independent research as a team with other undergrads. 4 months after that I started doing my own projects.

 

Over the course of 3 years I progressed from being a lab rat to doing my own work. After graduation, because of my linear trend in the lab, I was offered the position to work as the lab technician in my lab and continue a very major research project. What does this show? It shows your ability to move upwards in a hierarchy and seize opportunities. It shows that you work really hard to secure those higher positions. When I listed these on my application, I made sure to show how I progressed from one to the next.

 

My work is in invertebrate biology. That's about as far from medicine as you could get. I don't agree that clinical research is the way to go. My research is actually so unusual that I'm pretty sure it stands out on paper.

 

I was invited for an interview by several schools this year so I feel that schools liked the way I presented my research (12 of the spots on my ABS are research related). Research isn't something you just "do". My reason for entering research is because I wanted to find out if I enjoy it or not. I have my own reasons for continuing it for 3 years and ultimately deciding that a career in research is not the one for me. But definitely one should lose the attitude that "Research is a must" or "1 summer of research should do the trick." It doesn't work that way.

[Legion]

There is far too much negativity and misinformation in this thread. Here is my perspective:

 

Research is not essential for medicine. However, research can be used to show some very important things. I started volunteering in a lab in my first year. After 4 months, I started working for grad students and assisting with their projects. After 4 months I started doing independent research as a team with other undergrads. 4 months after that I started doing my own projects.

 

Over the course of 3 years I progressed from being a lab rat to doing my own work. After graduation, because of my linear trend in the lab, I was offered the position to work as the lab technician in my lab and continue a very major research project. What does this show? It shows your ability to move upwards in a hierarchy and seize opportunities. It shows that you work really hard to secure those higher positions. When I listed these on my application, I made sure to show how I progressed from one to the next.

 

My work is in invertebrate biology. That's about as far from medicine as you could get. I don't agree that clinical research is the way to go. My research is actually so unusual that I'm pretty sure it stands out on paper.

 

I was invited for an interview by several schools this year so I feel that schools liked the way I presented my research (12 of the spots on my ABS are research related). Research isn't something you just "do". My reason for entering research is because I wanted to find out if I enjoy it or not. I have my own reasons for continuing it for 3 years and ultimately deciding that a career in research is not the one for me. But definitely one should lose the attitude that "Research is a must" or "1 summer of research should do the trick." It doesn't work that way.

 

Kid's a troll. Don't mind his excrement. Forum is usually spare of his spam posts from 9-3 so that should tell you what point in his education he is right now.

[Leon]

^ I'm not even going to address your questions. You're so narrow minded that you fail to see any of the points I made. I hate getting these gunner type questions that are designed to portray my post in a negative way just because it suits your purposes.

 

If anyone else has genuine questions about my post, feel free to post or PM.

I'm going to emphasize again that transgression and upward mobility is something you can really show through research. I attended several conferences over the years and the interaction I had with other scientists allowed me to tailor each of my consecutive experiments accordingly. These types of experiences show a lot of traits that I think medical schools are interested in (commitment, dedication, critical thinking etc)

[markov79]

If you discover or work on a cancer gene. Sorry for being so general but doing cancer research bumps up your application A LOT.

 

i'm fairly certain that's still untrue

[Leon]

Yeah you're just mad since I exposed you as a gunner doing research just for med. If you disliked research you wouldn't work for 3+ years and even take a lab technician job as well as go to these conferences (because you obviously disliked research over med).

 

 

In how many ways can you get from A to P? The day will (hopefully) come when you recognize that the answer is more than 1. Come back to this thread when you do.

[markov79]

or leon just doesn't wanna talk about it on a public forum LOL. inferences like that will get you a 1-3 on verbal.

[Legion]

I already graduated

 

 

 

or leon just doesn't wanna talk about it on a public forum LOL. inferences like that will get you a 1-3 on verbal.

 

GOLD.

[Leon]

or leon just doesn't wanna talk about it on a public forum LOL. inferences like that will get you a 1-3 on verbal.

 

Yea pretty much. I've been on this forum for a while and have come to recognize the personalities that don't try to comprehend another poster but rather just look for info in one's posts, twist the wording and then use it to assail the poster for no real reason. Arguing with those types never leads anywhere.

[BedroomBully11]

I think you both have valid points. I agree with Leon that progression probably depicts determination and motivation to "climb the latter" however I do agree with Gunner that they are probably going to ask you "Why not pursue graduate school then"

 

I am no expert on getting in to Medical School but from the amount of time I have been on this site it seems that most the people who have been matriculated in to Medical School have a variety of activities on their application. I think this overall portrays a student that is determined to acquire a vast amount of knowledge and can overall bring more to medicine.

 

You both have valid points in my eyes.