Section 6
How Can I Plan to Get Research Experience?
Howard Duncan
Students applying to medical school should have as many outstanding credentials as possible. Research experience is very important since it reflects a student's scientific intellect, analytic and deductive skills, perseverance, and writing skills. Additionally, research is an integral part of a medical education. Listed below are some avenues you may want to explore as you seek a research position.
Undergraduate Research
Most universities have undergraduate research courses or independent study courses that may be taken by upperclassmen. Usually faculty researchers will allow students to conduct research in that professor's research interest. However, these positions are usually limited, so competition is intense. (This is another reason to have an excellent academic record from your earlier semesters.)
Grant-funded Research
Faculty researchers who have grants may have stipended positions for student researchers. Once again, there is great competition among students for those slots, and the researcher may require an interview and a copy of your academic record.
Summer Internships*
Summer research internships at your university, another university, or a private or government laboratory are excellent sources of research experience. Your department and your pre-medical advisor receive dozens of letters, posters, and brochures from these institutions, and they usually place them at the student's disposal. If this is not the case, you may inquire as to where this information is kept at your university. Additionally, if there is a research program in which you are specifically interested, you may write directly for information and an application.
Research facilities generally mail applications for summer programs to your university between December and February of the school year. Deadlines vary from February 1 to April 15. Start the application process early since you will need to type a neat application, mail official transcripts, and request letters of recommendation. You should apply to more than one program in case you do not get your first choice.
* For additional information, see the chapter on Premedical Planning in the AAMC publication, Medical School Admission Requirements. Ms. Barbara Torres-Yciano, California State University, Sacramento, also has a listing in the 1996-97 Guide to Summer Enrichment Programs published by California State University, Sacramento Science Educational Equity programs. To receive a copy, call (916) 278-6519.
Laboratory Research
Often students attend school in a locale where there are many hospital, government, or private laboratories which have part-time employment opportunities. This practice allows students to be paid while securing laboratory research skills.
Predoctoral Fellowships
Predoctoral Intramural Research Training Awards (IRTA) are offered to recent college graduates by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. This program is available to U.S. Citizens and permanent residents who have been accepted or enrolled in medical school or basic science graduate school. The purpose is to provide the participant with research experience under the direction of NIH preceptors.
In addition to this program, recent college graduates may also engage in research activities in NIH laboratories for up to a year while applying for medical school or graduate school. This program is targeted toward those students who have decided to delay application to medical or graduate school. In either case, applicants must have graduated from an accredited college or university no more than twelve months prior to the start date of the Predoctoral IRTA Fellowship.
To apply, you must send a résumé, documented evidence of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, a bibliography, three letters of recommendations emphasizing your research potential, a statement of your research goals in one page, the type and purpose of research training desired, and an official copy of your transcript. These documents should be sent to the Coordinator of Student Programs, Office of Education, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room 1C129, 10 Center Drive MSC 1158, Bethesda, MD 20892-1158.