I'd like to know if it's possible to balance doing clinical research, general surgery, and volunteering abroad with programs such as Doctors Without Borders or other NGOs. If so, is the following a good plan to follow?
I've already graduated with a degree in neuroscience and a minor in psychology. I have ~1.5 years of research done in a nutrition lab and will have my name published in a paper by the end of this year.
I did not do much clinical work during my undergrad (besides a year of volunteering at a hospital), but I spent two weeks in Honduras on a medical mission with two doctors and two dentists along with other volunteers. It was through this experience that I discovered my love of volunteering abroad. After that, I spent three months in Tanzania volunteering in a rural hospital. Here, I was allowed to participate in surgeries (it was a really rural hospital; the surgeon was not qualified to be a surgeon and my limited skill-set made me a more qualified assistant nurse than the nurse whose job it really was). Of course, being able to help perform surgeries has led to my desire of becoming a surgeon. Currently, I am in Vietnam. I opted to volunteer for an NGO this time, thinking that I would most likely be working through NGOs when I wanted to volunteer in the future. However, work at the NGO is turning out to be less that exciting so I will be back in a hospital next week. I will be in Vietnam until end of August.
The reason I am volunteering abroad is that I want to be sure it is someplace I want to take my career. If I somehow grow tired of this, I would redirect my career towards studying neuroscience as it was initially my favorite field of interest. I realize this entire year would be a waste if I do end up switching back, but I want to be sure.
My main questions lay in what I want to do after this. Here is the general outline:
Two years in the same nutrition lab I have worked in before
--Provides me with more than enough lab experience
--Plan on studying for/taking my MCATs during this time
One year in a Masters for Nutrition in Global Health (hopefully at LSHTM)
--Helps me gain a better understanding of what kind of nutritional research still needs to be done to best help third world counties. I could use this information to point my PhD work in a certain direction
--Also gives me the tools to perform research on a larger scale. I realize getting grants for this kind of research may not come immediately.
Apply to MD/PhD programs
--Due to my low overall GPA (3.47), I don't see myself getting accepted at this stage
Do a SMP (more likely)
--Try my best. Succeed. Then reapply to MD/PhD programs.
General surgeon / Trauma surgeon
--I know my interests may change once I'm in medical school, but a general surgery seems to be a good skill set to have when going abroad.
Is this a feasible plan or I am just wasting a lot of time?
I want to be able to spend my vacation days abroad. Is that possible if I'm running a lab?
If not, would it be better for me to pass on working in the lab, take a masters of global health, and then apply to a SMP?
I've already graduated with a degree in neuroscience and a minor in psychology. I have ~1.5 years of research done in a nutrition lab and will have my name published in a paper by the end of this year.
I did not do much clinical work during my undergrad (besides a year of volunteering at a hospital), but I spent two weeks in Honduras on a medical mission with two doctors and two dentists along with other volunteers. It was through this experience that I discovered my love of volunteering abroad. After that, I spent three months in Tanzania volunteering in a rural hospital. Here, I was allowed to participate in surgeries (it was a really rural hospital; the surgeon was not qualified to be a surgeon and my limited skill-set made me a more qualified assistant nurse than the nurse whose job it really was). Of course, being able to help perform surgeries has led to my desire of becoming a surgeon. Currently, I am in Vietnam. I opted to volunteer for an NGO this time, thinking that I would most likely be working through NGOs when I wanted to volunteer in the future. However, work at the NGO is turning out to be less that exciting so I will be back in a hospital next week. I will be in Vietnam until end of August.
The reason I am volunteering abroad is that I want to be sure it is someplace I want to take my career. If I somehow grow tired of this, I would redirect my career towards studying neuroscience as it was initially my favorite field of interest. I realize this entire year would be a waste if I do end up switching back, but I want to be sure.
My main questions lay in what I want to do after this. Here is the general outline:
Two years in the same nutrition lab I have worked in before
--Provides me with more than enough lab experience
--Plan on studying for/taking my MCATs during this time
One year in a Masters for Nutrition in Global Health (hopefully at LSHTM)
--Helps me gain a better understanding of what kind of nutritional research still needs to be done to best help third world counties. I could use this information to point my PhD work in a certain direction
--Also gives me the tools to perform research on a larger scale. I realize getting grants for this kind of research may not come immediately.
Apply to MD/PhD programs
--Due to my low overall GPA (3.47), I don't see myself getting accepted at this stage
Do a SMP (more likely)
--Try my best. Succeed. Then reapply to MD/PhD programs.
General surgeon / Trauma surgeon
--I know my interests may change once I'm in medical school, but a general surgery seems to be a good skill set to have when going abroad.
Is this a feasible plan or I am just wasting a lot of time?
I want to be able to spend my vacation days abroad. Is that possible if I'm running a lab?
If not, would it be better for me to pass on working in the lab, take a masters of global health, and then apply to a SMP?