Research · finding projects

Find Ortho Research

The fastest way to get real research is showing initiative: find a gap, and pitch a small project that’s easy to supervise and realistic to finish.

Back to Research 101Research Playbook

The “yes” formula

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Be specific
Address the mentor (faculty or resident), the topic, and what you can deliver.
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Make it easy
Pitch a project that’s realistic and low-supervision.
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Show capacity
Define your skills and what is needed from the mentor.
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Follow through
The fastest way to get more projects is finishing the first one.
Start here

A simple map to finding ortho research

Most students fail because they don't know where to start.

Initiative FrameworkRepeatable

  • Identify a mentor (your institution + nearby programs).
  • Research their recent papers to learn their expertise and project style.
  • Create a small project pitch that fits their expertise and can be done with minimal supervision.
  • Send a short outreach email with a clear ask + realistic timeline.
Key mindset
Don’t ask “Do you have anything?” Assume each project can only support a few students. Your job is to show up with a plan.

Where to look

Residency program websites (faculty and resident pages).

Who to ask first

Residents and research coordinators often know who needs help and what’s realistically publishable.
Choose wisely

Find mentors, groups with a real pipeline

A productive lab with great infrastructure is extremely valuable.

Infrastructure

Research coordination: Regular meetings with clear workflows and predefined roles/responsibilities.

Output history

Recent abstracts, and publicationsin the last 12–24 months. Journal prestige can be a proxy for project quality and mentorship.

Mentor bandwidth

This is difficult to evaluate online and at the start. However, important to value mentors who respond, delegate clearly, and have a system .”
The differentiator

Initiative beats access

With modern AI tools and structured resources like Research Playbook, even junior students can generate thoughtful, viable project ideas — if they approach it strategically.

Stop asking for scraps

“Do you have any projects?” is not enough. Most faculty already have a group of medical students working on their projects who know their workflow. The fastest way in is to present a small, realistic project that fits their work.

Read their recent papers to learn their area of interest and expertise.
Perform a literature review to identify gaps, and potential study questions.
Pick a narrow, feasible question you can execute with minimal supervision.

The “easy to mentor” standardWhat faculty want

  • Clear question + simple methods (retrospective, SR, database, AI evaluation).
  • Well done literature review on the topic.
  • A timeline you can actually hit.
  • Ownership: you drive the work forward without constant reminders.
What to send

Pitch a project, not a request

Your email should prove you did the homework and reduce the mentor’s workload.

The 6-sentence pitchCopy/paste

  1. Why their specific work caught your attention.
  2. The exact clinical problem and gap you noticed in your literature review.
  3. Your proposed question/hypothesis.
  4. Proposed methods (design, cohort, outcomes).
  5. What you need from them (data access, mentorship, etc).
  6. What you will deliver and by when.
Reality check
Many projects can’t support unlimited students. A concrete plan makes you stand out immediately.

Make it easy to say yes

Avoid: “Do you have any projects I can help with?”

Better: “I read your recent work on X. I performed a literature review and identified a gap in the literature. I drafted a small research protocol I can execute with minimal supervision. Would you be willing to mentor me on this project?”

Email templateResearch Playbook
Want the full system and templates?

This page helps you find opportunities. The Research Playbook helps you execute — from idea to submission.

Research PlaybookEmail Template