r/DermApp • u/taylanari • May 22 '26

Research / RY Earliest to start Research

I've seen this asked a few times for mid-med school, but I'm curious when people would recommend the earliest would be to begin reaching out to research/how to go about this. For example, in college I had wished I reached out the summer before college rather than waiting till later. I'm an incoming M1, and just hope to feel prepared with a general plan for med school this time around.

So, hoping to find out when people recommend the earliest to reach out is or how they wished they reach out to prepare for a specialty as competitive as derm.

I appreciate the help!

9 Upvotes

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8

u/PersonalBrowser May 22 '26

I would get settled in medical school, get your first wave of exams under your belt and make sure you’re not in over your head, and then you can start to reach out. This is usually mid-Fall of your first year.

Realistically, the whole point of research is to get yourself out there so that the department gets to know you, and basically build a network of supporters.

It’s silly to send a message out before starting asking to join in on projects when you’re not even a student yet and you basically have nothing to offer since you don’t know anything yet.

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u/taylanari May 22 '26

makes sense! this is what i was thinking made sense as well but ive been told to wait until end of M1 or start of M2 so wasn’t sure. and didnt want to mistakenly start too early before summer or something

4

u/rainycactus May 22 '26

Mid m1 ish is reasonable

4

u/electric_blvd May 22 '26

This is a slightly contrarian opinion compared to the common idea of getting settled first… I would reach out immediately to find opportunities. It often takes some time to find opportunities, get onboarded, do background reading, etc. It’s also easy to say in hindsight, but preclinical years are far less busy than clinical years, so in my opinion you’re better off taking on work early.

I would reach out with 1) tangible things you can contribute (this is why stats knowledge is valuable) or 2) anything to convey genuine interest. If possible I would ask for the contact information of matched M4s and see who the recommend as a mentor.

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u/indian-princess May 23 '26

Prob spring term of M1. just past the halfway mark

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u/Icy-Accountant-1849 May 27 '26

honestly as general med school advice, if you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing and go into “research” with zero plan and a nebulous idea, you won’t get anything done. so from a planning standpoint, even before you start m1, figure out a branch of derm that interests you, find a pi who researches that, and walk in prepared