Many of my friends have been asking me how to reach out for research positions in Medical Institutions in the US.

 I aimed at preparing a piece of writing to try my best to help. As we all know the residency matching has become very competitive. I believe after good scores and clinical experience (which has been limited given COVID restrictions), research experience in the US can produce strong LORs to excel in matching. It also adds to your skills set and expertise to be a physician-scientist in the future. 

When I was looking for a research position, I reached out to the faculty members of top ten medical research institutions in the US. You can search those on Google that’s pretty straight-forward. Then I searched for faculty contacts in my department of interest (e.g. Internal Medicine, Neurology). I emailed all faculty members I found emails of. One might have to email 100-200 emails to just receive replies. I know people email more than 1000 people of different departments and institutions to get positive response or acceptance. So, don’t give up and make it a drill to email 50 people at the end of your day at work or studying. But try not to compromise on the quality of the email by making it generic and to personalize the email as I describe below. 

Content of the email I would say there are three components to it:

 1. Body of the email: This is a direct correspondence with the faculty member. You introduce yourself, your goals in the future (i.e. residency) and express interest in their area of their research. I would say personalize the email by talking about the research work of the Principle Investigator you are emailing to. Try to correlate your own interests and goals with their work. You may also detail how long you are ready to commit to the job and how this research position will help you in your future goals as a research-scholar-educator in the field of interest. 

2. Cover letter: This is like personal statement in which you write about your story, passions and goals and how the research experience will help you achieve it. You may read sample PS on internet to get an idea on how to approach this piece of writing. 

3. Curriculum Vitae: CV is helpful in explaining to the other person what have you done in your profession so far. Search for ‘sample medical student CVs’ on google they are really helpful. You may use online CV building tools to help with a clear layout to fill your information in. 

For all above, I can’t emphasize enough to write in a high quality, professional tone and avoid grammatical errors at all costs. The writing doesn’t need to be all flowery but clarity in your vision and plan is more important.

 The research positions are usually initially unpaid but there are plenty of opportunities to search for paid positions inside or outside the institution based on your experience working there. Honestly while working at Mayo Clinic, I have realized how we are overqualified for these positions. This unpaid period shouldn’t discourage anyone from applying because it is still a great investment not just for a successful matching but in case you don’t match you will have a fallback option in terms of going for a paid position. Moreover, research experience would only add up in your CV for match next year. I hope this helps my friends looking for a research position currently. 

Regards, Rowaid.

To Note: The Team also recommends contacting Research Coordinator and fellow trainees through LinkedIn, Twitter, Personal Contacts as they may be able to give you actual information on which position will be opening soon.  

The team, thanks Rowaid Ahmad MD for contributing this article. For contributing articles- Please shoot a DM to – @usmleflashcards or email – houseofdusttodust@gmail.com