If I am helping my mother with research for her dissertation...?

Question

and she mentions that in it when its published, can I put that down as research experience in my med school application?(the research is clinical)

Answer 1

I don't think it would look very good.  But if you really do the research and learn (make sure you're ready to answer some difficult questions), then go ahead and put it in your application.

Answer 2

Research experience, when completed properly, can look wonderful on a med school application. If you want the most amount of credibility, though, your name needs to be in the authors list of the article. Different medical/ academic institutions have different requirements to get your name on the author's list, and it usually requires that a person made a major contribution to the paper. Your mom will not have the final say in that matter - her P.I. (Principle Investigator) will. This is the person that mentors your mom on her dissertation.

It is also credible, although to a lesser degree, if your name appears in the article's acknowledgement section.

Here as well, different journals have different criteria as far as an addendum for acknowledgments.

I would only put down the experience if you really, really understand what is going on with the research, and if your name appears in the author or acknowledgement list. More than likely, the board will read the article, and will ask you about it in great detail. You would need to know what every figure in the paper means, the logic behind the experiments, the methodology of the experiments, the background, and the next steps in the area of research. Otherwise, you won't be able to talk about the subject in an intellectual manner, and will probably bore and disappoint the admissions board.

Since it is clinical research, it probably involves working with patients. Hopefully, you can get either an internship or a job at a hospital (or even volunteer work) that also involves working with patients. This type of experience is also good for an application, and I would not put the dissertation experience on the application in place of it. If you are wanting to mention the research for the patient interaction relevance, you could do this in passing at your interview.

Also, it is not uncommon for med school hopefuls to work as a lab tech or volunteer in a lab that is in an area of medical research interest. You might want to have your mom ask around to see if you could gain more experience this way. This is particularly helpful if you have an area of your application "picture" that is weak.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Sure ... as long as you are actually doing something more than cleaning the rat cages, list it and be prepared to talk about it.

Answer 4

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