Getting involved in research as a med student

I want to get involved in research as a med student but IDK how to. I've tried reaching out to different people but they essentially tell me there aren't any opportunities. Also I am interesting in presenting research at conferences etc but I don't understand how it all works e.g. when there are competitions and stuff and they say you can submit an abstract how does this work (do you already have to have done the research and if so, how do you get to do the research in the first place). I am in my pre-clin phase of med school right now and I am new to the academic research scene so would appreciate help with getting involved in research opportunities and publishing, presenting etc. Thanks!

I recommend starting off with a literature review. Abstracts tend to have a 250-500 word limit with the following sections: background, methodology, results, conclusion, references. Your university library website should have further resources to support you.
Background is what this topic is and why it's significant. You're essentially introducing this topic to the reader and sieving it down to become more specific to your research topic. Methodology is how you carried out your research. Results is, from that research, what you found out and main statistics. Conclusion will summarise the main points and findings and put it into context, whilst considering limitations and future directions. Depending on the abstract submission guidelines, you may have a discussion section, this is where you can discuss your findings and put the results into context further.
Most conferences can be expensive, look at any conferences coming up at your medical school as they tend to be free for students or cheaper.
Look at example abstracts in literature databases like PubMed. You can use Google Scholar to help search for specific topics. Once you've familiarised yourself with the layout, try to find a topic you are interested in and would like to do a literature review on.
Once an abstract is accepted, they may offer a poster presentation (your poster is displayed on board and attendees walk around and can ask you questions on it) or oral presentation (10-15 minutes to talk to an audience and present your research, you may be able to use a PowerPoint to support you) or both based on your selection at time of submission. There are usually prizes for each for best poster or oral presentation.
A poster is essentially the same as your abstract in terms of the sections and how much detail it goes into. You may add some further information, cite your references and add figures to best illustrate your results. Most tend to use either PowerPoint or Canva for this. Key things to look out for is size of poster, font sizes, ensuring there's not too much text and that text is legible on a sensible background. There are font guidelines online that should help you for research posters specifically. Oral presentation is taking each section at a time and you will be asked questions at the end.
Make sure to utilise the time you spend at conferences to see the standard of other poster and oral presentations, ask questions and see if you can get involved with any research.

Hey, this is really good - thank you so much. I just wanted to ask if the literature review is something students have to do independently and if so, how do you even get started without any teaching on how to do it etc? Thanks again