How to Obtain a Research Fellowship During Medical School

Updated: December 17, 2024

A record number of applicants participated in the 2024 Residency Match, driven largely by an increasing number of Osteopathic and IMG applicants [1]. Due to various factors such as USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX Level 1 moving to a pass/fail, and the removal of the Step 2 Clinical Skills exam, residency programs are now placing an even larger emphasis on extracurricular experiences such as research when evaluating applicants. For more competitive specialties such as dermatology, radiology, and many surgical subspecialties, applicants are now expected to have 10-15 or more research experiences including abstracts, presentations, and publications in order to be viewed as competitive [2]. Finding research opportunities during medical school can be challenging, influenced by factors such as the institution we attend, the network of professors and physicians available to us, and the limited time we can dedicate to research amidst a demanding academic schedule.

In the face of this challenge, many students opt to take a gap year during medical school to pursue a research year/fellowship. For many students, this can be a fantastic way to gain significant research experience and substantially boost competitiveness for residency applications. However, finding and obtaining a research fellowship can seem like an extremely daunting task, especially while students are already packed to the brim with numerous responsibilities including clinical rotations, studying for shelf exams, volunteering, and preparing for the next round of boards. This article aims to provide insight into how to decide if a research year is right for you, as well as how to find opportunities, put forth a competitive application, and ultimately obtain the right research fellowship that matches your career goals. 

First, students considering a research year must take a step back and determine if taking an entire year away from medical school to pursue research is the appropriate decision for you and your desired specialty. Ask yourself which specific specialty you want to pursue, and how dedicated you are to pursuing it. Look at the recent match data and see how many research experiences/abstracts/publications on average students who successfully matched into that specialty had in their applications. A great resource to find all this information is the National Resident Matching Program website NRMP.org/match-data. After looking into these questions, if you find that your preferred specialty requires far more research experience than you currently have, but you are passionate and committed to pursuing that specialty, then a research fellowship might be the right move for you. Next, consider where you are in your medical school career. For most students, the optimal time to take a research fellowship is between your 3rd and 4th year, so that you can have all your new research experiences gained during the gap year ready for your residency application at the start of 4th year when applications begin to go out. Other things to consider include: when you plan on taking USMLE Step 2 or COMLEX Level 2, whether or not you can financially afford to take a year away from school and temporarily move, often to a different state. One very important thing to consider is that your student loan payments will begin when you leave school, even during a temporary research year. Determine how you will be able to start paying them off during that time, such as looking for programs that assist with loan repayment and can work with loan providers, etc. These decisions can be made more complex if you are a relatively older medical student, are taking care of family, or are currently living with a spouse and/or children. Ultimately, making this choice is a very personal decision with various factors unique to each individual, and one that only you can answer for yourself. 

If you have decided that taking a research year is the right decision, you can begin searching for opportunities to apply too. A great starting point is a simple google search, looking for specific fellowship specialties such as “dermatology research fellowship positions”. For many specialties in which research years are more common among applicants, you can often find pre-made spreadsheets/databases/forums that list available research fellowship positions that you can reference. For example Orthogate.org has forums where programs all around the US offering research fellowships post directly too. It’s a good idea to create your own spreadsheet and add programs you are interested in onto the list as you find them. In the spreadsheet, list all important relevant information such as the program’s name, location, institutional affiliations, contact information, potential start date, and stipend amount (if any), etc. As you build your spreadsheet, rank the programs based on your personal preference. Things to pay special attention to when ranking include: whether or not the program offers a stipend, if the potential start date aligns with your school’s yearly start/end dates, and if the fellowship has affiliations/connections with a residency program. It is also important to know which positions are predominately academic, and which positions are heavy on administrative responsibilities. If you are going to take a year away from medical school you want to make sure that the majority of your time will be spent on academic research duties rather than relentless administrative responsibilities such as drafting and submitting IRB’s. While this is becoming increasingly less of an issue with each match cycle, as Osteopathic students it is helpful to know if the institution has a history of accepting DO’s, or if it is a legacy MD program. 

The next step would be to gather all necessary materials in order to apply, including unofficial transcripts, updated resume/CV, USMLE/COMLEX scores, cover letters, etc. Make sure to ask for letters of recommendation from 3rd year preceptors and preclinical professors/staff that know you well and who can vouch for your work ethic, career goals, and your abilities as a student (preferably with specific examples they can include in the letter). Once you have everything ready you can begin submitting applications. It is a good idea to make yourself familiar with your medical schools’ protocols for requesting a gap year/leave of absence for academic research before you start applying. Some schools will require proof of acceptance to a fellowship, or a committee faculty meeting to discuss the position before signing off on a leave of absence. Therefore, it’s good to know ahead of time what you will need to have in order to get your school to grant a leave of absence. For most students, the best time to begin applying is during the fall semester of 3rd year, that way you will have plenty of time necessary to secure a fellowship position before the end of the academic year, and before you begin preparing for boards. Most of the positions begin to appear around October and continue to appear through spring semester. Keep in mind that many (but not all) programs that post positions late in the spring semester purposefully wait until after match day to fill their positions because they may have a preference for unmatched 4th years who will have full control over their schedule, rather than students taking a gap year who have to work around what their school will allow. So if you are a 3rd year student, begin applying as early as possible during the fall semester.

Hopefully, after all the hard work put into searching for research fellowships and putting together applications, you will soon begin to receive interviews. Make sure you are prepared to answer common interview questions about your prior research experiences, your career goals, what you would like to gain from a research fellowship, etc.  During the interview, avoid saying that your primary goal is to just get your name on more publications in order to be competitive for applications–chances are they already know that. Instead, focus on what it is about that specific field of medicine that interests you from an academic and intellectual perspective, and how getting more involved in research can fulfill that interest. Use the interview as an opportunity to get more information about the position that may not be available on their website. Ask questions about the stipend amount and what your exact role will be on the research team. The interview is a great time to determine how robust the research infrastructure is at the institution by asking how many publications previous fellows were able to contribute to in the past, and if they were successful in matching into their specialty of choice. Ask about the ratio of academic to administrative duties expected of the research fellow. You could even ask if there will be any form of support during the residency application process. For example, ask if they often accept their own research fellows into their residency programs, how closely the physicians actually work with the fellows, if they have a history of getting to know them, write them letters of recommendation, or pick up the phone and make calls for them, etc. Add these to your spreadsheet so that you can make the most well-informed decision for you when you are picking between (hopefully) multiple offers. Good luck on your research endeavors!

References:

1. https://www.nrmp.org/about/news/2024/03/nrmp-celebrates-match-day-for-the-2024-main-residency-match-releases-results-for-over-44000-applicants-and-almost-6400-residency-programs/
2. https://www.nrmp.org/match-data/2024/08/charting-outcomes-characteristics-of-applicants-who-match-to-their-preferred-specialty-2/
3. https://www.nrmp.org/match-data/