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Research FAQs
Is research necessary for admissions?
- Most matriculants to medical school have had some sort of research experience. Here's a great thread about applying without research, highlighted by an extremely insightful comment by /u/misterE_MD.
Does research in X subject help?
- Unless you're applying to a medical research powerhouse, the topic of your research is unlikely to influence an admission decision. It can be research biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, psychology, history, economics, etc. The key component is testing a hypothesis with the intent of adding to the corpus of human knowledge. Work for a laboratory class usually doesn't count, unless it's one of those research project courses. Be able to converse intelligently about your project and how you contributed to it.
- That said, if you are interested in pursuing competitive residencies, research in the sciences can sometimes help. It grants a degree of familiarity with certain techniques that may be used in a biomedical research lab. If you pursue research in medical school, prior experience is a plus.
Do I need publications to get into medical school?
- They certainly help, but are by no means necessary. A lucky handful get a poster or conference abstract out of their work. Fewer still get a full-blown journal paper. If you are pursuing MD-PhD, then publications become more important.
- See "NO PUBS, WHAT DO?!" from u/astrostruck