Hi Kitty! Thank you for the video. However, it would be great if you could clarify something for me. Can I apply for SFP if I have a full GMC registration?
Thank you for putting this video together. I’m a fourth year medical student (6th year course). I have no publications yet but have contacted a few supervisors to work on some projects through 4th and 5th year. Do you think it’s feasible to get publications and so successfully apply to SFP?
Hi, 2 years is plenty of time to get something out, just be aware that it always takes a couple months longer than you think to get something published. Even if you don’t manage a publication at the time of applications, outside of London, lots of deaneries value ‘white space questions’ where you can showcase your research experience aside from counting the numbers. Unfortunately within London it is very much about the number of prizes/publicationss/presentations.
Hi Kitty, you mentioned that you preferred clinical epidemiology research more than lab based research. Why was this so and do you have any tips for medical students to get clinical research rather than lab based or data analysis projects?
It’s down to personal preference I think. The methodology and research questions are inherently very different in lab based vs clinical research. The main reasons I personally preferred clinical: - Feels more directly applicable to your day to day practice and can give results that immediately impact practice; where as lab based projects often focus more on in vivo specific markers etc that can feel a little more dissociated and takes a long time to give “real life” practical changes - Lab based work not for everyone, lots of unexpected events that I found somewhat frustrating to plan for, eg cells getting infected, rats not breeding as planned, materials not arriving on time - Lab based research more about tweaking your experiment to get the result; clinical research more about getting mass data to support hypothesis which I prefer - clinical research often ties you to clinicians and patients and policymakers / public whereas lab based research often more science focused - Equally others might prefer lab research for a more controlled environment than in clinical where there are lots of confounding and issues with getting patient participation Of course there is huge variation in what constitutes ‘clinical research’ (qualitative v quantitative, RCT vs observational data, methodology…) and translational science (animal studies, immunohistochemistry, physiology…) so it is impossible to generalise. No real tips - all depends on the research groups you get involved in (some will be very lab focused others clinical oriented). Still experience in both is good for early career researchers as you can then try it out and talk about it in interviews too.
Your content and production value is excellent, thanks for making these videos!
Hi Kitty! Thank you for the video. However, it would be great if you could clarify something for me. Can I apply for SFP if I have a full GMC registration?
Amazing video. Thank you so much
Thank you for putting this video together. I’m a fourth year medical student (6th year course). I have no publications yet but have contacted a few supervisors to work on some projects through 4th and 5th year. Do you think it’s feasible to get publications and so successfully apply to SFP?
Hi, 2 years is plenty of time to get something out, just be aware that it always takes a couple months longer than you think to get something published. Even if you don’t manage a publication at the time of applications, outside of London, lots of deaneries value ‘white space questions’ where you can showcase your research experience aside from counting the numbers. Unfortunately within London it is very much about the number of prizes/publicationss/presentations.
Hi Kitty, you mentioned that you preferred clinical epidemiology research more than lab based research. Why was this so and do you have any tips for medical students to get clinical research rather than lab based or data analysis projects?
It’s down to personal preference I think. The methodology and research questions are inherently very different in lab based vs clinical research. The main reasons I personally preferred clinical:
- Feels more directly applicable to your day to day practice and can give results that immediately impact practice; where as lab based projects often focus more on in vivo specific markers etc that can feel a little more dissociated and takes a long time to give “real life” practical changes
- Lab based work not for everyone, lots of unexpected events that I found somewhat frustrating to plan for, eg cells getting infected, rats not breeding as planned, materials not arriving on time
- Lab based research more about tweaking your experiment to get the result; clinical research more about getting mass data to support hypothesis which I prefer
- clinical research often ties you to clinicians and patients and policymakers / public whereas lab based research often more science focused
- Equally others might prefer lab research for a more controlled environment than in clinical where there are lots of confounding and issues with getting patient participation
Of course there is huge variation in what constitutes ‘clinical research’ (qualitative v quantitative, RCT vs observational data, methodology…) and translational science (animal studies, immunohistochemistry, physiology…) so it is impossible to generalise.
No real tips - all depends on the research groups you get involved in (some will be very lab focused others clinical oriented). Still experience in both is good for early career researchers as you can then try it out and talk about it in interviews too.
@@KittyWongHF thanks so much for your detailed reply. I have subscribed to your channel, your CV building series in particular was great!
I'm a US Citizen and went to a US medical school, but passed PLAB 1 and 2. Can i apply for SFP and will I be considered equal to a UK grad?
yes to some point