{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T05:04:45Z","timestamp":1789535085960,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The goal of this study is to explore the strategies and challenges in obtaining research experiences among medical students pursuing ophthalmology, other surgical subspecialties (OSS), and non-surgical specialties (NSS) at an institution without a home residency for these specialties.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A 20-question confidential survey was distributed to Drexel University College of Medicine medical students spanning 1st year to 4th year and descriptive analyses were utilized to convey our results.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Of 93 respondents, there were 22 (33.3%) in ophthalmology, 32 (48.5%) in OSS, and 12 (18.2%) in NSS, while 27 students had incomplete responses or did not specify a specialty preference. Sixty-one respondents (92.4%) were from the Philadelphia campus. The mean confidence in having sufficient research experience to be a competitive applicant was comparable across groups (ophthalmology: 2.76; OSS: 2.67; NSS: 3.50;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.219). Cold emailing was the most common method of securing initial research (ophthalmology: 52%; OSS: 38%; NSS: 55%), while DUCOM faculty, pathway directors, or alumni connections were underutilized. The most frequently cited challenges were a lack of mentors and difficulty identifying opportunities. Ophthalmology and OSS students placed higher importance on research compared to NSS students. Across all specialties, research acquisition was largely self-directed, with limited use of faculty and access to alumni. Despite similar levels of research participation, surgical specialties, including ophthalmology, reported greater perceived barriers and desire for support.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>At institutions without specialty-specific home residency programs, early peer mentorship, structured research orientation, and alumni engagement may improve equity in research access and preparation for competitive specialties.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1944698","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T04:33:52Z","timestamp":1789533232000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Avenues for medical student research at an institution without a home residency program"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Daniel C.","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine","place":["Philadelphia, PA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Baotram","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine","place":["Philadelphia, PA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian","family":"Grodecki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine","place":["Philadelphia, PA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Meghan K.","family":"Berkenstock","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Ocular Immunology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine","place":["Baltimore, MD, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","year":""},{"key":"B2","year":""},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"524","DOI":"10.4300\/JGME-D-23-00262.1","article-title":"Publish or perish: the research arms race in residency selection","volume":"15","author":"Elliott","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Grad Med Educ"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1055\/a-2202-9219","article-title":"Identifying barriers faced by applicants without a home residency program when matching into plastic surgery","volume":"51","author":"Zeng","year":"2024","journal-title":"Arch Plast Surg"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"513","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clindermatol.2022.01.003","article-title":"Applying to dermatology residency without a home program: advice to medical students in the COVID-19 pandemic and 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Acad. Ophthalmol."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Medicine"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmed.2026.1944698\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T04:33:55Z","timestamp":1789533235000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmed.2026.1944698\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"references-count":17,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fmed.2026.1944698"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmed.2026.1944698","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-858X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-858X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"article-number":"1944698"}}