hi ppl. i am a 3rd year medical student in Pakistan.. I wish to apply for research electives for this year and the next as i'd be taking the step examinations in the near future. i have no idea where to start from. like finding the right research programs at the right universities and the appropriate timelines for it. Any help would be appreciated.
Research Electives
- Thread starter Hamxa
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why do you want a research elective? I am assuming you are talking about the US since you said you would be taking the steps ( I am assuming USMLE steps). The whole point of doing electives in the US is to get a letter of Recommendation from a doc there( preferably the rotation should be in the field you are applying to and the letter should be from the HOD of the dept.. in a teaching hospital if you want to get nit picky about it) Now as far as I know LOR's are gained based on clinical skills assessment... if you have good clinical skills then good.... Research wont show these skills... so even if you get a research elective and an LOR from the faculty... I doubt it will carry any weight.... Now if you want the elective just to see how it is or for other purposes than a LOR or residency acceptance then fine... but if that is not the case... then it would be better if you were to go for a core rotation like medicine or paediatrics etc... where LOR's actually carry weight... Thats what I understand on the topic... now for specifics or even better info i suggest you go into the general international form... there is one thread there listing specific unis back home( US) that offer elective rotations to IMG's ( but only when they are in their final year( 4th) of education and only while they are still a student) so basically once you get ur degree you can't go for those electives... and before your 4th year you cant go for those electives... passing the step 1 before going for a elective in the US, greatly increases your chances of actually getting the elective since there is so much competition and it gives them some info on your competence at least... hope that helps...
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Research electives are a brilliant idea. Remember, you can go for electives usually only for a couple of months once you start your internship. And that would be once you are done clearing final prof MBBS exams. These days, a couple of months may not land you an LOR from the Dean of the program. You would have to work your behind off to manage that. Please don't get me wrong, people manage them, but it's hard. More often than not, clerkships in cores are tough to come by. Remember, most teaching hospitals have colleges attached to them. They have their students rotating along with students from other affliated med schools (most often the caribbean schools). Getting an elective or a subinternship in fields within primary care may still be relatively easier.
You would have to call universities and find out for yourself which places take people. IMO, it will be better if you start research within your college on sort after topics as well as get them approved by an accredited body like the ICMR (~india). Get actively involved in case studies on health issues in and around the city your college is located in. Work in domiciled schools goes a long way.
You would have to call universities and find out for yourself which places take people. IMO, it will be better if you start research within your college on sort after topics as well as get them approved by an accredited body like the ICMR (~india). Get actively involved in case studies on health issues in and around the city your college is located in. Work in domiciled schools goes a long way.
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yeah i suppose... Iono I always assumed doing a rotation getting experience in a clinical setup is better... i dunno how much clinical exposure there may be in various research opportunities... but yeah if you get clinical experience and aren't stuck in a lab then great...
also here is the thread link i was talking about... these are the programs that are better for IMG's <http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=350429>
also here is the thread link i was talking about... these are the programs that are better for IMG's <http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=350429>
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Since 99.9% FMGs applying for residency get some sort of USCE, research can help you get an edge.
Thankyou both of u. it certainly was some help. so, Schandan13 , what kind of research would give that edge? are u talkin about the electives or just have some kind of local research work started here on my own.
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To back up a bit, getting some sort of research elective in the states will be beneficial to you if you can get into something worthwhile and eventually have a direct contributory role in it. 2 month research may or may not lead to any worthwhile result. Also, whether or not a place accepts you, remains a big question since they might ask you for a step 1 score or want to know how far you are in your med school studies.
There are a zillion health related issues present in the Asian sub continent. The most prominent of which are Respiratory tuberculosis/COPD/ Cor pulmonale, cancer (in all its glory), HIV/AIDS etc. You can talk to professors of medicine at your school on how to go about it. Come up with what the goals of your research are and how you plan to go about it. This may include case/control studies, drug trials etc.
The reason I say that work in domiciled schools goes a long way is that it can be more conclusive than an elective.