Your Research Journey Begins Here
Research can take many forms — discover what it means, how to begin, and how your peers have succeeded.
Intern Year (Months 1-6)
Focus on clinical training. This is not the time to start a project — but it is the time to start noticing things.
- Master core clinical concepts and workflows.
- Identify challenging or interesting cases — what surprised you or didn't go as expected?
- Reflect on questions that arise during rounds, sign-out, or notes — could they be answered with data or literature?
- Notice gaps in care, communication, or systems that seem like opportunities for improvement.
- Jot down ideas, questions, or themes that come up repeatedly in your rotations.
- Take note of faculty, fellows, or residents whose teaching style or clinical interests resonate with you.
- If curious, browse the Research Life Cycle article to see what the full process looks like from the outside.
Relevant Links:
What Does Successful Research Look Like?
Learn from past residents who successfully navigated the research journey.
