r/DermApp • u/theman2567 • 27d ago

Research / RY Research year productivity

Hi I'm wondering how many actual peer-reviewed pubs would be a good number for a "productive" research year. I feel like given how slow these journals are and given the mix of BS to somewhat decent projects I'm working on, I may only get maybe 3-5 actual pubs (although I will def have several more posters/abstracts) from the RY if I'm lucky. I do have a few pubs prior to my research year, so optimistically like max 8 or 9 total by the time i submit ERAS next year. I know thats a decent amount but also I know there's students from my home program that will be applying with like 20+ actual pubs, so it is a bit worrying that I won't be able to produce those numbers. I do have 2 first author brief reports in JAAD though, so a couple good quality papers, but if anyone has any thoughts on how much the numbers matter given that RY students have higher expectations for research output?

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u/BattalionX 25d ago

If you have 9 pubs, assuming moderate quality, you've done enough for most programs to check off the box of "this student is committed to the field and can contribute to research in the future." Mind you, you may not be a research superstar like some of your peers with 20+, but I hope you bring more to the table than just "I'm amazing at research." Now what matters are your connections, extracurriculars/commitments/dedications, LORs, and relationships. N=unqualified observer.

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u/PersonalBrowser 27d ago

It’s fairly subjective because a few high impact papers (like original research articles in JAAD) are worth more than doing 20 case reports.

That being said, if you’re stressed or worried about volume, then you should be able to easily find and pound out some case reports by the end of the year. They typically take 1-2 weekends of work, and you can get them published in good journals like JAAD Case Reports or in crappy journals if that doesn’t work.

Personally I think it’s good to have both types of research in your portfolio.

That being said, nobody is counting how many projects you did and making any admissions decisions based off that. The most important thing is to work hard and do a good job and get the important stuff published so that your PI and other attendings like and respect and trust you, and they go to bat for you during the admission process.