Welcome to Research Panel Series

Panel 4 Highlights: Let’s Talk About Research Years 

Written by Grant Schmidt and Henson Destiné (MSOS Education Committee)

Panelists

Highlights

Helpful Links for Applicants

Of course, this was not all the information discussed in the panel. We encourage any student interested in orthopaedic surgery to attend the next panel for more advice from our expert panelists.

The next panel “Own the Room: Presenting Your Research” will be held on Zoom, Thursday, January 26th from 8-9pm ET. Registration will open soon, and can be found on Twitter/Instagram (@MSOSOrtho) and the MSOS website. As a reminder, the panel recordings will not be posted, so please join us live.

These panelists provided a plethora of knowledge in just a one hour panel. Below are some highlighted advice/quotes from our panelists:

  1. “It’s not a year off, it’s a year on, take advantage of everything and do what you can to set yourself apart”
    -Tino Mkorombindo, MD, MBA

  2. “Major reasons behind a research year: A commitment or interest in academics, to make your application more robust and well rounded, and a desire to explore Orthopaedics further.” -Vani Sabesan, MD.

  3. “Writing ability is an underemphasized yet crucial skill, it can be the difference between 15 projects and 2. Take the the time to familiarize yourself with research and get exposed to the language; Listen to podcasts, read articles, read model papers, just keep reading and let that exposure enhance your writing.” -Vani Sabesan, MD.

  4. “Research the year you’re thinking of, look up the fellows that came before you and see what they were able to accomplish. It says a lot about the opportunities that exist within the year, but remember you may not be the same as the previous fellow and everyone will have their own experience.” -Andy Harris, MD

  5. “Use the year to build relationships, research and writing are just one aspect of the overall picture. But if the relationship and the work aspect are right, you will have a great year.” -George Dyer, MD

  6. “Know why you want to do the year, come into it with the right reasons. Ask yourself ‘do I really want to do this’? Research is wonderful if you’re really interested in it. However, If research isn’t for you, there are other opportunities that are more clinical based that still expose you to Orthopaedics.” -George Dyer, MD

  7. “There are many different research years, some have a clinical component, others are strictly research, some are more basic science focused and many more. Consider which one works best for your needs and ensure that it’s not only a good research set up, but also a good mentor set up.” -Alex Gu, MD

  8. “The best avenues to find a research year come from asking mentors, websites such as orthogate, social media, and word of mouth.” -Hassan Farooq, MD

  9. “It’s important to come into the year and let people know who you are and get to know them the people you’ll be working with and the surrounding staff. Everyone can publish papers, but you’ll stand out more if the people you work with can speak to your character.” -Tino Mkorombindo, MD, MBA

  10. “It is very important to try to get some clinical exposure within your research year if you can, It not only helps you to learn more but also helps with stimulating more questions.” -Alex Gu, MD

  11. “One of the best ways to show your interest to a program is reaching out early to a program before all the applications start coming in. In addition, use faculty mentorship to reach out on your behalf and help set yourself apart from the group.” -Hassan Farooq, MD

  12. “Doing a research year is not required to match Orthopaedic Surgery, even at top programs, it’s important to recognize that it is by no means a mandatory requirement.” -Andy Harris, MD

Dr. Hassan Farooq is a current PGY1 orthopedic resident at Loyola University in Chicago and MSOS resident advisor. He was born in Gujranwala, Pakistan, and later moved to the United States when he was 10 years old. Hassan attended college at Indiana University, where he remained for his medical education. His interest in orthopedic surgery stems from working with inspiring orthopedic surgeons whose actions demonstrated tangible impacts on patients’ lives. Hassan was 1 of 4 students accepted into the IUSM/Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Medical Student Training Applied Research Fellowship, a 1-year program where he was immersed in mentored orthopedic clinical research. Following his residency training, Hassan hopes to pursue a fellowship in adult reconstruction.

Dr. Tino Mkorombindo is a current PGY1 orthopaedic resident at Harvard. He was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, and raised in Southern California. For medical school, he attended the University of Louisville where he dual-enrolled in the MD/MBA combined program. During the completion of his MBA between his third and fourth year he also worked as a researcher for the Norton Leatherman Spine Center, resulting in numerous publications and presentations. In 2020, he founded Greater Influence, a nonprofit organization that aims to increase representation in medicine by providing underrepresented students with education, scholarships, and mentorships with access to medical professionals who have successfully navigated the journey. In the future he plans to serve his global community as a fellowship-trained Orthopaedic surgeon.  

Dr. Andy Harris is a current PGY-3 orthopaedic resident at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and MSOS resident advisor. He is from Boca Raton, FL and spent his undergraduate and medical school training at the University of Florida. Between his third and fourth years of medical school, he did a research year working with Dr. Khaled Kebaish, a spine surgeon at Johns Hopkins. He has over 40 peer-reviewed publications, and has presented research at local, national, and international conferences 

Dr. Alex Gu is the Co-Founder of the Medical Student Orthopedic Society and Inside The Match and a current PGY-3 orthopaedic surgery resident at George Washington University. He completed a research year between his third and fourth year of medical school at the Hospital for Special Surgery, and has over 140 publications. 

Dr. George Dyer is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and an attending upper extremity surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  He is the Deputy Editor of the AOA Critical Issues in Education channel of JBJS Open Access. He is a graduate of Harvard programs for his undergraduate, medical school, and post-graduate training.  Before medical school he served seven years active duty in the U.S. Air Force, recently resuming service as a reservist in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps. Dr. Dyer specializes in upper-extremity trauma surgery, as well as complex post-traumatic reconstruction of the elbow, shoulder, wrist, and hand.  He has served as Program Director for the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency, one of the largest orthopaedic residency programs in the country. 

Introduction

The “Let’s Talk About Research Years” panel was the fourth panel hosted by the MSOS Education Committee as part of the research series “Welcome to Research”. The purpose of this panel was to gather advice from our expert panelists on all aspects of research years, including how to decide whether to pursue a research year, how to find and secure one, how to be productive during the year, and how they are viewed by programs. We were honored to have these panelists discuss their thoughts.

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Dr. Vani Sabesan is a board-certified Orthopaedic Surgeon and Shoulder and Elbow specialist in Palm Beach, FL. She serves as program director for a new orthopaedic residency program at JFK/University of Miami and has served as Chief of Quality and held the Lang Family Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Research at Cleveland Clinic Florida.  Before that she served as program director for the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency program at Beaumont/Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. Dr. Sabesan was a founding member of Western Michigan University Homer Stryker School of Medicine, where she served as the chair of the musculoskeletal course at the medical school and co-chair of the next US Bone and Joint Initiative program to improve musculoskeletal education in medical schools. She continues to be passionate about advocacy and service for our profession.