Research troubles

[Sugarplum94]

Hey everyone,
I need advice on something, you see I am currently volunteering at this lab, and I've been there since January. I basically don't do anything there, and every time I ask them if there's something for me to do, the lab coordinators tell me they don't need anything for now. When I first started they let me do some things, but because I didn't do a safety training I wasn't allowed to actually do hands on work for a month and a half, basically just watch them, or make detergents for them. Now, because this is my first lab, and I never had a previous experience in this, I understand that it would've made me not learning the techniques a little harder, but I was still willing to learn, but after I took my training and was allowed to do things, I was given one thing to do, and I couldn't do it successfully because I never did it practically, I only watched them, and each week/day they did different thing, so it's easier to forget. The lab coordinators were not happy with that, and basically went to my PI to complain about me. I told my PI that I would do my best, but help me understand this, as I can only do things if I actually do them myself instead of watching them. Also if I ever asked them a small question or made a small mistake, they would say, you have been here since this long and you should know this by now. Everything needs to be done as how the lab coordinators do it, like if I found an easier and a more efffective way to do a small thing, it would be wrong to them regardless if it gave me the same results. Now after a month, I am still stuck in this position, they don't let me do anything, I basically go to lab to cut papers for them and wash their samples, I waste hours and hours of my time just waiting for them to give me a small job, even if it's making gels or something, which never happens now. I feel like I came in to this lab to learn, and to build connections but the environment has become so toxic and and counterproductive for me, I was advised by the people at the medical school that runs this facility to quit, and find another research. My question is:
-Should I quit?
-If I do, I am graduating next year and planing on doing a DIY post bacc, will I still be able to find research then?
- Are there better and more effective jobs/volunteering thing that I can do to help boost my application, ( this research has created a really bad image of what research is like for me, and now I plan on an MD route, rather than an MD/PHD)
- Finally, since I've only done research for almost 6 months, should I still put it in my resume, when ever I apply for med school or resume in general?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[hipsnontrad]

I would go find a new experience. You can always do research at any stage especially as a volunteer. Variety is not a bad thing for experience in any category. As to if you should include it. That depends on your resume when you apply. If it strengthens it than yes. Typically you put down a contact that they can follow up with, but you don't have to list it as an amazing experience. It's more of a learning experience to become familiar with research and lab work. You can possibly talk to the research that is/was being accomplished not matter how involved you were in the process.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[backside_attack]

Tough love: I think you need to adjust your attitude and perspective before moving to a new lab.

1. When you say " I was given one thing to do, and I couldn't do it successfully because I never did it practically, I only watched them, and each week/day they did different thing, so it's easier to forget."... Write it down? Practice? This seems like an excuse. Also in medicine it's see one, do one, teach one so you have a big learning curve to catch up to. Take ownership of your learning instead of a poor attitude.

2. You say "Everything needs to be done as how the lab coordinators do it, like if I found an easier and a more efffective way to do a small thing, it would be wrong to them regardless if it gave me the same results."... Protocols exist for a reason!! You could actually be screwing up their entire project by changing up the way something is done. When you write the methods section for a research project, perhaps you'll understand better why they're sticklers to protocol. It seems stupid to you because you're not invested in the work, but they are.

Yes, you should quit - you're not doing yourself any favors staying there especially since you've already established a reputation over the past 6 months. If it was a few weeks, I'd say you could turn it around, but I think it's best to start fresh elsewhere.

Yes, you can put it on your application - BUT be very clear that it was volunteer lab assistance, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "research project" (I'm thinking of how AMCAS lets you put a title on an activity, but assuming you're not going to give it much of a description as one of your top 3 most meaningful experiences...)

 

[Sugarplum94]

Hey I just wasn't to clarify something's
1.) yeah I actually had a book of notes, I watched YouTube videos everyday to make sure I knew what I was doing, I had their protocols written down twice. It's not like I came in thinking I wasn't going to do anything. It was a volunteer lab, but I still did a lot of work for it. I understand what you mean, but I had 2 other fellow volunteers who have the same complaints as I did, and quit. Now that's not an excuse, considering how everyone is different, but I am talking about basic things like making gels, preparing sample homogenisation, helping them read their results, etc. I am someone who likes to work and I learn the best when I do it by myself with supervision if I needed. I mean since you are in or perusing medicine you should know this, it's one thing to read your notes, watch videos, write the notes, but it's a whole different thing to actually do it practically. If you do one thing today, but have no practice, you won't really understand it in the long run. Like it's more effective to learn by actually doing things that to just watch and take notes, its one of the reasons why basic subjects like chem, bio, anatomy, etc have labs because to understand the concept you must learn it by doing it. That's my way of doing things, I need practice or else I won't be able to understand it. I am sure they had samples set up separately for that, as they did make me use them for the one week I actually did stuff.

2.) my intent was not to say I don't follow the protocols, I meant to say when I gather things for making something for them, the lab coordinator get annoyed that I grabbed one thing before another, like if I grabbed reagent B before reagent A to put it on the table for set up. Or when I am making the basic TBST solution, and I put in the water and the was about to grab the TWEEN, not to put it in yet, but to have it by my side, so when I do put it in I can just grab it, but they get annoyed by that too. It's like she has OCD or something. This is only for collecting the materials needed for the experiment. As for the protocols, I read and revised them 2 times before the experiment, and during the experiment I followed them, because I understand that they are there for a reason. I don't mess with protocols, I understand that they are there for a reason and it's extremely important to follow them since I can mess something crucial up.

My main issue was when I came in the lab, I had told my PI that I had no experience and that they might need to help me learn. I told her I learn the best when I do stuff by myself with supervision, and when I didn't do so good during my first few weeks, I asked the lab coordinators about my progression and they would always say don't worry we did this too when we started, or it's okay we can fix this. But after that one week, I never got anything else to do after that.
When I asked them questions they would get annoyed and say I didn't read the papers they gave me, even though I read, and when I told them what the paper said, they were like you should google it, or I don't understand your question.
Btw this was going to be written as an internship, as the Medical school papers that I had to file said that it was an internship. But yeah I wasn't going to call this a research project, just a volunteer internship or something. I am actually going to look else where for a research, but I don't know where. This was a start up thing, to help me get experience so that I may have a better chance at getting a real research later on, but I am not going to use this experience as something that's really important.

 

[njtrimed]

It's hard to tell from your post whether you're being defensive or these people are really that obnoxious, but one thing is clear: you should quit and find a new research opportunity, and leave this off your CV and AMCAS. I've spent five years doing research in different labs, and I had one awful experience many years ago with a PI who couldn't keep a PhD student or postdoc in his lab and expected unpaid undergraduates to pick up the slack and basically work for him as if we were committed at that level, and it was terrible on several levels. After giving it every effort, I finally quit, and just left it off my resume entirely. It was frustrating to have put in 20-30 hours a week for months, obtained some really good results, and then basically detach my name from it, but it wasn't worth taking the chance that he'd say something negative about me for quitting instead of sticking with the project until graduation. It was a learning experience; it's important to learn to withstand some degree of poor treatment with grace and humility, and equally important to know when it's abuse, and time for you to just walk away.

Anyway, find a new lab. You're getting nothing out of this, and someone already recommended that you find something else. Just remember any time you start a new project that it's important to do a ton of background reading, learn everything you can about the techniques, ask tons of questions, and take plenty of notes. Take constructive criticism gracefully and follow their protocols to the letter; you should mimic exactly what they are doing, without deviating even in ways that seem insignificant to you. That's how you'll earn their trust, and eventually (if appropriate) you can start doing things your own way. This will be true in medicine too, not just research- start out by doing things EXACTLY the way you're taught, and adapt it to your own style once you really know what you're doing.

 

[Sugarplum94]

Okay thank you all for your insightful input, I guess I am going to quit and find another lab. Thank you all once again.