jason Unregistered User (2/16/00 9:30:52 pm) Reply ortho research I will be starting med school this fall and I am interested in getting involved in some type of research related to orthopedics. When do you think is the best time to start something like this? Will I be able to find anything worthwhile the summer before starting or should I wait until after first year when I know more? Any other tips you could supply me with regarding any aspect of navigating med school while looking to match in ortho would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Bob Local user (2/18/00 1:22:58 pm) Reply Re: ortho research I am currently a 4th year student and just finished interviewing for Ortho. Here is my advice. Med school is a long haul - take the summer off and relax. Start your ortho Research after your 1st year. You'll have a fair amount of time off, and you might be able to get a decent project done in that time. Also, you'll get to know the staff at your school, which is a bonus. As far as other advice to increase your odds - study hard, be at the top of your class, and do well on the boards. aeabbot Unregistered User (2/18/00 1:37:42 pm) Reply Research in ortho It is worth looking into doing some work before med school starts. It is difficult to near impossible to get any substantial research done in the few months that a summer has to offer. If you are a research minded person and really want to be involved in the lab then 2 summers will give you a good foundation. On the other hand, this will be one of the last opportunities you will have to be totally free so feel free to enjoy this summer and get into the ortho lab after you have had some of the basic sciences. You will have plenty of research to know if it is what you want to do and to talk about on interviews and if you really like it you can schedule elective research time in your 4th year. In my case, I took the summer before med school off to play and relocate. The summer of my first year I did cardiology/rheumatology research and didn't start any ortho work until spring of my 3rd year. I then did 2 months of elective research in my 4th year. I matched and I have a research position. So it can be done. You definitely need research for ortho. If you can find a position and you want to do it, go for it. If you can't or would rather have some free time, it won't hurt you. Call your med school's Dean of student affairs and ask where students have done their ortho research. they often have a book listing where people worked or labs looking for help. You can also call the hospital's ortho dept. and ask about who is doing ortho research and send them an e-mail or give a call to see if they need help in the lab. good luck jason Unregistered User (2/19/00 9:51:20 am) Reply thanks for the replies its good to hear someone elses perspective on the subject especially somebody who's been there before. thanks