u/theman2567

Hi I'm wondering how many actual peer-reviewed pubs would be a good number for a "productive" research year. I feel like given how slow these journals are and given the mix of BS to somewhat decent projects I'm working on, I may only get maybe 3-5 actual pubs (although I will def have several more posters/abstracts) from the RY if I'm lucky. I do have a few pubs prior to my research year, so optimistically like max 8 or 9 total by the time i submit ERAS next year. I know thats a decent amount but also I know there's students from my home program that will be applying with like 20+ actual pubs, so it is a bit worrying that I won't be able to produce those numbers. I do have 2 first author brief reports in JAAD though, so a couple good quality papers, but if anyone has any thoughts on how much the numbers matter given that RY students have higher expectations for research output?

I'm currently in a research year and have been thinking a lot about what my "hook" is going to be when it comes time to apply.

The more I think about it, the more I realize I don't really have a clear narrative. My research projects have been pretty scattered across different areas of derm rather than centered around one disease or niche, and I also don't have any particularly meaningful or long term extracurriculars/leadership/awards from med school. I think my grades/publication numbers will be good enough for derm, but I don't really see currently what would make my application stand out or give me a cohesive personal statement.

I'm wondering if anyone has advice on how to think about this over the next year. I'd love to get involved with a particular disease area or focus within dermatology, and my PI is very supportive of me pursuing my own research ideas. The problem is that it's just been hard to come up with original, worthwhile project ideas especially multiple in the same topic (at least ones that I can complete and have submitted to journals by the end of the year). Outside of just research, I'm also wondering if there's anything worthwhile getting involved with in this next year as far as volunteering, etc.

For those who have gone through the derm application process, how did you find your niche or develop a compelling narrative? How much does this even matter compared to just being well-liked on your away rotations/research year/home program?