Research during medschool-does it pay??

[PoetMD]

Hey, I'm an incoming M1 and not only have I accepted the fact that I'll need some research under my belt to get a competitive residency, I also know I'm gonna need to make some cash...

I know during the summer a lot of students participate in research and usually get paid but how common is it to set up 10-15 hr/week research gig during the school year to make a little extra cash? What is the typical pay?

Thanks

B

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[chicamedica]

you may be able to arrange something like that during 1st & 2nd year, if you're a quick studier or have a photographic memory, or if you learned preclinical material before (say during a post-bacc). I tried to do part time research like you're referring to (I did it for free though) during the latter half of 1st year and early 2nd year, and was able to just barely manage that timewise, however especially as 2nd year started, my grades started to suffer with the double commitment and the very new material (physiology and pathology). I really want to make research a part of my career so i actually ended up deciding to take an entire year off between MS3 and MS4 to work on some full-time research (obviously that was still too short a time, but much MUCH better than trying to do it part time during med school work and not giving either one justice).

However, my experience may have been due to the type of project i was involved in; it was more molecular type research, so perhaps if you get involved in a more clinical project that could be a bit more flexible timewise and easier to get results from.

Once you get to your clinical years though you cant really make a commitment to do X number of hours/wk of research, cause your obligation to work on the wards takes absolute priority and hours can be pretty unpredictable.

 

[SkylineMD]

there is generally no point in research unless you get something out of it (i.e. publication) so you first need to find someone that will be willing to help you out on that. secondly, they may or may not pay you (i have been working in the neurological department for the past year and though they tried to squeeze me into their budget, they couldn't). Work study at my school pays about 12-13/hr but it requires the department to pay for 25% of the pay (which of course didnt fit into the budget). I just sacrificed the pay for the opportunity to get published which in the long run is more important to my career than a few hundred dollars here and there

Have you thought about doing some job like being a note taker for classes? its just a little spending money to have but wont help you buy a big screen tv or anything

 

[RxnMan]

there is generally no point in research unless you get something out of it (i.e. publication) so you first need to find someone that will be willing to help you out on that. secondly, they may or may not pay you...

For the most part, this is true. Pubs are the best evidence that you do good work and contribute significantly to the field. These make great lines on your resume if you're interested in an academic residencies and/or fellowships. Otherwise, it's a lot of work for little utility.

You may have time, depending on the type of work and how far along the project is, to do research during the med school year. For example, doing molecular genetics work from scratch is different than, say, a clinical outcomes paper based on a retrospective analysis of patients. The former is time-intensive: You have to make your own protocols, recruit subjects/animal work, do reactions, compile and interpret results, write it up, etc. The latter has alot of the work already done - all you need to do is look up charts, see who lived and who died, apply statistics, and voila! Instant paper.

Unfortunately, you really need experience in research to see these things, but look around at different labs, know your available time commitment, and see what projects they have going on now. Some may be half-finished and only need a warm body to finish them up. Projects in your speciality are good (cardio project for a student interested in cardiology) but not required. It also helps to have supportive PI's and co-workers. Make sure they will help you get a pub.

There's also time for research in the summer between MSI and MSII, and schools generally allow you to take "research electives" during MSIII and MSIV. Instead of going on the wards, you have 4-6 weeks of protected research time.

Most med student summer research programs I've seen rate $4k/summer. At 40 hrs/week, that's ~$10/hr. You can make better money slinging coffee.