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Building an academic portfolio during medical training: Part 2 – finding your research team

In my previous blog, we discussed why it is important for medical students and trainees to consider research collaborations outside their own institutions, and what types of research studies can be performed using this type of collaboration between young researchers. In this blog, I will focus on how to find potential collaborators and/or join a multi-institutional team of young researchers.

Once you decide to explore this non-traditional way of doing research, the first challenge you will be facing is how to find potential research team members. At this point, you need to take a step back and ask yourself 2 essential questions:

  • “What area(s) of research am I interested in?” – This will largely be dependent on the particular specialty you are interested in pursuing as a career, and whether you have a general interest in this specialty or a more focused area that you would like to explore.
  • “What skillsets can I bring to the table in such collaboration?” – No matter how novice you are in medical research, you can always be a valuable team member provided that you are willing to learn, work hard and acquire new skills. But it is essential for you to know exactly what you can or cannot do, to be able to find your right position within a team. A successful research team requires a myriad of skills, some are basic, such as searching the literature or collecting data, some are more advanced, such as conception of research ideas or scientific writing, and others are specialized, such as relevant statistical knowledge and competency in using a statistical software or experience with using one of the databases that we previously discussed e.g. National Inpatient Sample (NIS).

Answering these 2 questions will help you present yourself in an honest and practical way to your potential collaborators, and will ensure that you achieve the 2 fundamental goals of any collaboration: to benefit and to be beneficial. It also gives you an idea about what potential skills you can work on acquiring to increase your value as a team member.

Now that you know what you want and what you can offer, it is time to find your collaborators. The easiest and most straight-forward way is to collaborate with people that you had previous experience with, like your medical school colleagues, or co-residents from your previous training program who have similar research interests. However, this may not be an available option to you, so what to do in this case? – If you are still taking your very first steps in the research field, you would be better off joining a team that is already established rather than building a new team. There are several ways to identify multi-institutional research teams that are already up and running:

  • Word of mouthyou may have heard about one or more resident or fellow who does this type of research, and in that case, you could reach out directly to them.
  • Medical literatureyou could search within your field of interest for recently published meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or articles that use one of the publicly available databases that we mentioned, and examine the authors’ list. What you would want to look for are articles that are authored by people affiliated with different institutions. Next step, would be to look up some of these authors on PubMed and see if that same group of authors (or some of them) publish these types of articles frequently together. Once you identify a particular group of collaborating authors, then you could look them up to check if they are mostly residents and fellows.
  • Social mediathis is another great tool for research collaboration. Twitter, in particular, is becoming an invaluable platform for sharing medical knowledge and recent research articles. Many of the currently active research groups promote their work on Twitter, and using the same process we just discussed, one can easily identify active members of these groups and reach out to them directly. Further, many researchers nowadays reach out on Twitter when they need young motivated medical trainees to help out with ongoing projects. So I would strongly encourage you to get on Twitter if you haven’t already done so and to start following people with similar research interests.

At this point, you know your research field of interest, you are aware of what you have to offer as a research team member, and you have identified potential research team(s) that you would like to be part of. You should be ready to reach out. What is the best way of presenting yourself? How can you maximize your chances of success in joining a team? This will be the topic of my next blog. So stay tuned…

 

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

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Pursuing Cardiology As a Medical Student/Resident

As an Early Career blogger for the AHA, I wanted to write my final blog post on advice for those interested in pursuing cardiology. My interest in cardiology began during my first year of medical school, and now as I am applying to become a fellow, I wanted to look back at the last 7 years.

 

Medical school

As a medical student, it can be difficult to know what field you would like to pursue. Although some may know from the beginning what they would like to specialize in, the majority of students must use their time during their clinical years to explore different fields. Given this, I would advise students to focus on getting a good background in all aspects of medicine during medical school. Take as much in from your exposure to each field. Do well on your boards, take ownership of the patients you see and read as much as you can.

So as a first or second year how can you know if cardiology is a field you should consider? Well, what made me interested in the field during those years was the physiology behind the mechanics of the heart.  It made intuitive sense. The time I spent reading Lilly’s Pathophysiology of Heart Disease did not feel like studying. This inspired me to sign up for electives in cardiology later on in medical school. During third and fourth year, rotating on a cardiology consult service or a CCU service can help you see the day to day life of cardiologist. It exposes you to the common consults and admissions in the field. It also allows you to get to know the type of personalities in cardiology. If you are interested, get involved in research projects.

 

Internal Medicine Residency

In the beginning of my residency, my advisor told me that before one could become a great cardiologist, they must become a great internist. This is something that I heard echoed by cardiology program directors during this past year’s AHA Scientific Sessions. A passion for patient care and an understanding of the intricacies of internal medicine are paramount in the path of a future cardiology fellow.

Be a good citizen in your program. Complete all your administrative duties on time. Be the one that chiefs can rely on when scheduling difficulties occur. Residency is not just about being smart but being reliable and hardworking. This makes you stand out.

While on the wards, incorporate the use of ultrasound in your daily practice. Try and volunteer for procedure and make it a goal to become comfortable with central and arterial lines.

Depending on your interests in cardiology, as a medicine resident it is worthwhile to get involved in a research project. It is important to truly have a passion for the research topic you decide to study. Whether it is because a patient you saw was affected by what you are researching, or if you have background in that topic, it is important to have a connection with the research topic. This is what drives you to spend your time outside of the hospital working on the research project. Attempting to work on a project in the name of “just having research” is a recipe for burnout and you will likely not complete the project.

Show case your research either through presentations at the AHA Scientific Sessions poster session or the American College of Cardiology meeting. Recognize that the deadline for abstract submission for these conferences are months before the meeting. Besides presenting, networking and sitting in on lectures important topics in cardiology. It is inspiring and will further your aspiration to work hard.

Finally, make sure to begin working on your application, specifically the personal statement early.

 

What was your experience applying to cardiology?