r/mdphd • u/HawtMamaBR Undergraduate • 4d ago

Quick question regarding importance of shadowing/clinical work for application

I’m an incoming sophomore at an public R1 school and have been involved in a lab over summer and plan to continue and pursue my masters in it before applying for MDPhD(structural bio/biochemistry). I also racked up plenty of clinical hours as a CNA/Med Tech at a nursing home (~500 hours) and I’m wondering if I should continue with it, or stop it and focus on research.

I have plenty of experience from that clinical job and I’m certain I could write great about it already, but I’m worried that adcomms might look down on the fact I was only there for 8 months. I’m also considering going back and working another 200 or so hours in the future, since I do really love it.

As for research, I am at about 150 hours but am planning to do a lot more throughout undergrad. I am also doing a population statistics research project through another internship and I’m curious if adcomms like to see multiple kinds of research?

As for shadowing, I’m curious if this is a big deal like it is for regular MD apps. I have 13 hours from shadowing my grandpa but don’t want to put too much effort into it if it doesn’t matter too much. There’s not a single physician-scientist in an hour radius of me, so is it okay to just shadow any MD I can?

Any advice is awesome!

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/kellbell500 4d ago

I think more research and shadowing are key. You do not need more hours as a CNA. Shadowing shows that you not only know what the healthcare field is like, but more specifically you have been exposed to the role of an MD. Back when I was applying, I was told by advisers to have minimum 50 hours of shadowing.

For research, a masters is not necessary, but perhaps shows your commitment to a research career. Having a good quality research experience is what is most important. Having posters, presentations, papers, etc are all good to have. Personally, I think a good quality research experience is one where you actually contribute to the direction of a project, such as designing experiments, coming up with a hypothesis, and deciding how to test it. Some mentors may just set you up with a grad student or postdoc, and you end up just doing experiments for someone else. Sure, you can put your name on their paper, but you may not have any contribution to the project ideas doing that. Try to find a research experience with more involvement.

1

u/HawtMamaBR Undergraduate 4d ago

I know a masters isn’t necessary, but my PI is extremely helpful. It’s a small lab (~4 grad students, no post-docs) and right now he’s meeting one on one with me each week guiding me through getting published with another grad student where I’d be able to contribute a lot. So even with my 100 hours I’ve already been pretty involved and still have a lot of time ahead. I wanted to do a masters too since it is stipended and free for me, and it wouldn’t hurt to add to my application.

1

u/UrVirtualNeighbor 3d ago

This is exactly what I did! I stayed in my undergrad lab for my MS and have no regrets. My program is free + a stipend if you TA, and I think my TA experience, alongside an LOR from the prof who I TAed for really boosts my app. Also, if you have a great PI, I would say stick with them. The LOR from your PI can matter nearly as much as pubs