Do I Need a Research Year to Match into Dermatology?

This might be the most common and stress-inducing question I get from med students. And I get it. It’s a high-stakes, competitive process. But let me start with a little honesty: I’ve always hated research.

I’ve never been one of those people who dreamed of pipetting fluorescent dye into Petri dishes under a fume hood. Sue me! I respect research. I know it moves medicine forward. But personally? I never felt that pull. So when I first said out loud that I wanted to apply to dermatology, I was immediately told that it would only be possible if I took a research year.

That was... a problem.

I’ve always preferred clinical research. Think case reports and real patients. These things that made sense in the flow of patient care made sense to me. I did plenty of it. But a whole year dedicated to research? That never felt right for me. So, I made a decision: I would try to match without one.

And I did.

But this is where I pause to say: this is a deeply personal decision, and what worked for me might not be the right path for you. If you’re weighing this, here are the questions you need to ask yourself:

1. Do you have a home program?
If not, it's historically more difficult to build strong mentor connections. That’s one of the biggest benefits of a research year. It gives you time and access to a network and possibly someone who will advocate for you when the time comes. I didn’t have a home program either, but I leaned hard into what did come naturally to me: connecting with people. I attended conferences, introduced myself to attendings, followed up, and stayed consistent. I built relationships that spoke to who I am and what I bring.

2. Do you already have meaningful research or strong numbers?
Despite my love-hate relationship with research (okay, hate-hate), I still managed to contribute to projects I was both proud of and could speak to in interviews. Dermatology is a numbers game. For context, the NRMP data from my year showed that successful derm applicants had, on average, 20+ “research experiences.” That includes publications and presentations. 

Pro tip: You can sometimes double-dip by presenting a work-in-progress and then publishing it later, counting it twice on ERAS. Just make sure you care about at least a few of your projects enough to talk about them passionately.

3. Are you confident in the rest of your application?
I roll my eyes when people say “holistic review” too, but in this case, it matters. If research isn’t your thing, then what is? For me, it was leadership, mentorship, community outreach, and showing up as myself. I had strong scores and grades, yes, but I also trusted that the intangibles and the heart of my application would speak loudly.

Ultimately, I met with a research year program in my home state and, after a lot of thought, chose not to do it. That decision came with risk, but it also came with alignment.

I’m not here to tell you not to take a research year. 

I’m just saying you don’t have to do it just because everyone else is. 

Know yourself. Play to your strengths. Make the decision that’s right for you!

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