Is medical scribing worth it or should I just focus on research?

[Beyonce2.0]

Hey SDN! Right now, I (rising sophomore) am trying to figure out what I should be prioritizing to be a competitive MD/PhD applicant. I am going to be doing research next semester, but I was wondering if being a medical scribe as well is worth it? For someone who is 99% sure she wants to do MD/PhD, should I just focus on getting as much research in as possible, or is the 20 hr/week commitment for medical scribing a good idea to get the clinical experience necessary to be competitive? I'll be doing about 4 hrs/week of hospital volunteering for the next 3 years, so should I just let that be the extent of my clinical experience and put a lot more time into doing the research I need to be competitive MD/PhD applicant?

I feel like I'm rambling so sorry if this doesn't make sense. Basically, which of these 2 options is best for a future MD/PhD applicant: 1) medical scribing (20 hrs/week) + hospital volunteering (4 hrs/week) + research (20 hrs/week); 2) hospital volunteering (4 hrs/week) + research (30+ hrs/week).

Thank you in advance!

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[StIGMA]

The scribing is meaningless for your application. Only do it if you absolutely need the money. Additionally, I doubt you could work out 20hrs/week of scribing + 20hrs/week of research- you would have to prioritize your job over research (which would hurt the research)- and keep your GPA near 4.0. IMO you shouldn't have an unrelated job if your goal is MD/PhD- you should be focusing on research (ie: your future job).

What you need is shadowing, which you should prioritize over volunteering (volunteering for a few semesters is sufficient). Shadow with different specialties (especially medicine) ~40-100 hours total prior to applying.

Maximize the research as much as you can without hurting your GPA. Try to learn enough to be fully independent on your own project. That won't necessarily happen if you are constraining yourself to hourly limits. [So, 20-30hrs+ research, volunteering, and shadowing while maximizing your GPA (first priority is GPA)].

 

[Beyonce2.0]

Okay, thank you StIGMA! I'll just forget about the scribing and focus on maximizing my research as much as possible. I was going to do a majority of my shadowing during winter and spring breaks, since those are times when I can fit in longer shadowing shifts with different specialties. Is that a reasonable thing to do or should I be fitting shadowing into my regular semester schedule?

 

[StIGMA]

It doesn't matter when you do it.