Perseverance

They say times flies when you are having fun. This is certainly the case for me when looking back at my first year as a full-time PhD-student. I learned a lot about doing research in general, about statistical models far beyond the Student’s T-test they teach you at medical school and about writing and presenting in English. I visited the two largest respiratory congresses and I was rewarded with a travel award for my abstract by the American Thoracic Society.

Nonetheless, I learned that perseverance is essential in doing research. Receiving e-mails from the editor notifying that after care-full review you’re manuscript has been rejected for publication is very disappointing. After months of conceiving the idea, doing the analyses, writing the manuscript and waiting for a response from the journal, it all starts over again. Of course, in most of the cases you would not have to repeat the (whole) analyses and the writing, but it feels like you have to start from scratch again. With some bad luck you need to submit the same manuscript to two or even three different journals.

Like I pointed out, doing research is fun and exciting, but I hope that I will shortly receive a liberating e-mail from the editor.