RESEARCH FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON REQUIREMENTS IN MD AND DO SCHOOLS.
THERE IS NO DENYING THAT APPLICANTS WITH STRONG RESEARCH BACKGROUNDS HAVE A COMPETITIVE EDGE...
BUT HOW EXACTLY DOES RESEARCH MAKE SOMEONE A BETTER HEALTHCARE PROVIDER? AND HOW CAN
STUDENTS START GAINING THESE INVALUABLE SKILLS? IN THIS VIDEO, I WILL EXPLAIN WHY HAVING RESEARCH
EXPERIENCE WILL IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING IN, AND HOW YOU CAN GAIN RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
EARLY ON IN YOUR CAREER BY FINDING THE RIGHT PREMED OPPORTUNITIES…
HI! I’M NATALIE STOBERMAN AND I’M AN ADMISSIONS ASSOCIATE HERE AT BEMO. BEFORE WE GET STARTED,
SUBSCRIBE ON WHATEVER SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL YOU’RE WATCHING THIS ON SO YOU DON’T MISS
ANY OF OUR UPCOMING VIDEOS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO HELP YOU GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL, VISIT
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STAMPS IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THIS VIDEO TO NAVIGATE TO SPECIFIC SECTIONS OF THIS VIDEO
THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN. HERE’S WHAT WE ARE GOING TO COVER:
HOW CAN RESEARCH HELP YOU GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL?
AND, HOW TO GET RESEARCH EXPERIENCE BEFORE MEDICAL SCHOOL
AND WE'RE GIVING AWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT CARDS EVERY WEEK TO THE BEST COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS…
SO COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN! WE ALSO HAVE SOME IMPORTANT ADVICE ON HOW TO FIND
THE BEST RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR YOU… AND I’LL TALK ABOUT THAT THROUGHOUT THE VIDEO
SO MAKE SURE YOU WATCH THE WHOLE THING SO YOU DON’T MISS IT… LET’S GET STARTED!
HOW CAN RESEARCH HELP YOU GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL?
IF YOU ARE ASKING THIS QUESTION AS AN ASPIRING MEDICAL STUDENT, I HAVE A FEW REASONS WHY
YOU SHOULD CONSIDER PURSUING QUALITY RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES...FIRSTLY, NEARLY EVERY STUDENT
APPLYING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL HAS CLINICAL EXPERIENCE TO ADD TO THEIR APPLICATION, BUT NOT ALL OF
THEM HAVE QUALITY RESEARCH EXPERIENCE WHICH MEANS THAT’S ANOTHER AREA FOR YOU TO POTENTIALLY
STAND OUT! RESEARCH IS A GREAT WAY TO BOOST YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATION... NOT ONLY
DOES IT SHOW YOUR DEDICATION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDICAL FIELD, IT ALSO DEMONSTRATES
YOUR CURIOSITY, HIGH LEVELS OF RESPONSIBILITY, AND ABILITY TO WORK IN A TEAM... ALL OF THESE
QUALITIES ARE EXTREMELY VALUABLE IN A POTENTIAL MEDICAL STUDENT...
SECONDLY, SOME OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN THE U.S. AND CANADA ARE RESEARCH-FOCUSED,
SUCH AS THE IVY LEAGUE MEDICAL SCHOOLS... NORMALLY, SCHOOLS THAT ARE RESEARCH-BASED
HAVE THIS INCORPORATED IN THEIR MISSION STATEMENT AND CORE VALUES. TO BE CONSIDERED COMPETITIVE
AT THESE INSTITUTIONS, YOU NEED TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR DESIRE AND MOTIVATION FOR RESEARCH…
THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO GAIN RESEARCH FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS... YOU COULD WORK AS
A LAB ASSISTANT OR TECHNICIAN IN A CLINICAL SETTING, RESEARCH FACILITY OR EVEN IN THE
FIELD... AS IMPORTANT AS IT IS TO HAVE RESEARCH FOR
MEDICAL STUDENTS, I DO HAVE A WORD OF CAUTION FOR THIS PATH IN MEDICINE… DON'T SIMPLY
APPLY TO RESEARCH-FOCUSED MEDICAL SCHOOLS IF YOU HAVE NO DESIRE OR INTEREST IN RESEARCH...
EVEN IF THESE SCHOOLS ARE CONSIDERED PRESTIGIOUS. AS ALWAYS, TAILOR YOUR EXPERIENCES TO YOUR
INTERESTS AND APPLY TO MEDICAL SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN LINE WITH YOUR SHORT AND LONG TERM
GOALS... ANOTHER REASON TO GET INVOLVED IN RESEARCH
IS THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT OPEN UP BEFORE YOU... FOR EXAMPLE, INSTEAD OF APPLYING TO MD OR
D-O PROGRAMS ONLY, YOU CAN EXPAND YOUR APPLICATION TO MD-PHD PROGRAMS – WHICH MAKE UP SOME
OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS MEDICAL PROGRAMS AVAILABLE OUT THERE...
IF YOU WANT TO APPLY TO JOINT MD-PHD PROGRAMS, YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO ADD RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
TO YOUR BOX OF REQUIREMENTS... THESE PROGRAMS ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR STUDENTS WITH
A PASSION FOR MEDICINE, BUT ALSO A STRONG PASSION FOR RESEARCH. GRADUATES FROM THESE
PROGRAMS WILL BE TRAINED AS PHYSICIAN-SCIENTISTS… AND THEY’LL BE READY TO TACKLE THE MECHANISMS
BEHIND DISEASE, CONDUCT INDEPENDENT OR JOINT RESEARCH, AND STRIVE TOWARDS MAKING DISCOVERIES
IN THE FIELD OF MEDICINE… WHETHER YOU APPLY TO JOINT PROGRAMS OR JUST
AN MD OR D-O, IN REVIEWING YOUR RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEES WILL BE LOOKING
AT YOUR LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION, YOUR REASONING AS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESEARCH, AND
WHAT LESSONS YOU LEARNED FROM THE EXPERIENCE. SO TRY TO GAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE BY CONDUCTING
RESEARCH THROUGH TESTING HYPOTHESES, ANALYZING RESULTS AND CONTRIBUTING TO REPORTS OR SCIENTIFIC
PAPERS... KEEP IN MIND THAT IF YOU DO APPLY TO THE DUAL
MD PHD DEGREE AS OPPOSED TO AN MD PROGRAM, YOU'LL HAVE TO COMPLETE ADDITIONAL ESSAYS,
THE SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH EXPERIENCE ESSAY AND THE MD PHD ESSAY.. THESE ESSAYS ARE SOLELY
DESIGNED TO LEARN ABOUT YOUR EXTENSIVE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, SO BE SURE TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR
COMMITMENT TO RESEARCH THROUGH A VARIETY OF MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES... REGARDLESS OF WHETHER
OR NOT YOU APPLY TO JOINT MD-PHD PROGRAMS, MEANINGFUL RESEARCH IS A VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
TO INCLUDE IN YOUR MED APPLICATIONS. ENSURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE INS AND OUTS OF ANY
RESEARCH YOU PARTICIPATE IN. REGARDLESS OF YOUR LEVEL OF CONTRIBUTION, IF YOU'RE INVITED
TO AN INTERVIEW, THE INTERVIEWERS WILL EXPECT YOU TO HAVE A STRONG GRASP ON THE RESEARCH,
ITS SIGNIFICANCE, AND MAJOR FINDINGS… HERE’S A COMMONLY ASKED QUESTION THAT WE
GET AT BEMO… HOW DO YOU GET RESEARCH EXPERIENCE BEFORE MEDICAL SCHOOL?
PART OF THE REASON MEDICAL EDUCATION IN NORTH AMERICA IS SO STRONG IS BECAUSE PHYSICIANS
ARE TRAINED TO GO BEYOND THE WHITE COAT AND BE RESEARCHERS AS WELL... THE HOPE IS THAT
TOMORROW’S PHYSICIANS NOT ONLY PRESCRIBE TREATMENTS, BUT ALSO HELP FIND BETTER ONES.
AFTER ALL, MEDICINE IS AN EVER-CHANGING FIELD, AND A GOOD MEDICAL DOCTOR IS ALSO A SCIENTIST
AND A RESEARCHER… IN FACT, BY THE TIME MEDICAL STUDENTS GRADUATE,
SOME OF WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED DURING THEIR TRAINING MAY ALREADY BE OUTDATED... THEREFORE,
AS A FUTURE MEDICAL DOCTOR, YOU MUST LEARN HOW TO KEEP UP WITH NEW INFORMATION SO THAT
YOU CAN PROVIDE THE MOST SCIENTIFICALLY SOUND DIAGNOSES AND TREATMENTS FOR YOUR PATIENTS...
ENGAGING IN RESEARCH AT THIS STAGE DEMONSTRATES ONE OF AAMC’S CORE COMPETENCIES FOR ENTERING
MEDICAL STUDENTS, DEFINED AS “SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY”...
YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY TELLING THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEES THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO SEARCH FOR
AND DECIPHER SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE, AS WELL AS CONDUCT SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS TO IMPROVE
PATIENT CARE. IN THE AAMC’S WORDS, A GOOD DOCTOR WITH AN EXCELLENT SENSE OF SCIENTIFIC
INQUIRY “APPLIES KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS TO INTEGRATE AND SYNTHESIZE INFORMATION,
SOLVE PROBLEMS AND FORMULATE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES; IS CONFIDENT IN THE LANGUAGE
OF THE SCIENCES AND USES IT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCOURSE OF SCIENCE AND EXPLAIN HOW
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IS DISCOVERED AND VALIDATED.” SO HOW CAN YOU SECURE A RESEARCH POSITION
AS AN UNDERGRAD? HERE ARE NINE STEPS TO GET YOU CLOSER TO YOUR GOAL…
(1) THE FIRST STEP IS TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN. YOU MAY NOT KNOW EXACTLY
WHAT YOU LIKE, BUT WHAT EXCITES YOU? THINK BACK TO YOUR CLASSES. WHAT MADE YOUR HEART
BEAT FASTER? WAS IT LEARNING ABOUT THE BRAIN? CONSIDER A NEUROSCIENCE LAB. UNDERSTANDING
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM? CONSIDER WORKING WITH VACCINE DEVELOPMENT.
(2) REMEMBER, RESEARCH DOESN’T NEED TO BE MEDICAL—ANY RESEARCH IS OKAY, AS LONG AS
YOU DEMONSTRATE INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY AND ABILITY TO APPLY THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD. IF
YOU LOVE PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY, OR EVEN ASTRONOMY, FEEL FREE TO EXPLORE A PROJECT IN THOSE AREAS.
I USED TO THINK THE ONLY KIND OF RESEARCH WAS LAB RESEARCH, AND I WAS WRONG. YOU CAN
PARTAKE IN CLINICAL RESEARCH WITH PATIENTS, FIELD RESEARCH WITH INSECTS, AMONG MYRIAD
OTHER POSSIBILITIES. (3) FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU WANT TO DO RESEARCH.
DO YOU WANT TO TAKE ON A PROJECT IN YOUR UNDERGRAD CAMPUS DURING THE SEMESTER? OR DO YOU WANT
TO GO BACK HOME FOR THE SUMMER AND WORK AT THE LOCAL UNIVERSITY? OR EVEN, ARE YOU INTERESTED
IN GOING ABROAD AND DOING RESEARCH IN EUROPE OR CENTRAL AMERICA?
(4) ONCE YOU’VE DECIDED ON A FIELD OF RESEARCH, LOOK ONLINE AT THE LIST OF PROFESSORS CONDUCTING
THIS RESEARCH IN YOUR INSTITUTION OF CHOICE. WRITE THEIR NAMES/EMAILS DOWN. NARROW IT DOWN
TO 15-20. (5) CONTACT THEM! WRITE THEM A SHORT, POLITE,
AND REASONABLY FORMAL EMAIL INDICATING YOUR INTEREST IN THEIR RESEARCH. ASK IF YOU COULD
POSSIBLY CHAT WITH THEM IN PERSON (OR EVEN ON THE PHONE) TO HEAR A BIT MORE BECAUSE YOU
HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR RESEARCH. EXPECT SEVERAL NOT TO RESPOND, OTHERS TO RESPOND
WITH LITTLE INTEREST, AND A FEW TO WRITE BACK WITH INTEREST. JUST LIKE ANYTHING ELSE THE
80/20 RULE OF LIFE APPLIES HERE SO DON’T GET DISCOURAGED IF 80% DON’T SHOW INTEREST.
(6) BEFORE ACTUALLY SPEAKING TO THOSE WHO RESPOND, READ ABOUT THEIR WORK. SKIM THEIR
PUBLISHED ARTICLES BY LOOKING THEM UP ON PUBMED. COME UP WITH SOME GENUINE QUESTIONS ABOUT
THEIR RESEARCH. (7) ONCE YOU SPEAK TO THEM, AND IF YOU FEEL
THE RESEARCHER AND YOU HAVE BONDED IN SOME WAY, LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED
TO LEARN MORE BY WORKING WITH THEM. ASK IF THEY ARE INTERESTED IN YOU WORKING/VOLUNTEERING
IN THEIR RESEARCH PROJECT (OR LAB). IF THEY ENJOY MENTORING, THEY MAY EVEN GIVE YOU YOUR
OWN SMALL PROJECT WITHIN THEIR BIGGER PROJECT. (8) ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO FOLLOW UP THOSE WHO
DON’T RESPOND WITH AN EMAIL 5-7 DAYS LATER. IF THEY STILL DON’T RESPOND, THEN IT’S
TIME TO MOVE ON. AFTER ALL, YOU WANT TO WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO VALUE YOU.
(9) IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL IN INVOLVING YOURSELF IN RESEARCH, TRY TO SET A GOAL: EVEN SIMPLE
RESULTS (OR EVEN METHODS AND ANTICIPATED RESULTS!) CAN BE PRESENTED IN A POSTER AT YOUR UNIVERSITY’S
SYMPOSIUM. REMEMBER THAT ANY PRESENTATION OR PUBLICATION SHOWS THAT YOUR TIME DOING
RESEARCH WAS PRODUCTIVE AND WORTHWHILE. EVERY STEP ON YOUR MEDICAL JOURNEY STARTS
WITH KNOWING YOURSELF AND WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH… AND WHEN YOU KNOW THAT YOU WANT,
OR DON’T WANT, TO HAVE A SCIENTIFIC OR CLINICAL APPROACH TO MEDICINE, THE SOONER YOU START
TAKING ON THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES, THE SOONER YOU CAN FULLY STEP INTO THE CAREER OF YOUR
DREAMS… THAT’S OUR ADVICE ON FINDING PREMED RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITIES... CHECK OUT OUR BLOG TO READ MORE ABOUT MED SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS AND HOW
TO FIND RESEARCH POSITIONS ... I HAVE INCLUDED THE LINKS IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THIS VIDEO
FOR EASY ACCESS... IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL, VISIT BEMOMEDSCHOOL.COM
TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION... HOPEFULLY YOU ENJOYED THIS VIDEO SO PLEASE
SUBSCRIBE, LIKE AND LEAVE A COMMENT. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT RESEARCH FOR
MEDICAL STUDENTS THAT I DIDN’T COVER, LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENT SECTION AND I WILL
GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE... DON’T FORGET THAT WE'RE GIVING AWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT
CARDS EVERY WEEK TO THE BEST COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS… SO COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE
TO WIN. THANKS FOR WATCHING AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME.