Research worth your time

Residency is short. Choose projects that can realistically become an abstract and then a paper before you apply.

• Usually skip
  Case reports. Hard to get accepted at meetings and rarely move the needle on an application. Write one only if the case is truly unusual.
• Good for care
  Single-institution retrospective studies and QI projects. They need IRB approval and time, and they are often hard to publish widely. They can genuinely improve care at your institution, and that matters.
• Solid
  Narrative and systematic reviews, meta-analyses. No patients to enroll, a clear structure, and good practice in reading the literature critically.
• Strong
  Large database studies. The National Cancer Database (NCDB), SEER and a growing number of real-world datasets let you ask meaningful questions with large numbers, on a resident’s timeline.
• Strong
  Joining an established group. A mentor with a track record and an active pipeline is worth more than any single idea you bring.

How to pick a mentor

• Look at what their residents have actually published and presented.
• Ask how fast they turn around drafts.
• Agree on authorship and the target meeting at the start, not the end.