Planes2Doc's Ultimate Guide to Maximizing Your Medical School Application

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Okay, thank you! I've never been involved in working with disabled kids, actually. I think having a disabled sibling has had the opposite impact on me that it has on most people, in that it's kind of driven me away from having an interest in physical medicine. I am interested in helping the disabled in other ways (better living standards, feeling involved in the community, opportunities at school, etc) but I've never been interested in helping medically, if that even makes sense. But I feel like I should give it a chance, and I think this would be a good opportunity to do so. What if I don't like it and decide to not continue volunteering with disabled people when I return home? Is it still a worthwhile experience?

Wow, you're just blowing my mind! :) I think you are extremely genuine, and ADCOMs will see that. Give it a chance, and if you like it, keep doing it! If you don't like it, then stop, and tell ADCOMs how it influenced you to pursue other things. It's refreshing to see someone genuine on here. I know ADCOMs will definitely appreciate that, regardless of which way you decide to go. You should also mention growing up with a disabled sibling in your PS, and how it influenced your decision to pursue medicine (or not pursue a specific branch of medicine).

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:) Thank you for the compliment, and for the advice.

You should also mention growing up with a disabled sibling in your PS, and how it influenced your decision to pursue medicine (or not pursue a specific branch of medicine).

I've definitely thought about mentioning it in my PS. I actually tried to write my common app essay for college about that. But I don't know, it just felt fake, like I was using my sister. It was obvious my heart wasn't in it so I chose a different topic. I think it's just that my parents believed that I should see my sister as a completely normal person (in retrospect I don't agree with that approach, though) so I've never really thought of my sister as being a disabled person.
I do know how I could write my PS about my experience with my sister and make it completely unique. I'm 99.999% sure that no adcom would ever have seen a personal statement like it because it's an extremely unusual experience that I'm sure only a very, very small number of people can relate to. But it's also an absolutely horrible experience, and I'm pretty sure I would break down sobbing if I had to discuss it during an interview hahaha soo I think I'll probably avoid that.
 
:) Thank you for the compliment, and for the advice.

I've definitely thought about mentioning it in my PS. I actually tried to write my common app essay for college about that. But I don't know, it just felt fake, like I was using my sister. It was obvious my heart wasn't in it so I chose a different topic. I think it's just that my parents believed that I should see my sister as a completely normal person (in retrospect I don't agree with that approach, though) so I've never really thought of my sister as being a disabled person.
I do know how I could write my PS about my experience with my sister and make it completely unique. I'm 99.999% sure that no adcom would ever have seen a personal statement like it because it's an extremely unusual experience that I'm sure only a very, very small number of people can relate to. But it's also an absolutely horrible experience, and I'm pretty sure I would break down sobbing if I had to discuss it during an interview hahaha soo I think I'll probably avoid that.

You're not using your sister. A lot of people became passionate about medicine because of family members. I know I did. I think you are extremely genuine, and like I said, ADCOMs will appreciate this. ADCOMs may or have not seen an experience like yours because it's unusual. But what makes you unusual is the fact that you're so sincere, genuine, and passionate. Now THAT is what sets you apart from the rest of the crowd! Just speak from your heart when you write your personal statement, and when you speak at interviews.
 
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Great information! Motivated the hell out of me!
 
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Dude, this the 'Thread of the Day" according to SDN's fb page, like no joke.
 
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I think the thing I realize with volunteering in clinical settings is that it really depends on what they let you do....

I volunteered in 2 different departments in a hospital where they basically didn't let me do anything. I mean I would MAYBE clean the exam room beds and then sit there in a chair for another 3 hours and 45 minutes. Just simply brainless. I get why volunteers can't be more involved...but some places just don't care to even give busy work.

I volunteered in another department at the same hospital and was allowed to call patients from the waiting room to their exam room...help arrange patient files and put them in order for their rooms, etc. It was seriously refreshing and....fun. I got to make small talk with the patients as well which was cool.

I think I'm going to make a 1 year commitment to volunteering at a hospice...I feel like there may be more opportunity there to be involved.
 
I think the thing I realize with volunteering in clinical settings is that it really depends on what they let you do....

I volunteered in 2 different departments in a hospital where they basically didn't let me do anything. I mean I would MAYBE clean the exam room beds and then sit there in a chair for another 3 hours and 45 minutes. Just simply brainless. I get why volunteers can't be more involved...but some places just don't care to even give busy work.

I volunteered in another department at the same hospital and was allowed to call patients from the waiting room to their exam room...help arrange patient files and put them in order for their rooms, etc. It was seriously refreshing and....fun. I got to make small talk with the patients as well which was cool.

I think I'm going to make a 1 year commitment to volunteering at a hospice...I feel like there may be more opportunity there to be involved.

I'm currently volunteering at a hospice for a couple hours per week when the schedule isn't too crazy. I really enjoy it! I've heard pretty good things about it from others on SDN. Since you've got your clinical experiences covered, it sounds like a good place to go.

As for your volunteering comments, you can get very different things at either different hospitals, or even in the same hospital/different departments like you mentioned! To each their own though. Some people would kill to sit in that chair for 3 hours and 45 minutes, because that's invaluable study time right there. Other people want to feel like they are making a difference. At the end of the day, medical schools are verifying hours, not the applicant's performance at the volunteer site. Things would be different if there were more oversight, but as things are now, pre-meds are generally free to make volunteering into whatever they want it to be.
 
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I think the thing I realize with volunteering in clinical settings is that it really depends on what they let you do....

I volunteered in 2 different departments in a hospital where they basically didn't let me do anything. I mean I would MAYBE clean the exam room beds and then sit there in a chair for another 3 hours and 45 minutes. Just simply brainless. I get why volunteers can't be more involved...but some places just don't care to even give busy work.

I volunteered in another department at the same hospital and was allowed to call patients from the waiting room to their exam room...help arrange patient files and put them in order for their rooms, etc. It was seriously refreshing and....fun. I got to make small talk with the patients as well which was cool.

I think I'm going to make a 1 year commitment to volunteering at a hospice...I feel like there may be more opportunity there to be involved.
For me, it's how you are treated. I had 2 great opportunities at a local Children's hospital: for one, I was performing hearing screening tests on newborns. I'd come in, get the patient census, cross-check it with the records to see which babies needed to be screened, check against the discharge plans to prioritize timing, and then go into each individual room, talk to mama, explain the test, and then play with a 1-day old kiddo for a while. If the test came back 'refer', I'd briefly explain things and refer the parents to an audiologist. Got to work with 4-7 individual families each shift.
In the same hospital, I got to work in the surgical waiting room with kids. They'd be all gowned up, family would be filling out forms and generally stressed out, and my job was to play with the kids and keep their minds off things.

I really enjoyed the experiences, and I would work with those patients again in a heartbeat. In the first, because families cannot legally be discharged without the hearing screen (or declining it), my work made the nurses' jobs far easier, and I got to directly set some moms' minds at ease in regards to the test (especially for rechecks - kids who had referred the first day always got a second test before referral to an audiologist, and it was always great to be able to tell a worried mother that their child could hear). In the second, I know I made the kids day better. I had several parents come up to me afterwards and tell me that they were happy that their kid was able to take their mind off, and that they'd been too stressed or busy to do so, etc. Working there made me think that, hey, I really think I could work with sick kids and their families, and do a decent job of it (whether I'd like it I guess I'll see in med school).

However, I ended up quitting both positions after a year, not just because I was getting extremely busy, but also because I thought the volunteer department was disrespectful and rude to work with. I felt that, whether I put in extra effort, did a good job, or did nothing, I was treated the same - as a lazy good-for-nothing who had to be under constant surveillance and threats in order to function. No, thank you. I learned what I could, and got out. I'll find another way to interact with patients and their families, even if I have to wait until I've got the MD to do it.
 
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Planes2Doc said:
Just remember that the minimum will get you by, and is the smartest way to go.

Part III: How to Approach ECs -> There are two types of philosophies once again, and here they are:

The SDN EC Philosophy: Do what you're passionate about.
The Planes2Doc EC Philosophy: Do what ADCOMs want you to be passionate about.

I'm so very sorry everyone is going on and on about what a great thread this is. I think this kind of thinking simply reinforces that gunner mentality that is so unpleasant. I've seen in my classes and it's terrible. Worse issue I've seen with gunners is the level of depression they experience. At one point, all this bizarre frenzy to GET INTO Med school means you'll be a doctor, ya know, like be in the care of others. It's not JUST getting into med school. It's the real end result, which is to care for people.
 
However, I ended up quitting both positions after a year, not just because I was getting extremely busy, but also because I thought the volunteer department was disrespectful and rude to work with. I felt that, whether I put in extra effort, did a good job, or did nothing, I was treated the same - as a lazy good-for-nothing who had to be under constant surveillance and threats in order to function. No, thank you. I learned what I could, and got out. I'll find another way to interact with patients and their families, even if I have to wait until I've got the MD to do it.

Sadly I blame other pre-meds for casting such a poor reputation over the entire group. There are some good apples in there, just like yourself. I was shocked when I started volunteering as a medical student by how well I'm treated! It's the complete opposite of my pre-med experience.

I'm so very sorry everyone is going on and on about what a great thread this is. I think this kind of thinking simply reinforces that gunner mentality that is so unpleasant. I've seen in my classes and it's terrible. Worse issue I've seen with gunners is the level of depression they experience. At one point, all this bizarre frenzy to GET INTO Med school means you'll be a doctor, ya know, like be in the care of others. It's not JUST getting into med school. It's the real end result, which is to care for people.

I never considered myself a gunner. I always tried to help people throughout undergrad, my post-bacc, and now as a medical student. The typical SDN mindset says: Do what you're passionate about. But honestly, very few applicants are genuinely passionate about the things you're supposed to do on your medical school application. Also, gunners are usually the ones that will have a plethora of activities. I'm actually trying to influence people to not go in that direction. I agree that the end result after medical school is to care for people. I just think too much emphasis is put into doing those activities. Since when do the number of volunteer commitments and hours define you as a person? In medical school admissions, these activities seem to become one's persona. For example, if you are a caring person, then you need to volunteer. But in reality, none of my friends volunteer, and they are amazing people.

So at the end of the day, I'm trying to prevent people from becoming gunners. I spent many hours putting this together. I wouldn't have done this unless I wanted to help people. If I were personally trying to screw anyone over in a gunner way, someone would have pointed it out long ago. I'm also trying to prevent people from becoming something worse than depressed and burned out gunners... I'm trying to prevent them from becoming people who fail to get into medical school, yet screw themselves out of doing anything else meaningful with their lives because they put all their eggs into one basket.
 
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I'm so very sorry everyone is going on and on about what a great thread this is. I think this kind of thinking simply reinforces that gunner mentality that is so unpleasant. I've seen in my classes and it's terrible. Worse issue I've seen with gunners is the level of depression they experience. At one point, all this bizarre frenzy to GET INTO Med school means you'll be a doctor, ya know, like be in the care of others. It's not JUST getting into med school. It's the real end result, which is to care for people.
It's funny, because I disagree with @Planes2Doc on several points, all of which we have discussed in the past, and will probably discuss in the future (if I don't break myself of this nasty Internet habit), and yet, I am still able to see the value of a thread like this. The goal of becoming a physician is just that: to become a physician. Why you want to do that is important, but let's be real; jumping through the med school hoops in one way or another really has no impact on whether or not you really want to help people (and, given how most clinical volunteering is set up, has little impact on whether you actually will). I disagree with Planes2Doc because I think that it's 8x harder to make it to the top of a mountain if you don't enjoy the trip up. I agree with him that the quickest way to actually help people is probably to breeze through all of the BS and get started on a career where you actually have the ability to do so.

So, for people who ARE able to just do what it takes to check boxes (read: not me), this thread is gold.
I don't see it advocating "screw your fellow classmates over so you look better", so I don't see how it reinforces a 'gunner mentality'. It does reinforce a 'box-checking' mentality, if that's what you mean, but hey, what works for someone is up to them. Doesn't affect you if you don't wish to follow that attitude (I certainly don't)

Either way, there is a lot of good info in here, and it is quite comprehensive. I can't imagine how much time it took for Planes2Doc to condense all of the thoughts into one (two? lol) cohesive posts. That's why people are going on and on about it.
 
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It's funny, because I disagree with @Planes2Doc on several points, all of which we have discussed in the past, and will probably discuss in the future (if I don't break myself of this nasty Internet habit), and yet, I am still able to see the value of a thread like this. The goal of becoming a physician is just that: to become a physician. Why you want to do that is important, but let's be real; jumping through the med school hoops in one way or another really has no impact on whether or not you really want to help people (and, given how most clinical volunteering is set up, has little impact on whether you actually will). I disagree with Planes2Doc because I think that it's 8x harder to make it to the top of a mountain if you don't enjoy the trip up. I agree with him that the quickest way to actually help people is probably to breeze through all of the BS and get started on a career where you actually have the ability to do so.

So, for people who ARE able to just do what it takes to check boxes (read: not me), this thread is gold.
I don't see it advocating "screw your fellow classmates over so you look better", so I don't see how it reinforces a 'gunner mentality'. It does reinforce a 'box-checking' mentality, if that's what you mean, but hey, what works for someone is up to them. Doesn't affect you if you don't wish to follow that attitude (I certainly don't)

Either way, there is a lot of good info in here, and it is quite comprehensive. I can't imagine how much time it took for Planes2Doc to condense all of the thoughts into one (two? lol) cohesive posts. That's why people are going on and on about it.

Thanks so much! I appreciate the kind words. :) I'm glad that we disagree because you bring up some great points. Thank you for being respectful about it as well considering that we are at two different extremes!
 
It's true that you have made many good points like reminding students to do all the things that's involved in med school applications and they are helpful. However, I dislike your additional comments like the ones I quoted. Once you write things like: "do these things for the ADCOMS and not for yourself", or "do the least you can do and get away with it", you lost me.
 
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It's true that you have made many points, like reminding students to do all the things that's involved in med school applications and they are helpful. However, I dislike is your additional comments like the ones I quoted. Because once you add things like: do these things for the ADCOMS and not yourself, or do the least you can do and get away with it, you lost me.

Yeah I could understand how those might leave a bad taste in your mouth, or anyone else's who doesn't believe in box-checking. But as @mehc012 pointed out, this thread is based around the box-checking philosophy which is very common in the application process, it's not about screwing people over in a gunner fashion. I hope that you at least found some things helpful, and that you're able to do meaningful things along the way. I have a great deal of respect for people who are true to their beliefs. I have equal respect for people who will do everything it takes (of course assuming none of it is unethical) to achieve the goal of becoming a physician. Most people are doing this so they can help people in the future, whether they genuinely enjoy the pre-med ECs, or whether they view them as annoying hoops. We're all in this together.
 
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:::applause:::

At first it was a little shocking to read, since box-checking is such a taboo subject somehow, but all-in-all extremely informative. I love real talk. So sick of the vicious cycle that is "Be genuine and passionate, but don't do that because it's not what adcoms want, so try something like this..." Wait...what?
 
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One of the many awesome guides on SDN, keep it up!
 
At my school certain clubs and organizations pick a specific charity or outreach program each academic year.
I was looking on opinions on my volunteering ECs. I'm very active in a particular student organization. Freshman year we had one cause and I was very active in it, my sophomore year we had a different cause which I also put hours into. Does this look bad since I had a different volunteer activity each year? Or should I just include this under my activities with this group in my application?

Also, I am planning on working with habitat for humanity this summer and continuing with that as long as possible. This is the summer before my junior year. I have been wanting to be involved with this organization for a long time but it is only now really becoming a possibility. Does this look too much like box checking? If so how can I change that?
 
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