Struggling as Undergraduate Researcher

[sb4582]

<p>I've recently got into a microbio/biochem lab the past semester and I was started off on doing a lot of analytical chemistry. The machines being fairly automated, it wasn't too difficult. Near the end of the first semester, I was introduced to protein purification but never really did anything.</p>

<p>After the first semester, I insisted on doing research over break with hopes of learning more. However, everyday I make mistakes that only increase my mentors work. Here are some examples:</p>

<p>1) Forgot to place an enzymatic reaction in the right conditions (37 degrees Celsius) after preparing it.*</p>

<p>2) When I ran a spectrophotometer to measure optical density of a cell culture, I used water instead LB broth as my blank. Reporting the wrong number meant several days of work down the drain.*</p>

<p>Worse part is for 2), I questioned why I wasn't using the right medium, did a Google search (said LB broth) but looked in my notebook (said water). I realize this is bad note taking on my part.*</p>

<p>3) My mentors also noticed a pipetting problem where I'd have 25 uL solution, draw 5 uL four times, he'd tell me it's OK but then he'd see all the solution gone. Both of us are baffled.*</p>

<p>In times where he asks me to do something, there's now always a sense of fear over my own incompetency.*</p>

<p>My mentor has been very nice my first semester and even right now, taking me aside and trying to work out how he can better teach me. But I can see that it's taking a toll on his work, he does get frustrated (not directly at me) and, at this point, I want to be an asset not a liability.*</p>

<p>I'm not a bad science student when it comes to lecture classes and it took a lot of effort to get into a research lab. I really do want to earn the right to stay. Turns out I'm the slowest student my mentors had out of many.*</p>

<p>Reflecting back, I wasn't the brightest or quickest in lab. My partner has always said I looked dazed and confused and I couldn't disagree with feeling so. I'd fumble for the right equipment, make several trips because I keep forgetting glassware and tried to keep my head straight. I tried to know what >50% of the steps meant and worked out the other details with my TA. To be honest, my results were often too low and I didn't make enough effort for better yield next time. Especially in O-Chem labs though, I did improve marginally with apparatus set-up and technique because of repetition I got by in labs. I've always had a good handle on interpreting data just not the benchwork.*</p>

<p>I'm not really sure what else to say; this has been purely a description of what I've been thinking over. I've reflected and committed to better note taking, more attentiveness (I miss details easily) and trying to learn it in 3 goes but I'm not sure what that exactly means.*Has anyone had similar experiences but improved? Is there something I'm overlooking?</p>

[baktrax]

<p>Many students feel overwhelmed or inadequate at some point when working in a lab. It’s a new experience and a different way of thinking. A lot of students aren’t prepared for it and don’t particularly know what to expect, especially coming from a traditional learning environment. Schools often don’t have a lot of inquiry-based learning or independent activities where students are expected to “figure it out” for themselves, which is what a lot of lab work is. Labs in school typically give you detailed step-by-step written instructions that you really don’t get in the real world. It’s a learning process, and most bright and talented students aren’t used to making mistakes with real world consequences or feeling inadequate or stupid. It’s okay. Everyone goes through it, and if this is something you want to do, then you just have to work hard and give it time to become independent.</p>

<p>Some tips that might be helpful:</p>

<p>-Listen carefully and write everything down. Bring a notebook with you everywhere, and write down good protocols when someone explains how to do things. It’s not a bad idea to put nicely written, step-by-step protocols into your notebook of things that you do often.</p>

<p>-Ask questions. If anything is unclear, ask someone. You might feel like you’re annoying them, but it’s better to ask a question than to do it wrong. Or if it’s something you can look up on your own, then that’s even better. Over time, you’ll ask less questions, but in the beginning, you won’t know everything and that’s okay.</p>

<p>-Use your notes. When you’re doing something, check your notes to make sure you’re not missing any steps. Don’t just rely on your memory. Check to make sure you’re doing it right until you get comfortable enough to remember everything.</p>

<p>-Keep a really good notebook. Write down everything you do (including calculations), so that if something does go wrong, you can always go back to figure out what the error was. Also, it’ll be helpful if you need to repeat experiments, since you already have a protocol with all the calculations written out.</p>

<p>Don’t worry too much about it. Everyone goes through a learning period, and everyone messes up. Just be more careful, and try not to rely on your memory for everything until you’re more comfortable in the lab.</p>

[gravenewworld]

<p>Sounds typical. I mentor undergrads all of the time. They usually don’t get good until about after 6 months, if they are only coming in several times a week for a few hours. If they stay for the summer and work full time, usually I can get a new undergrad up to par in about 3 months. Your mentor really needs to watch every single thing that you do, it sounds like they aren’t teaching you much. I expect my undergrads to mess up a lot and will give them easy things to do that they can repeatedly mess up until they learn how to do it right. When I first started to do lab work I would always mess up too, you just have to learn by making mistakes. A lot of times, people don’t even tell you that you are doing something wrong until you do something wrong. </p>

<p>Another way to test your skill is to simply pipette water into a tube and get the mass by difference. You know the density of water and you should pipette out a known weight of water for a certain volume. It’s a test I ALWAYS give my new undergrads to check their pipetting skills to see if they know what they are doing before ever letting them do anything. Maybe your pipettes need to be calibrated. </p>

<p>Many people are good at class work, but being a good lab scientist, which is where the real science happens, is a whole different ball game.</p>