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hello xavierb,
there is not straight forward answer to it. in general externships will help provided the applicant has good scores etc and etc...
but for what ever reason the cv is not good... then externship or research will help... only if done is a program where you can develop connections....
the issue is if an applicant has score below a programs filter mark...no matte how much expternship or research one might have, will be of no use.....in this situation having connections would be immensely helpful..
bottom line is..what ever you decide to do...do in a place where you can develop connections.
hope i answered you question.
Good Luck.
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Thanks mstar, I really appreciate your thoughts. I'm an old grad with low scores so I'm also looking to make connections
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US clinical experience has more weight in application than research I believe.
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1- choose the one that would help u to get interview in the same place that u will do externship or research
2- if no one would help u to get interview in the same hospital then do externship because PD like it a lot many reasons : they want to make sure that u know how to handle American pt / when u do externship u will have the opportunity to get LOR from US physician who will write about ur skills in taking Hx and performing PE / ur english skills and other +Ve things.
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@swanneck, I am applying for research positions in teaching hospitals, how should u make sure that it is clinical research and not regular research in the lab? Please advice .
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It depends on your credentials and your career goals.
If you have pretty good scores and academic / fellowship career goals then it is a no brainer Research is the way to go.
ie. I am doing an observership now, and the fellowship PD is very impressed by where I am doing my research and what I have published, and even more impressed that I am working in basic/translational research. Clinical research is good if your time is limited ie applying this year and want to publish,
I know when it comes time to apply to a competitive fellowship in IM, my research experience will push me forward tremendously.
If you have low scores no research ambition / fellowship desires etc, then go for "externships" however, as they say in the London tube "mind the gap", if you can afford to travel and pay for consecutive externships with minimal gaps on your CV then go for it from now till October.
Ppl on this board tend to underestimate research, it is a big deal especially when applying to academic programs.
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Nd how do u find a spot in research. ..i am so interested in perusing it even further in my career bt i got no experience neither i m a us citizen...how do i go about it...i tried to look at places i m interested in bt i got no answers...i seriously hv noone to guide me...plz if sumone can it'll be really helpful
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You can see the publications of the researcher whom you are writing( in pubmed )and can get an idea what type of research he/she is involved in. Also, a lot of information is posted in their web. I would take any position I would get because that's where you start making connections.
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Externship is better becos of patient contact.
Research is useful if you already have a lot of externships or when u have publication