Finding research experiences to make your medical student CV shine

Medical student research experiences are practically required for a residency applicant. But what types of experiences are going to help sufficiently distinguish your application to land an interview with a residency program? 

In a session at the AMA Distinguish Yourself Medical Student Summit in June, two experienced physician researchers tackled that question.

Whether success means strengthening your leadership skills so your CV stands out or completing cutting-edge research while prepping for residency—the AMA has the resources you need, from M1 to Match. 

Without the right question at the center of it, a research project has no chance to get off the ground. For medical students, exhibiting curiosity during your patient interactions can provide a spark.

“Even as a medical student rotating in a specific environment, you will be the expert on the patients who are in front of you,” said AMA member Charles Lopresto, DO, hospitalist at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens. “You may be able to ask a question that perhaps nobody asked before, in terms of: Why are my patients not receiving the care that they need? How can the level of care improve? The best research questions are asked from that perspective.”  

Dr. Lopresto highlighted that those types of questions often lead to quality-improvement research projects, an area of research that offers medical students lower barriers to entry than clinically oriented bench research.  

For medical students looking to hone their research skills, the AMA offers resources and programs that bring you from the basics all the way to the AMA Research Challenge where you can compete for a $10,000 prize. 

Dive deeper: 

• 4 tips for medical students to get their start as researchers 
• Medical student research FAQ: How to showcase your work 
• “AMA Update”: JAMA editor gives med student key research tips 

While quality improvement is a more student-friendly research arena, clinical research that focuses on the nuances of a specialty can be tough for a student to get off the ground. If a medical student is looking to do that type of research—which can be very impactful on one’s Match prospects—going the team route can be easier.  

“It’s hard to get published on your own in medical school or residency, but what you can do is join teams,” said AMA member Ricardo Correa, MD, program director of the endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. “I knew I wanted to be an endocrinologist, so I looked at the people who were doing some work in endocrinology and asked one of my mentors and joined his team. I was not the first author, but I was part of the team, and I would invest my time when I was able.” 

Dive deeper: 

• How medical student research can resonate with residency programs 
• Tips to land your first medical student research experience 

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Medical students simply do not have the time to lead the charge on multiple immersive research projects and manage a medical school course load. Considering that, Dr. Lopresto encouraged students to carry out self-directed scholarly activities in areas that interest them.  

“One option is to do something as an individual, maybe you speak with a mentor and they offer you guidance on a small thing you can do,” Dr. Lopresto said. “Write a literature review. Get involved with a case report. There are things that you can do independently and remotely that don’t require a lot of resources or funding. They just require your focus and energy. These are things that will help shape your CV based on what your interests are.”  

Dive deeper: 

• How to get published in medical school and boost your CV. 
• To publish research in medical school, avoid these 4 mistakes. 

In 2022—the most recent data available—the average number of research experiences for seniors who matched from U.S. allopathic medical schools was 7.9, according to the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). The average number of research experiences for unmatched applicants was 8.7. 

So, quality matters. One way to ensure that a research experience will not be beneficial to your CV, Dr. Lopresto said, is to do research in an area that is not of interest to you.  

“Don’t do a research project or scholarly activity just to check it off your list,” he said. “We all know we have to do some research in med school to build your CV. If you do research in an area that you’re not actually passionate about, it’s going to be hard. If you’re forcing yourself to do it, it’s going to be a bad experience. So, select carefully what you choose to do research on.”