Hey guys, I was wondering what your thoughts were on taking a gap year after sophomore year? I'm currently an EMT-B and was looking into some more opportunities of getting involved in the medical field. I found a surgical technician course but it is a full years length. The university I attend is 3 hours away from the closest area where this course is offered so I would not be able to do both simultaneously. If I take the surgical technician course, when not in class I would be able to work and volunteer at the hospital or EMS. The course is broken down into two 6 month semesters. During the first 6 months, I would be in the classroom during the evenings and the second 6 months would put me in a hospital for 40 hours a week. If I take a gap year, I would be able to accumulate over 1000 hours in the operating room helping the surgeons out with procedures (handing them tools, sterilizing all the equipment, cleaning up, assisting with the patient, etc.) in the second 6 months alone, not counting the positions I would hold over the first 6 months. I would also have an extra year to study for the MCAT and following the program, because I would already study topics such as anatomy and physiology, they would come a lot easier. Do you guys think it's worth it to take the gap year or would it jeopardize my chances of getting accepted into med school? I'm looking forward to hearing from you guys.
Gap Year After Sophomore Year?
- Thread starter Valsoray
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Agreed.
Separating out the question of whether a mid-UG gap year is harmful by its very nature, I don't think it is if you use it well. I personally took two years off after my freshman year to do full-time missionary service in South America. Rather than hurting my chances, it actually became a point of interest for my interviewers and helped me stand out.
Well the reason it interests me is because I know that you could pick a specialty once you finish the program and in my particular case, I want to pursue neurosurgery. As a surgical tech, I would be able to get a lot of experience and get to see surgeries that would personally help me develop as a person and future surgeon. I don't think I would be able to get any better experience than an operating room isn't that correct?
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You'll get plenty of OR experience as a med student, especially when you get to the point where you can take elective rotations. Right now, your focus should be on getting into med school in the first place. Do that before you start thinking about how to match into a specialty.
So you don't think being a surgical tech will make me stand out or boost my application in any way? Hypothetically speaking, would it have made a difference if I were able to do both at the same time (which I can't due to the distance unfortunately)? If you were the one choosing, which route would you take?
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You are paying them, not the other way around. And the skills you will learn as a tech are NOT the skills you would need as a surgeon with the exception of the names of the surgical implements, which is really not much of a takeaway for a year's coursework. Sure, you'll get some OR time, but you could get that from shadowing also (free), and what if you decide you don't really like surgery? I could see how the things you learn in tech school might make you marginally more adept than the average MS3 in your surgical rotations, but if your objective is to be admitted to medical school, I don't see this path furthering your cause as much as many other gap year opportunities.
Yeah I see what you're saying. The fact that the course is a year long seems to play a major issue. It would be a lot simpler if it would be possible to do it side by side with schoolwork like an EMT cert. So would you guys suggest that I work on improving my application throughout undergrad and apply right after my junior year and if I don't get accepted during that cycle to just take a gap year after undergrad and do something then?
