How to Make the Most of a Research Year

Written by Alisa Malyavko

As applying to residency programs becomes more competitive, taking a research year during medical school is becoming more common. Specialties such as neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, and dermatology are highly competitive as is, and incorporating a research year in one of these specialties could greatly improve your chances of matching. 

Most medical students who pursue a research year usually choose to do it between their 3rd and 4th years of medical school. However, some students choose to complete a research year between their 2nd and 3rd years. There are advantages and disadvantages to both time frames, so you have to determine what works best for you. 

While the main goals of a research year include working closely with a research mentor, increasing your publication numbers, and networking with others at your research institution, there are other things you can do during your research year to make the most of it. 

Diversify your research portfolio

While increasing your research productivity and boosting the number of publications you have is a great way to make your resume stand out, a research year is a perfect time to diversify the types of projects you work on. If you’ve been working on a lot of case studies or case series projects, you can try to get involved with a larger retrospective study. If you’ve been working on big database projects, working on a project requiring an IRB and interaction with patients could be interesting. Residency programs do value the number of studies you publish but understanding how different studies are designed and conducted is equally as important and intriguing to your interviewers. 

Get involved in your mentor’s day-to-day

Whether your mentor only has clinic days or splits his time between the clinic and the OR, spending a couple of days a week working directly with your mentor can be very beneficial. It’s a great way to maintain your clinical skills, understand the ins and out’s of the specialty, and learn as much as your can from your mentor. If you are working with a mentor in a specialty that has various subspecialties take advantage of the opportunities you get to explore all aspects of the specialty (for example within orthopaedic surgery you can work with a joints specialist, shoulder specialist, etc.). Alternatively, if you have a free day here and there, you explore other medical specialties.

Attend research conferences

Having a year off from clinical duties of medical school gives you time to prepare for, submit to, and attend various research conferences throughout the year. With most conferences spanning a couple of days, try and attend for the whole time to participate in various events that are offered at the conference and meet others in the field. 

Free Time

Although research fellowships can become as busy as your day-to-day in medical school, take some time to focus on creating a good routine, do those hobbies you keep putting off, and spend quality time with friends and family. Transitioning from a structured class or rotations schedule to creating your schedule takes some time, so don’t stress if you don’t have a perfect schedule in place on day one of your research years!