Cooper Stone, DO, spent hundreds of hours over the course of medical school and residency conducting research and then writing and rewriting manuscripts. Stone was determined to see all his findings on medical education through to publication — and some of his work has since been widely cited. But now, as a practicing psychiatrist in Philadelphia, “I almost regret it,” he told Medscape Medical News.
Stone, who finished residency in summer 2024, is among the many medical students who feel pressure to research so that their residency application stands out — a pressure that only increased as Step 1 and medical school moved to pass-fail, leaving very few ways for students to differentiate themselves.
But the question is: Does it work? Do medical students who scramble to add research to their heavy medical school load actually get into their preferred residency more often? The evidence is conflicting and is highly dependent on the specialty and the institution.
For Stone, it didn’t make a difference. In fact, he said, “it was not an efficient use of my time, and I can easily see someone else falling into that trap.” But for other students, it may be essential to get a foot in the door.
About Medscape Data
Medscape continually surveys physicians and other medical professionals about key practice challenges and current issues, creating high-impact analyses. For example, the Medscape Residents Lifestyle & Happiness Report 2024 found that
Stone’s research — coincidentally — surveyed motivations for research among residents.
In a 2018 review, he found that the leading reason medical students, in the United States and internationally, pursued research was to get into residency.
However, in 2023, follow-up work that looked at the evolution of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) director surveys over time, Stone found that program directors were increasingly interested — not in a research repertoire but in intangible factors like commitment and character.
While survey data are imperfect, “There appears to be a disconnect between what students think programs want and what programs want,” Stone said.
Joshua Fosnot, director of Plastic Surgery Program at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in Philadelphia, agreed. “There’s nothing specific about research that says this is going to be a good resident; research is not some sort of requirement,” he added. But research done well can make a candidate more attractive because it “shows commitment that is prolonged,” an investment in the specialty, and strong mentorship relationships, Fosnot said.
In an era where students struggle to separate themselves on paper, research can be used as a vehicle to showcase a student’s unique story. But experts agree there are other ways, like advocacy and community involvement.
While research may not be a requirement, the numbers show it’s still very important for some programs and specialties.
A 2020 review of urology residency applications found research publications were among the most important criteria for assessing an applicant, alongside references from attending urologists, Step 1 scores, and overall academic performance.
In addition, a 2018 analysis of NRMP data on neurosurgery applicants similarly found research projects to be one of the most impactful factors, while work experience and volunteer experience weren’t. And a 2020 review of integrated plastic surgery applicants similarly reported that students who matched had a mean of 5.4 research publications.
Research is important, it seems, for competitive specialties and programs trying to decide between top applicants. UPenn plastics, for instance, is a top program in an already competitive specialty. Every year Fosnot must winnow down 90 great applications into 20-30 interviews for just four spots. Because the candidate pool is so strong, a lack of research could definitely get you cut from the stack, Fosnot said.
Jonathan Greer, MD, director of the General Surgery Residency Program at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said the weight of research depends on where you come from. “I don’t think research is required, but if you’re coming from a top 10 medical school, it’s reasonable,” Greer added. Students at superpower programs have access to research and research mentorship — for them, it’s strongly encouraged.
But for students coming from smaller medical schools that don’t have a huge research base, the expectations are different, Greer said. In these cases, he tries to “view the candidate from the context they’re coming from.” If they don’t have access to strong research opportunities, did they do advocacy work? Did they work with nearby underserved communities?
“We definitely interviewed candidates last year with zero publications,” Greer said.
Whether to research should depend on where you’re going. Every year the NRMP surveys program directors, and the 2024 results show the importance of research varies widely by specialty.
For neurosurgery, for example, 100% of program directors considered research involvement and interest when they decided whether to give a candidate an interview, and they weighed the importance of research at 4.1 out of 5. Similarly, 75% of otolaryngology programs consider research and weigh it as very important, 4.7 out of 5.
But in dermatology — an equally if not more competitive specialty — only 45% of program directors consider research when deciding to give a candidate an interview, and they weigh it 4 out of 5. Meanwhile, only 32% of emergency medicine programs and 13% of family medicine programs consider research at all when choosing candidates to interview.
If you’re headed toward a specialty that places a lower value on research, consider how much time, if any, is worth devoting to research. And conversely, if you’re a student coming from a school with limited research options, but your specialty of choice places a high value on research, it might be beneficial to take a year off for a research fellowship to build your CV, Fosnot said.
The move to pass-fail has created enormous pressure for students to do research. “No one wins,” Fosnot said, “because it now becomes an extracurricular arms race and research arms race.”
But all experts interviewed for this story agreed that the wrong approach to research can be a setback.
For instance, doing research “just to check a box” is never the right idea, Fosnot said. Research is a hefty time commitment; do it because you enjoy it. Otherwise, you risk missing out on those intangible “it” factors like purpose, commitment, and curiosity.
Unfinished research can also be a snare to your application. Greer warns against listing your involvement in multiple different research projects and groups without publications to show for it. “Being a finisher is more important than being a multiplicative starter,” he told Medscape Medical News.
And you can do too much research. Greer said it may be a red flag to have 100 research publications under your belt. “We want to make sure you actually learned medicine [in medical school].”
Ultimately, research is definitely the right move for some medical students, but not all of them. And if you do decide to take on a research project, do it for the right reason, Greer said, “because it's interesting.”
Donavyn Coffey is a Kentucky-based journalist reporting on healthcare, the environment, and anything that affects the way we eat. She has a master’s degree from NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York City, and a master’s in molecular nutrition from Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark. You can see more of her work in WIRED, Teen Vogue, Scientific American, and elsewhere.
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