In 2022, the average residency applicant had around eight research experiences, per data from the National Resident Matching Program. In a 2023 survey of graduating medical students conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges, 42% of respondents said they planned to be “significantly involved” in research throughout their careers.
So, medical student research matters. But how do you get started? A few experts on medical student research offered their insight.
Ramp up involvement
Many medical students enter medical school knowing they want to pursue research, but the experts say it should not be an extracurricular to focus on early in your training.
The first year of medical school is a time when the focus should be on academics. If you get through your opening months and find that you are keeping your head above water academically, you might look to attach yourself to a research project that is already underway.
Michael G. Kavan, PhD, is associate dean for student affairs at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. He advises medical students to take a gradual approach to their research involvement.
When attempting to get research experience early in medical school, students “don't need to get involved in a research venture where they are sitting in a lab for 30 hours a week. There are a lot of activities involving research that they can attach themselves to—maybe not as the main author or PI [principal investigator], but they can attach themselves to research that a resident, fellow or even faculty member is doing. Those people are going to need some assistance.
“There are ways to get valuable experience that require low levels of involvement—things like doing a literature search or analyzing data.”
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Identify an area of focus
Medical student research, or medical research in general, can take on many forms. Once you’ve found your footing as a student, the next step according to AMA member David Savage, MD, PhD, is to figure out which arena you want to conduct research in.
“The first step in getting involved in research is to focus on what types of research you want to do,” said Dr. Savage, an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center in Albuquerque. “Is it going to be basic science, clinical trials, public health research? And then figure out the specialty they want to do it in and then look for mentors in that area.
"What I would suggest,” he added, “is if you find three or four candidate mentors, schedule informational meetings with those people. Sit down with them on a video call or in-person, hear what their projects are like and what roles they could foresee for a med student.”
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.
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Be choosy
A fourth-year medical student at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine with extensive research experience, Dhruv Puri understands the urge to get involved in the first project that comes your way. Instead, he advised letting your passions guide your research pursuits.
“Go after opportunities that excite you,” said Puri, an AMA member. “You are going to enjoy the process of developing your research question and analyzing the data significantly more, and the attendings who are mentoring you are going to notice this. They also want to see you take ownership of these projects and drive them forward.”
There are numerous venues in which students can present a research poster. Among the most noteworthy: the AMA Research Challenge. The event is the largest national, multispecialty medical research conference for medical students and residents and offers a $10,000 grand prize for the winning poster.
Join an existing project
The process of getting a research project off the ground can be time-consuming and bureaucratic. Some projects require funding and approval from an institutional review board. That’s a lot for a medical student to tackle.
“It’s very unlikely that as a medical student you’d be running a whole project,” Dr. Savage said. “I would say the best move is to look for a project that is already in progress.”
There may be “a PI or physician-scientist running the project and then you could just take a piece of it that they need help with and take that on,” he suggested. “It works best when a medical student with limited time is given a finite amount of stuff to do. They may need 50 charts analyzed or figures made for an upcoming conference. Those tasks are very doable in a short amount of time. It will definitely help with publications and posters, so you’ll get your name on things. That’s a win.”
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Embrace the challenge
As a medical student, Leanna Knight, MD, entered medical school with no research experience. In spite of that, Dr. Knight carried two research projects from start to finish. There were certainly naysayers throughout the process.
“When I was doing research on transgender health laboratory values, the feedback I got time and time again was that it was far too difficult for me to handle as an M1 or M2. I was looking at too many things and that it was going to be too challenging,” said Dr. Knight, an AMA member and second-year emergency medicine resident at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. “This data was so important that I was willing to be challenge.”
When thinking about launching your own research in medical school Dr. Knight—a delegate in the AMA Resident and Fellows Section—advised that it’s important to “Know yourself, know your level of determination, know the amount of time that you have—you do need to put your work within your own capabilities. But I’d also say, don’t let people tell you what you can and can’t do. Follow your passion and answer questions that are important to you.”
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