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Loved visiting (virtually) @TuftsObGynRes to talk about doing research as a resident. My tips (summarized) below. Disclosure: Like all career advice, this is biased toward their personal experience. What are your tips??? (1/10) #obgyntwitter
1. Identify your goal(s): might be answering a question, pursuing fellowship, fulfilling a requirement; regardless, work on project(s) that are goal-concordant! (2/)
2. Spend your precious time on projects that you are excited about. Find research questions in the clinical questions you are asking yourself every day (e.g. why do we do A & not B? does X work? etc.). There's a project there... (3/)
3. Look for low-hanging fruit. As a resident w/ limited resources, start with simple questions. I did research with secondary data as a resident because it was accessible and cheap (sometimes in $ and not time). There are a lot of datasets that OB/GYNs should use more (4/)
4. Use your time wisely. There is NO quick & easy research project so beware! Remember your goals. And try to say no if you don't have time/don't want to/can't/doesn't fit with your goals (tips on this? I still struggle...) (5/)
5. Be strategic. An RCT or big qualitative project might be tough as a resident, book chapters might be low-yield, case reports are a mixed bag. Maximize every project. Submit abstracts to conferences. Small projects can be research letters. (6/)
6. Be systematic. Organize your resources (I like Mendeley). Organize your notes (I like Evernote). Get email updates for lit searches through myNCBI. Keep a lab notebook. (7/)
7. Pick a good team. Look for mentors outside of your "silo" (one of my best & closest mentors is in pal care #palcarechampion). Talk to people about your interests, and ask who else you should talk to. Make sure to only work with people who will support you & your project (8/)
8. Know & use your resources. Identify department, institutional, & professional society sources of funding. Ask what datasets folks in your institution are working with. Ask for stats help, or DIY. Learning Stata to do my own stats was one of my best decisions (9/)
9. Allow yourself to be ambitious. Be proud of your work. Be kind to yourself. Finally, 10. Find yourself a good sounding board and cheerleader for when the going gets tough. I'm always grateful for @A_Schwa for lifting me up and encouraging me along the way.
