It was January of my first year of medical school, and I had no clue what I wanted to do. Did I want to be a surgeon? A primary care physician? A small voice came back to me from one of my closest family friends who was an ophthalmologist: “Lu, you would be a great ophthalmologist!” I thought, why not take a peek into a field I knew nothing about?
I was lucky enough to sit in on a retinal detachment repair at my medical school’s surgery center. Immediately, I was hooked. My mouth was agape for all 3 hours of the procedure. It was pure joy. While I was talking with that surgeon he emphasized the importance of conducting research to become a competitive ophthalmology applicant. I walked away from that experience buzzing with excitement about ophthalmology, but I wondered, how was I supposed to conduct research in a field I knew next to nothing about?
My journey to find research opportunities has left me with a few key tips, outlined below.
TIPS FOR FINDING RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
1. Warm up to the cold email. As uncomfortable as it may be, cold emailing is a necessary part of getting research opportunities. Although it may seem daunting, I assure you that once you send the first couple cold emails, you will see it is not so scary. I would recommend first reaching out to the upperclassmen in your school who are interested in ophthalmology. Those MS3s and MS4s may have chart reviews or research projects that they need help with, especially during their busy clinical rotations. Reaching out to them is easier than reaching out to residents or attendings, so this is a good place to start!
2. Contact residents and attendings. You can also reach out to residents and attendings in your school’s ophthalmology department if you feel comfortable doing so. A wonderful tip I got from the doctors in my department is that if you are going to cold email a physician, make sure you know something about their research. Look up their past publications or find their current research interests. Include this in your email, and it will show them that you are intentional and that you want to contribute to their specific focus. My rule of thumb is to send an email, and, if you don’t hear back in about 2 weeks, then send a follow-up. If the recipient does not respond after that, then leave it be. It may be disappointing to not get the answer you wanted, but even if a professor says no or does not respond, that doesn’t mean no forever. You will likely still be in their minds when another project comes up, and they will appreciate that you proactively reached out.
3. Shadow ophthalmologists. Shadowing ophthalmologists during your first 2 years of medical school is a great way to open yourself up to research opportunities. This experience will help you to get to know the ophthalmologists in your program better, see how they work, and learn about their research so that you can hopefully work on a project you’re passionate about. Shadowing also helps you to meet new physicians and show them that you would be a good candidate to assist with their work. In fact, two of my research opportunities came directly from shadowing one of our ophthalmologists. However, even if you don’t get research opportunities from shadowing, the exposure to the field itself and the chance to build relationships with other physicians is invaluable—truly a win-win proposition.
4. Get creative. What if you don’t have a home ophthalmology program? I would recommend YoungMD Connect! YMDC is an extremely powerful resource, especially for those who may not have a home ophthalmology program. I have gotten to participate in so many valuable mentoring sessions and create bonds with the mentors involved. I often shoot the mentors an email afterward to thank them, or, if I run into them at a conference, I thank them there for their mentoring session. This provides something to speak about right away and takes away a lot of the intimidation of approaching an attending you admire and trying to make small talk. For those without a home ophthalmology program, this can also open inroads to creating bonds with physicians who may be willing to help you along in your journey.
5. Attend meetings. Another way to gain more exposure to ophthalmology and to access potential shadowing experiences is to attend conferences. I particularly loved MillennialEYE Live (now YoungMD Connect Live) and Women in Ophthalmology as ways to network and make new friends. I have met some wonderful people at these events, and we keep each other updated on any research opportunities that require help. I have also been able to meet some of the leaders in different areas of ophthalmology through these conferences, which has been a humbling and exhilarating experience and has only deepened my passion for the field. There is nothing like good old face-to-face networking.
CONCLUSION
I hope that these tips help others looking to find research opportunities in ophthalmology. Although the pursuit may seem daunting, if you persevere and stay at it, you will be surprised by what you can accomplish.
