Research Questions Flashcards
How has your undergraduate research experience, if any, better prepared you for a medical career?
From my research experiences in undergrad, I have learned many important skills that are applicable for a career in medicine. Throughout undergrad, I worked as a research assistant in Dr. Vonhoff’s neuroscience lab. I had the opportunity to pick up a project that was left by a graduate student that was rotating in the lab. Part of conducting my own experiments, meant I had to be informed on the current literature in the field. As I read more scientific papers, I became better at understanding complex information and then breaking it down to others when presenting my work at symposiums, conferences, and lab meetings. This is particularly applicable in the medical field as breaking down medically complex information for patients is crucial. Like-wise understanding how to evaluate research findings will allow me to integrate it into my practice as a physician. As an undergrad, I found that research fueled my passion to learn more beyond the classroom and this is why I did it throughout all 4 years. Although due to the pandemic, much of my research was conducted online and through literature reviews, I gained a great appreciation for how research contributes to the medical field that I didn’t realize before.
