<p>Hi all,
I am a pre-med student working at a hospital lab for past 6 months. I don't think that my PI likes or appreciates my time. I don't like working at his lab and would like to put it across politely.I am sure that he would want me to do the dirty work in the lab and make me feel guilty for it. To be honest, I really don't think that I am learning anything. How should I approach this problem? I don't want to waste anymore time working in his lab for nothing.
I would really appreciate your opinions :)</p>
<p>If I were you I would just tell your supervisor that you would like more responsibility and ask to sit in on the lab meetings. That way you won’t feel like you are doing “dirty work” and you will learn in the process. </p>
<p>If that doesn’t work out for you, I would just quit and apply somewhere else. There are plenty of labs in SD and on campus who hire undergrads as lab assistants/associates.</p>
<p>You should probably just talk to your PI about your problem and that you’d like to be more involved, and if he/she doesn’t respond well then you can always leave. I mean it is volunteer work and there should be plenty of labs needing free labor. Also if your PI genuinely dislikes you, then you won’t be expecting it to get better or to get a good recommendation anyways. Also you could always get more involved in the lab by talking to the post-docs or other researchers and learning from them, and you might be able to even find other opportunities through your current lab. I mean as long as your work ethic and personality is good, it shouldn’t be so hard to find other opportunities.</p>
<p>Goodwill 5, do you volunteer at UCSD Medical Center?</p>