Research Remotely at Another Institution?

[Runner201]

Hello fellow SDNers. Current 3rd year medical student here who is very interested in applying to radiation oncology next year. I don’t have any oncology related research. Unfortunately I can’t take a research year because I’ve already taken a year off for a dual degree (MBA). My school doesn’t have many research opportunities period (I guess you could say we're more of a touchy-feely type of school haha)...and we don’t even have a radiation oncology (or any other oncology related!) residency program.

My question is, is it possible to get involved with research at another institution and work on it remotely this year (my 3rd year) so I have some research relevant to the field by the time I apply? I don't have any school breaks left other than a couple of weeks in December for the holidays and the closest medical school with a rad onc residency program is about 2 hours away. I have research experience from before med school (3-4 clinical pubs/abstracts) but nothing remotely related to radiation oncology or even cancer in general.

I guess I’m just trying to figure out what my options are and could REALLY use some advice. I know oncology research is important (even better if it’s rad onc!)...but I’m just not sure how feasible it will be for me to get it by the time ERAS rolls around next year given my circumstances. I would totally appreciate any advice. Thank you!!

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[RadOncDoc21]

Hello fellow SDNers. Current 3rd year medical student here who is very interested in applying to radiation oncology next year. I don’t have any oncology related research. Unfortunately I can’t take a research year because I’ve already taken a year off for a dual degree (MBA). My school doesn’t have many research opportunities period (I guess you could say we're more of a touchy-feely type of school haha)...and we don’t even have a radiation oncology (or any other oncology related!) residency program.

My question is, is it possible to get involved with research at another institution and work on it remotely this year (my 3rd year) so I have some research relevant to the field by the time I apply? I don't have any school breaks left other than a couple of weeks in December for the holidays and the closest medical school with a rad onc residency program is about 2 hours away. I have research experience from before med school (3 clinical pubs, 1 abstract) but nothing remotely related to radiation oncology or even cancer in general.

I guess I’m just trying to figure out what my options are and could REALLY use some advice. I know oncology research is important (even better if it’s rad onc!)...but I’m just not sure how feasible it will be for me to get it by the time ERAS rolls around next year given my circumstances. I would totally appreciate any advice. Thank you!!

Start with introducing yourself to the rad onc staff at your hospital, then set up away rotations.

After that, you would be in a better position to work remotely but you do have to put yourself out there at some point.

 

[radiaterMike]

Working remotely has become a bjt more challenging since you will need to be be credentialed at that institution to access records and will need to access and transfer records in a HIPPA compliant manner.


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[Runner201]

Start with introducing yourself to the rad onc staff at your hospital, then set up away rotations.

After that, you would be in a better position to work remotely but you do have to put yourself out there at some point.

Thanks for the response! I did make contact with the 2 local radiation oncologists. They're both older private practice docs, and they didn't have any research opportunities. I definitely plan to set up away rotations, but I think the research deficit would need to be addressed before my aways (which would be next summer).

 

[Runner201]

Working remotely has become a bjt more challenging since you will need to be be credentialed at that institution to access records and will need to access and transfer records in a HIPPA compliant manner.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Thanks for your reply! Yeah, I figured there would be issues with privacy and confidentiality. I know some institutions have secure remote access to EMRs so I was hoping it would still be possible to work on chart reviews and/or case reports remotely. I also have experience with systematic reviews and book chapters, which would be easy to do remotely.

It sounds like I'm totally screwed if I can't find relevant research at my school.

 

[radiaterMike]

No! As you say it can be done. There are just a few more hoops to jump through. Usually EMR access is only granted if/when you are affiliated with the hospital as either an employee or visiting rotator. Once that relationship ends, the EMR access would end. So remote access won't be available if your rotation is over. You would need to get the data compiled while on the rotation. Some institutions may already have deidentified databases available or the resources to generate them quickly and/or could mentor a NCDB or SEER project or a meta-analysis of already published data.


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