How important is it to conduct relevant research to match into a competitive medical specialty?

I know that it will be very helpful to get published, but will (for example) surgery research help if I eventually want to match in radiology (or vice versa). If any current doctors/residents have any advice on what specialty they would pick now if they were starting again/why they picked their current specialty, I'd appreciate that as well.





P.S. Please only respond if you're a medical student, MD, or someone else with a personal insight into this. I know there may not be many of you out there on Yahoo Answers, but I've looked into this enough on my own that a trip to Wikipedia isn't going to help me. Thanks!

How important is it to conduct relevant research to match into a competitive medical specialty?
Research helps a lot and yes--it still helps even if it's not in the specialty you match in. It shows that you have more ambition than most other candidates, and that you can successfully interact with professional medical people. That alone tells interviewers a lot of information about you.





I'm an ER doc, and it's exactly what I'd do if I had the choice to do it again. But I like it because it fits my personality, not because it's the "right" choice of specialties. I tell people (only half joking) that I do Emergency Medicine because I have a short attention span and a need for instant gratification. The ER is chaotic and unpredictable. Most people don't like that kind of environment.





One of the draws ER has always had is that you don't take call--when you're done with your shift you walk away. You know exactly when you'll be working and when you'll be off. So if lifestyle is important to you, ER is a good choice.





However, with the rise of larger health care organizations, like Kaiser (which I work for) other fields (Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, and Family Practice) are being staffed by some docs who only do clinic time and others who only do hospital admissions. This is opening the door for good lifestyle choices in a broader range of specialties. This is great because in the past people with methodical personalities who do jobs I'd be terrible at had to sacrafice their quality of life to pursue certain fields.





My best advice is you need to find a field that fits your personality, because you'll be doing it for a long time. And you can't really know what field fits you until third or fourth year in med school.





Unfortunately, you apply to residencies in your third year before you have a good idea of what might be your best match. I did a "transitional year" my first year out of med school because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I ended up doing two intern years, but it was a good decision for me because I was able to find my field.