<p>Most people on here always recommend going to a lab, picking up a pipette and conducting research. People say it is a huge aspect of the resume for med school. However, I did research in high school and did not seem to enjoy it and I will not just do research to check it off some list and add it to my resume, while I will be miserable doing it. </p>
<p>Is there any alternatives and is it a big deal if I do not do research. Also how do undergrads juggle doing research in a lab, which requires a great deal of dedication, while studying for their classes. How many hours is spent in a lab per week.</p>
<p>Although I do know some people who have conducted research extensively in high school (and some who have published out of HS as a result), I think it is rare for a high school student to have the maturity, professionalism, and background knowledge to conduct research and enjoy it. You might end up really enjoying research in college, I felt that the science education in college was a lot more involved and interesting than my experience in high school. I would never have even considered doing research in high school (First, my school had no opportunities. Even if it did, I don’t feel like I had what it takes to do research well back then).</p>
<p>Also, what type of research did you do in high school? It may be that you found a lab, field, or topic that you simply weren’t interested in. Also it might be worth it to check out clinical research.</p>
<p>I believe around 50 percent of medical students conducted research during their undergrad careers. That means a very significant number have not. It will definitely not disqualify you for medical school (although it will disqualify you for MD/PhD programs), you can definitely justify it in some way in an interview. I believe that med schools emphasize research for 3 reasons 1. it shows professionalism and the ability to work in a team, research involves cooperation between you, your mentor, and other lab members 2. it shows intellectual curiosity, a must for medicine and academia 3. it shows you understand science, the scientific method, and how to use man made tools to solve problems. If you accomplish these some other way, then you have gotten what research is designed to teach you.</p>
<p>Aww, what turned you off about bench work? I did research while I was in high school, and I loved doing all the experiments, but there were some aspects that were not very appealing (ex the long time it takes to do one experiment, and the fact that research sometimes seems to go nowhere)…</p>
<p>But anyways, try clinical research. It’s different from bench work. Or you could work in another lab and really see if you hate bench work.</p>
<p>See its kind of complicated. I liked bench work. I liked questioning things and in the grand scheme of things I knew I was making in impact in the world and trying to better it. I knew all of this and enjoyed this aspect. However, I did not at times enjoy working with my mentor who sometimes brushed me aside and did not give me guidance and left me alone to figure out things. At times I did not enjoy the long hours, keep in mind I spent the past three summers in the same lab, 5 days a week 9-6. I guess I am just afraid that I will end up working with a mentor that won’t really help.</p>
<p>What is the difference between bench work and clinical research.</p>
<p>Bench work is on a bench stabbing cells and rats (or is that translational? The definitions have always seemed a bit fuzzy to me), clinical research is a little more diverse. It includes drug trials, experimental surgery, epidemiological observation studies (where you follow patients over time or review past patients), etc.</p>
<p>I think you just had a horrible mentor. I’m a sophomore and I tried out a lab as a freshman which I did not enjoy as much. My mentor expected me to know way more than my intro science courses have taught me and so I felt really helpless but was afraid to tell her I had absolutely no idea what was going on.</p>
<p>The lab I’m in now is a godsent. This time around my mentor told me that I would need the info from my first bio class and that would give me an basic understand for the things I would have to learn. And instead of having my mentor try to teach me, I work with wonderful grad students who remember how it was when they first entered the lab. When my mentor talks a 100mi per min, they’ll break down what happened in a way that I understand exactly what I have to do. And I just the love the atmosphere and the stuff I do.</p>
<p>I think it all comes down to finding the right lab for yourself. I’m not sure how it happens at your school but there’s a place where professors can put up postings if they’re interested in mentoring. I emailed a bunch of them and interviewed at the ones that replied. From there I was able to pick the lab that I felt the most comfortable at.</p>
<p>I also think its a valuable experience but its not the only valuable experience you could have as an undergrad. I do bench science and I’m not all that interested in clinical but I know a lot of people who are doing more clinical and have more patient contact.</p>
<p>I think one thing is that you’ve been at one lab too long. Three summers at one lab isn’t good for your advancement or your mind. I’ve been doing research at one lab for two years and I think I exhausted everything the lab could possibly teach me in one year… And you just have a bad mentor… It’s true about the long hours, but if you work at a private lab (ie something like Sloan Kettering), you could work less hours.</p>
<p>Try to transfer to another lab so you can learn new things, get a different mentor, and gain more experience.</p>
<p>Anyone do clinical research seems interesting and an irrelevant point anyone work as an EMT</p>
<p>I haven’t done clinical research, but based on my couple years experience in basic research I think I’d like clinical research more. I don’t mind doing basic research for a couple years, but I’d hate to do it as a career; clinical research seems more immediately relevant and patient-based; both aspects that I place importance on.</p>
<p>Smarts1, although it is a good idea to have diversity, if you jump around labs too much, it may look like you don’t get along with people too well. And there’s never a case where you “learned enough” from a lab, if you have the right mindset, there’s no way you can learn everything in two years. PI’s have worked in the same subject for many many years, they did not just abandon their subject because they “learned enough.”</p>
<p>To be fair, you can learn enough about a subject without learning everything to suit your goals/interest.</p>