Things to do before starting first year pre-med?

[akmedic]

is there anything I can get a head start on early this summer before I start my first year on my bachelors? I'm assuming volunteering, but can I do things like shadowing, research etc or will I not be able to find doctors or mentors for shadowing/research because I haven't even started my bachelors yet? If not is there anything else I can work on over the summer, and maybe into the fall semester that I can get started on?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Anti-PD1]

I never say no to shadowing, because early exposure lets you know whether to pursue medicine or not. The rest can be done just fine during college.

But generally, enjoy yourself. Read books for fun, travel, etc.

 

[Oso]

Dude I would just chill before starting college, maybe hang with some friends who you won't see for a good while.

If you want, you could look to see what kinds of opportunities are available for research and volunteering, etc. wherever you are going, but again I would just chillax

 

[Deleted member 737595]

Pre-learn all the material for the fall semester over the summer. Do all your shadowing, volunteering, soup kitchen, leadership, personal statement, secondaries essays. Wouldn't hurt to start on some FA and Step 1 prep, especially Anki. Finally, start emailing different neurosurgery programs to express interest.


(joke)

Seriously though? Take a vacation, go on a tourist trip, go backpacking before the semester starts so you can have a natural waking up and going to sleep time for the semester. Start reading and make it a habit which will help for CARS on the MCAT and is also just good for your own culturing.

But don't get caught up with medical stuff yet. Do things you can't do later. The only thing you should never do is spend the whole summer lazing around. Do something active, go outside like I said, or get involved in a summer camp or program. And hey, if you really are excited to get into premeddedom, then start thinking of getting a CNA or EMT certification in order to work in a hospital setting during college. That's good too.

But... chill... from career stuff that is, go hard on the fun stuff mentioned above.

 

[stickgirl390]

Find some sort of physical activity that you enjoy that can help you de-stress. Look into individual sports like wrestling or tennis. Get your routine started: go to the gym regularly, practice cooking healthy meals, etc.

 

[SuaveCardigans]

might be worthwile to take a look a first aid while you got the time

 

[akmedic]

Thanks for the replies. Im actually an EMT now, and I work 2 EMT jobs right now. I was going to go to paramedic school but decided to ditch that and go to med school, where I want to end up anyways.
I do have a few vacations this year. I just got back from 3 weeks in Haiti (idk if that's technically a vacation, but anyways), I have a Las Vegas trip in 2 weeks for my 21st birthday, and my family is going to Hawaii over Christmas this winter.
I was just looking at something to get started on. Because I will most likely need to keep one EMT job for most of pre med, so I wanted to kind of space the extra stuff out over the 4 years rather than try to cram it into the last 2.

 

[IdkwhatIshouldput]

Just relax, it'll be the last time you're going to be able to for an extended period of time

 

[AllBleedingStops]

Chill with friends who are going to other schools. You may not catch up with them as much as you like in the coming months-years.