ortho research

By Guest on Friday, 28 June 2002

Posted in Match Center

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I'm just starting my 3rd year and have no ortho research experience. ONe of my questions is when is
the best time to get involved? I thought I might have time during this year to squeeze it in,
but it doesn't look like that's going to happen without seriously affecting my studies. Should I
sacrifice a rotation this year so I can spend time doing ortho research or is the rotation grade
more important? (assuming I can get in a lab in the near futur) I will be doing an elective in the
ortho department during the end of the year (2nd to last rotation) so I'm planning on meeting
someone at least by april that will let me work in their lab. Will this be enough time to get
good research time in? Only reason I'm asking is b/c I've seen on the other posts that
interviews start anywhere from october to Jan and if I want to get in some aways (which I do)
I'll be very limited in the amount of time I can spend doing research at my school next year.
Thanks for all the replies.

Treedae,

Go to ortho grand rounds. This week. It is open to med students (at least at my school). Try not to be a pest but don't be afraid to show enthusiasm and motivation. Introduce yourself to a few residents and find out who is heading up research for the residents (usually a faculty member), approach him/her and tell him/her of your interest in ortho research. If you get lucky, you could be assigned a resident and a project on the spot. This is what I did in second year and I now have second author status on a submitted paper to CORR and a another that will probably be submitted this fall ( I am now a fourth year orthohopeful). It has been difficult to make time for research, but it is definitely worth it (I have honored all but two rotations). One year is not much time to get good research, but be aggressive....you could get lucky.

Guest

23 years ago

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#45038

I really think that research was an important, however not an absolutely essential part of my interview process last year. try to make time to do it as soon as possible. I suppose a trip to grand rounds is not a bad idea as mentioned above. try not to sacrifice roation grades too much. However, bear in mind that ortho interviewers will probably be more impressed with initiative and input on a good research project more than a high honors in OB/GYN and psychiatry. My $0.02

Guest

23 years ago

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#45039

granting out that i'm starting this whole application process, at my last a.i. i asked whether or not they felt research was important, as this hospital emphasizes research during the residency. the answer all around was that while it can't hurt, it is definitely not necessary, especially if you're seriously considering a place you've rotated with. as one resident put it, "if we like you, and you were awesome when you rotated here, you could have a 220 on the boards, no research, maybe an honors clinically, and we'd still take you." perhaps it's all a lie, and in the end everything matters, but for now, it's a bit of a consolation for those of us without much ortho research experience. but since you're starting early, try and do something. just don't do scut work to get your name on a paper, and then look like a bumbling idiot when people ask you your role in the project. (been there, done that, looks bad. don't repeat my mistakes!)

Guest

23 years ago

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#45040