For some background, I'm a second year medical student, and I have recently been considering making medical research a significant part of my future career. I wasn't a science major in undergrad, so I don't have any research background. I have spoken to one of my professors, and I will be doing a bit of lab work in the coming months (I'll be running ELISAs and will have my name on the publication).
EDIT: I'm hoping to have a research elective in my last year in medical school. That's why I'm trying to see if there is anything I should learn between now and then to make me a better candidate for application to the elective.
Now to the heart of my question. I believe I have sufficiently detailed knowledge of the medical content to work in the field (EDIT: to get my feet wet, there is always a lot to learn:). Though I am doing some more in depth research in the field I'm looking to work in (Immunology/Rheumatology). However I know that there are some skill sets that I am currently lacking in that would be necessary for medical research. Here are some of the things I've considered:
- Familiarity with data analysis software packages like R or Stata
- Familiarity with lab techniques like blots and culturing cells
- Academic science writing (of course I've read journal articles, but I've never written one)
- Grant writing (probably a skill needed in later career, but I assume some familiarity would be helpful)
I'm wondering, from those currently working in medical research, if there are any glaring omissions from this list. I'm reading up on data analysis packages and taking a more analytic eye when reading articles. But if there are any specific resources that I should be looking into: that information would be very useful.
Thanks in advance for any help.