Advice on Credentials Please! Clinical experience question

[THEWORLDCUP]

Hey guys ,
I plan on applying next June and I am in a big confusion. Please let me know if you think I will be competitive regards EC's and grades. I posted about my situation a few weeks ago regarding taking the fall semester off. Anyway, here it goes.

State School: GPA : 3.9 + , sGPA: 3.9+ MCAT: Taking in January

Shadowing:

Internal medicine: 300 hours( same physician) - LOR aswell. Did rounds in 2 large teaching hospitals as well as Private Practice.
Rheumatology - 50 hours
Radiology- showed me how to slides( atlease tried lol) and watched Biopsies - 30 hours
Urology - 30 hours
Pain Management - 24 hours
Pathology 24 hours

Research:
1.5 years of Biochemistry Research. - LOR
recieved $1000 scholorship and $500 grant as well as acceptance to a fellowship program but i cuold not accept because my dad was diagnosed with cancer and had tend to that. Continuing next spring, hope i can get a pub.

Volunteering/ Community Service:
Non profit Foundation: Helps with the underdeserved with a huge emphasis on veterans Strong LOR from founder.
-Director of Volunteers( recently given position)
- 3 years involvement so far( will be 4 by time of application)
- around 600 hours so far( 5 hours per week for most of each year)

Organizational involvement:

Fraternity:
-3 years
-scholorship chair
- Benefits concert chair ( 120 hours volunteering for concert) , donations to a non profit.

AMSA: 3 semester member
- go to a few meeting here and there, nothing big.

Work experience:
Part time job for 2 years:
Assistant Manager of a resturant

Clinical experience: Dont have any in part due to my dads situation I was tied up with family and other endevors.

I landed a position as a Medical Assistant for the physician i shadowed alot ( Internal Medicine) .
3 days per week for the next 6 months till I return to my undergrad in the spring where I am set up to get clinical experience at a feww clinic for about 5 months before my application . Essentially about a year of clinical experience if things go as planned. Is this sufficient clinical experience ? Let me know what you guys think if I do well on the MCAT.

Thanks so much

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[Vans42]

What are your other EC's beyond shadowing and research (both of which look good)?

 

[THEWORLDCUP]

What are your other EC's beyond shadowing and research (both of which look good)?

Hey I posted that originally by accident without finishing lol. Just updated it let me know what you think

 

[HCHopeful]

Uhm, woah. Holy shadowing. Unfortunately, 50 hours is usually the "stop caring" mark for most schools. It's a box to check, really. Not to say that shadowing isn't interesting. I've done over 130 hours myself, but it generally doesn't give advantages over 50 hours.

Your research looks good, as long as it's actual research and not scrubbing flasks and beakers.

Look for non-clinical and clinical volunteering. You need to show you are willing to serve the community both inside the realm of medicine and outside. I am apart of some peer education groups that do GREAT volunteer work. That is just an example (non-clinical). As far as clinical goes, it is a bit harder to come by if you live in a small community. Try to look for free clinics, planned parenthoods, hospice, and nursing homes.

You need an activity that makes you, "you." Preferably something that was over a long period of time and that you're passionate about. If this is something involved in the medicine realm, sweet. If it is something NOT involved in that realm, still sweet. You just need to show you're committed to something.

Personally, I think shadowing gets overlooked. I think it has been my greatest resource when educating myself about medicine. It seems that admissions disagree. They prefer clinical volunteering, which is sometimes not even clinically related as many people fold laundry and what not. Oh well. My opinion really doesn't matter even a little bit.

Good luck!

 

[HCHopeful]

Annnd completely disregard my comment now that it's updated. You're fine. Rock the MCAT and you're good.

 

[lmn]

Holy crap why did you shadow so much? I think you may be able to win an award for all that time spent shadowing...

Your new clinical gig should really help your app, I would try to keep that throughout your time applying to really show some long term commitment to it. Other than that I would try to diversify your volunteering a bit, throw in a few hours a week at a nursing home/va office or something if possible depending on your schedule. Other than that, really focus on that MCAT, your app should be pretty strong and well-rounded by the time you apply and a nice MCAT score to compliment that would really help make things (hopefully) go fairly smoothly for you.

 

[THEWORLDCUP]

You think the MA position is sufficient ? I heard that the hospital volunteering( folding sheets ect) is not as good because it is not as hands on( just what I was told). I did a lot of hospital volunteering but that was prior to college.

 

[lmn]

You think the MA position is sufficient ? I heard that the hospital volunteering( folding sheets ect) is not as good because it is not as hands on( just what I was told). I did a lot of hospital volunteering but that was prior to college.

MA will be great, I would only recommend some clinical volunteering on the side since you don't seem to have any fairly recent experience doing that. I wouldn't waste time on hospital volunteering personally for the reason you stated as well as how over-saturated it can commonly be - also personally I find nursing homes/hospice/VA facilities to be more lacking in the volunteer department and therefore more in need of volunteers as well as often offering more meaning experiences imo. Our adcom members have pretty consistently stated the importance of clinical volunteering, so even if you can only squish in a couple of hours each weekend over the next year, you will still be able to gain a substantial amount of hours and show a long-term commitment.

 

[THEWORLDCUP]

Holy crap why did you shadow so much? I think you may be able to win an award for all that time spent shadowing...

Your new clinical gig should really help your app, I would try to keep that throughout your time applying to really show some long term commitment to it. Other than that I would try to diversify your volunteering a bit, throw in a few hours a week at a nursing home/va office or something if possible depending on your schedule. Other than that, really focus on that MCAT, your app should be pretty strong and well-rounded by the time you apply and a nice MCAT score to compliment that would really help make things (hopefully) go fairly smoothly for you.

Thanks so much. Regarding the diversification of Volunteering, I am planning on Volunteering at a community Clinic which needs help with calling underprivelaged colon cancer patients about an hour a day , and i think I can do that from my cell phone as well so I will definitely be able to do that. Thank thats a good idea?