Step 1: 238
Step 2: n/a
Clinical rotation: HP in Peds and ObGyn. Surgery (pending)
Top 20 Medical School
Research: Nothing significant unfortunately in medical school worth noting.
I know my resume so far doesn't look promising at all. That's why I'd like to know if it's even worth pursuing ortho at this point. I just finished my surgery rotation and had a chance to rotate through ortho and really really liked it. My institution is an ortho powerhouse and has matched many students into Ortho each year. In fact, somebody I know last year with a sub-220 matched into a Top 10 Ortho program after taking a year off to do research.
My dilemma is this: I'm strongly leaning towards taking a year off to do research after my 3rd year. And I recently met a mentor who is doing some pretty sick, cutting edge research in Interventional Oncology. He has expressed a desire to take me into his lab and, should I decide to join his lab, he has some cool ideas that he'd like me to apply for the HHMI grant. (He's had 2 students in the past 5 years receiving the HHMI grant).
While that sounds pretty darn cool, would I benefit more if I just do a year of Ortho research instead if I want to go into Ortho? Or is high quality research (i.e. the HHMI grant) in Interventional Oncology, plus perhaps a small ortho project on the side, potentially beneficial as well?
Or should I simply just give up on Ortho and put that thought to rest?
Any input is greatly appreciated!
