I'm doing MPAC currently, and the only thing that really makes it different from the others is you go to seminars that are centered on public policy, politics, and philanthropy as they are relevant to health care and physicians. We had people like Joe Schwarz (former congressman, ENT physician, professor at Gerald Ford School of Public Policy at U of M) come and speak. I think it'll be especially important to us, the next generation of physicians, to find out about the changing health care landscape, whether through MPAC or on your own time. But other than that, we still have the same 15/30/30 breakdown that HuMed and Fabric have.
I'm enrolled in cocurricular because before school even started, I knew I was gonna volunteer in the free clinics and do other things. These extracurricular opportunities are going to cultivate a part of you that could remain stagnant all through med school should you choose not to stretch yourself. As others have said, you can certainly volunteer outside of cocurricular and challenge yourself that way. I just use cocurricular as a program that keeps me accountable and gives me that last push of willpower that I need to get my head out of the books and volunteer once in a while.
I have personally found it easier than expected to incorporate cocurricular with my studies. I typically sign up for activities that occur on the weekends, especially Saturday mornings, and very much so on the weekend following an exam, when there's nothing to do. For me, the weekends and Saturday mornings are times that I wouldn't really have anything planned, other than sleeping in. So I just suck it up and volunteer on Saturdays. Volunteering early mornings can also be a good start to a full Saturday of studying, if you're into that too.
Lastly, an unexpected benefit cocurricular has had on me is it has helped me be more organized. Since I have more going on, I've had to be more efficient with my time and more deliberate with following through on my plans. I've learned a lot from simply having to juggle more on my plate.
Those are the positives. Regarding negatives, I'd say it's another obligation on top of your work that you must maintain. It stresses you out sometimes. It takes away some of my Saturday mornings. It takes some time away from video games and friends.