Gap year/Non-traditional

[LabDoc33]

I am graduating with a degree in Medical Laboratory Science this spring, and plan to work as one during a gap year while taking the final necessary prereq classes and taking the MCAT.

I was wondering what you guys have heard with adcomms and this type of clinical experience?
I mean we basically know all of the lab values, what they mean, confirmatory tests etc. Just wondering on those who have had feedback from any schools with this type of experience.

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[wholeheartedly]

I am graduating with a degree in Medical Laboratory Science this spring, and plan to work as one during a gap year while taking the final necessary prereq classes and taking the MCAT.

I was wondering what you guys have heard with adcomms and this type of clinical experience?
I mean we basically know all of the lab values, what they mean, confirmatory tests etc. Just wondering on those who have had feedback from any schools with this type of experience.

Depends. A lot of people, physicians included, have no clue what goes on in a diagnostic lab. adcoms might not be familiar with it, so it'll probably depend on how you sell it. However at schools with clinical lab science programs you might find adcoms more knowledgeable about it. I know the med school at the university where I got my CLS degree looks favorably on CLS folks, especially those with a year or two of work under their belts. They've had really good success with those students they've admitted. The university where I currently go to grad school also seems to look favorably on CLS folks with work experience.

I would take care to make sure you're getting both patient and doc exposure somehow if you wind up working in a larger facility where you won't be doing phlebotomy or getting much patient interaction through your job duties. You still might need to do some shadowing or volunteering.


I've been working as a CLS for 6 years now and I think it's been a very valuable experience and helped me develop a lot of skills that will transfer over. All of my CLS friends that have gone to med school found their backgrounds very helpful.