One of the critical decisions a student must make is whether to follow a research-oriented career, a primary care oriented career, or a blend of both, as in a Ph.D./M.D. 类型 的程序. A research-oriented career is also known as “academic medicine”. 它是 important to have a realistic view of these areas in order to make a wise and fruitful choice, and to develop an understanding of the relationship of research pursuits to clinical 应用程序s of the results.

PCC offers research opportunities in each of the basic core sciences. They are Independent Study courses such as: BIOL 020, CHEM 020, and PHYS 20. These courses are 1-2 units each, and involve 3-6 hours each week. In these courses, using very basic knowledge, a student can gain experience in setting up a research 类型 investigation of a scientific question, using one of the professor’s as a “research advisor.”

Research opportunities at most schools are coordinated by a director of undergraduate research, by departmental offices, or by the pre-health sciences office. 作为一名学生， you should become familiar with this research and personally ask professors about available opportunities in their lab as volunteers, as paid research assistants, or for opportunities in summer projects.

The National Institutes of 健康 (NIH) and many of its subgroups, such as the National Cancer Institute (NCI) offer research opportunities for students. Information about NIH scientists and their projects can be found at: http://www.美国国家.国家卫生研究院.gov /

A student should never do research just to “look good” on health professions school’s 应用程序. 给n the choice, most health professions schools prefer experience in a clinical setting.