How to do urology research is medical school doesn't have uro department?

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I will be heading off to a low tier medical school in the fall. I am interested in urology. The medical school doesn't have its own urology department and I am concerned how I will go about doing uro research. What options are available for someone like me?

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Do research in anything. A lot of applicants have ENT, ortho, etc research. Really, showing interest in doing research or following through with a project is more important than it particularly being urology research.
 
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I somewhat doubt you are at a school with no urology department. Most major hospitals (the kind associated with medical schools) need urology on staff. Do you mean they don't have a residency program?

If you do have urologists at your hospital -- they should be your first point of contact. They may be involved in research even though they don't have residents. They will certainly have contacts in urology who can help you.
 
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Do research in anything. A lot of applicants have ENT, ortho, etc research. Really, showing interest in doing research or following through with a project is more important than it particularly being urology research.
I agree- any kind of clinical research to see if you like it, then you can do urology research during residency years
 
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I somewhat doubt you are at a school with no urology department. Most major hospitals (the kind associated with medical schools) need urology on staff. Do you mean they don't have a residency program?

If you do have urologists at your hospital -- they should be your first point of contact. They may be involved in research even though they don't have residents. They will certainly have contacts in urology who can help you.

The medical school is relatively new, so it doesn't have a urology deparment...or any specialty department for that matter. There are local hospitals where the medical students do rotate at which do have urologist. So I can hit up these urologist and see if research is available?
 
The medical school is relatively new, so it doesn't have a urology deparment...or any specialty department for that matter. There are local hospitals where the medical students do rotate at which do have urologist. So I can hit up these urologist and see if research is available?

Do you mind telling us what school it is? Like others have said, research in anything is better than no research, but research in urology is best. You will be more interested in the material, it will have more impact than non-urology research on your CV, and it could potentially have ongoing rewards in residency and beyond when you are applying for fellowship and jobs. It's true that residencies understand you may have changed your mind and that's why you have optho or ENT research on you resume. It can still get you in the door for residency, but after that it is basically meaningless.

Reach out to urologists at affiliate hospitals. Generally, urologists are pretty friendly and approachable. It would be ideal if one of them has some meaningful research you could work on, though that is probably unlikely in a private practice type setting. What will be helpful is shadowing them to see what urology is like and determine if you want to go forward, and asking them to make a few calls on your behalf. Like I said, urology is a small community. Your local urologist probably knows most of the urologists in your state and nationwide has contacts at multiple institutions from training, meetings, etc. A phone call from that guy to his professor friend a few hours away will open a lot of doors. Your cold call to his secretary, probably not so much. Often, clinical research can be done remotely for the most part these days. Getting on a decent project can be accomplished through networking, even if there isn't something local.

That said, if you can't get on a urology project, still do something. I would try to focus on some sort of clinical projects in a surgical field. Ideally, it could have some cross-relevancy to urology. Short of a peer-reviewed article in a major journal, volume is better than quality (sadly). So, I would avoid labwork like the plague.
 
Do you mind telling us what school it is? Like others have said, research in anything is better than no research, but research in urology is best. You will be more interested in the material, it will have more impact than non-urology research on your CV, and it could potentially have ongoing rewards in residency and beyond when you are applying for fellowship and jobs. It's true that residencies understand you may have changed your mind and that's why you have optho or ENT research on you resume. It can still get you in the door for residency, but after that it is basically meaningless.

Reach out to urologists at affiliate hospitals. Generally, urologists are pretty friendly and approachable. It would be ideal if one of them has some meaningful research you could work on, though that is probably unlikely in a private practice type setting. What will be helpful is shadowing them to see what urology is like and determine if you want to go forward, and asking them to make a few calls on your behalf. Like I said, urology is a small community. Your local urologist probably knows most of the urologists in your state and nationwide has contacts at multiple institutions from training, meetings, etc. A phone call from that guy to his professor friend a few hours away will open a lot of doors. Your cold call to his secretary, probably not so much. Often, clinical research can be done remotely for the most part these days. Getting on a decent project can be accomplished through networking, even if there isn't something local.

That said, if you can't get on a urology project, still do something. I would try to focus on some sort of clinical projects in a surgical field. Ideally, it could have some cross-relevancy to urology. Short of a peer-reviewed article in a major journal, volume is better than quality (sadly). So, I would avoid labwork like the plague.

Sure, I'll PM you the medical school name.

Thank you so much for the response. Based on what you are saying there are lots of avenues that I can pursue even at a medical school without a uro department. It probably isn't ideal but if I try hard enough, I should be able to make something work out. Again, thanks.
 
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