A Year Off?

[albe]

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To those of you who are in medical school or already finished with it,

Did any of you take a year off between undergrad and med school? I am going to have to do that, but I'm not 100% sure of what to do inbetween.

Some ideas I had:

1. Learn Spanish
2. Work as an EMT
3. Do research on the side
4. Travel for at least a month

Is there anything (like programs) you know/heard of that is really worthwhile to experience before med school? Any advice would be really helpful. Thanks!

 

[78222]

DO IT. Thats all I can say.

 

[2TIM4:7]

Decide on something that will make you happy. If you already have a good undergrad record for med school admittance, then don't worry about padding your CV.

 

[Prefan]

I took a year off and I'll never regret it. You go into medical school refreshed and your interviews are far more interesting. I'm telling my little sister to do it too. 🙂


Edit: to clarify, I worked for a hospital group... nothing exciting, but I had time for a girlfriend, travel, fun, new friends, etc.

 

[RaaMD]

To those of you who are in medical school or already finished with it,

Did any of you take a year off between undergrad and med school? I am going to have to do that, but I'm not 100% sure of what to do inbetween.

Some ideas I had:

1. Learn Spanish
2. Work as an EMT
3. Do research on the side
4. Travel for at least a month

Is there anything (like programs) you know/heard of that is really worthwhile to experience before med school? Any advice would be really helpful. Thanks!

Do any of those. Do all of them if you can without killing yourself. There's much to gain from any of those experiences. Just remember to enjoy yourself. Traveling sounds like a lot of fun. You'll need all the relaxation you can get before you start.

 

[skypilot]

To those of you who are in medical school or already finished with it,

Did any of you take a year off between undergrad and med school? I am going to have to do that, but I'm not 100% sure of what to do inbetween.

Some ideas I had:

1. Learn Spanish
2. Work as an EMT
3. Do research on the side
4. Travel for at least a month

Is there anything (like programs) you know/heard of that is really worthwhile to experience before med school? Any advice would be really helpful. Thanks!

How about Peace Corps or something like that? Would really look good on your app too.

 

[LJDHC05]

Have fun in your year off!!! I've been in a lab for the past year and i've improved my application/mental health with:
-8 skiing trips
-4 day backpacking trip
-Drinking heavily with my lab-mates
-hanging out with my family
-several red sox games
-publishing as a primary author in a peer reviewed journal (still in press)
-visiting friends in DC
-Going to Hawaii for 11 days

Oh yeah, I worked full time in there too and got into med school, so hasnt been half bad

 

[maharishi3383]

You can't do Peace Corps becuase it takes atleast a year to apply and its a two year commitment. Well you could but I'm guessing you don't want to commit that much time. You don't have to do anything too fabulous but I wouldn't sit around your parents house for year and spend all night getting drunk. The medical schools are going to expect you do something producitve with your time. You don't want a blank year on your app. I took two years off, moved to CA, and worked in HIV research. Its been alot of fun and now I have a little money saved up and I had a good time with my weekends. There are some programs that will send you overseas to do work but a lot of them require you to pay your own way. Do a google search for global charity organizations and I'm sure you'll find some. Remember though, you're going to have to be available for interviews and such if you're applying for 2007 AMCAS. Good luck.

 

[Kris1]

I suggest working 70 hours a week manufacturing car parts. That's what I did.

 

[Army_Doc]

join the army. 🙂

 

[Mike59]

I took a year off between undergrad and medschool and would tell you without hesitation to do it if you need the break.

I spent my year in a business-temp job, paid pretty well considering I was fresh out of college and it really changed my perspective as it was my first time I was a "nonstudent" who has to worry about things like expenses, paychecks, showing up on time everyday etc. Obviously, I dedicated that year to fun stuff as well such as learning spanish (on my own, nothing formal), going to the gym, playing sports, lazing around and doing NOTHING sometimes etc.

Answering your question about "what to experience" is a personal one. Do things that you can only do now or that you've always wanted to do. Some get suckered into worrying about what would prepare you for med school or what other people are doing, don't fall into that trap. I wouldn't suggest working as an EMT as you have on your list, you have the rest of your life to treat traumas and see emergency cases, unless that is how you like to spend your spare time...

You'll be very happy at the end of this year I hope: The main benefit of taking a year off is that it will at least double your longevity in this grueling process. It's kind of like the difference between the people who have to stay on-call for a 35 hour shift and the people that were able to leave home at 5pm who came back the next morning, showered and refreshed after a good night's sleep 😉

 

[nuartgene]

I did americorps*VISTA during my year off.. its only a one year commitment (or less for some programs) and you get paid a little bit and get a "educational award" ($5,000 if you complete a full year of service) that goes towards paying off school loansor future tuition. My program was really flexible in terms of hours so I had plenty of time to go to interviews, complete secondaries, travel, etc. You work with programs that fight poverty, so you get good experience working with low-income communities and I think it looks pretty good on your apps. It was the perfect job for me and would definately recommend it..

 

[UCSFnerd]

Let me tell you what I planned to do during my year off and what I actually did...

I planned to:
1. Learn Spanish
2. Full-time Basic Biology Research
3. Travel
4. No school

What I actually did:
1. Didn't learn Spanish
2. Worked at Scripps Research Institute and came out with 2 submitted publications 🙂
3. Plan to go to Europe in a month
4. Took a wonderful break from studying!!!!

It would've been nice to learn Spanish but it's kind of hard to get the motivation if your not taking classes or immersing yourself in the appropriate environment. I recommend you do research, take some Spanish classes, possibly volunteer at a clinic that is primarily Spanish, definately travel...If you don't want to do research, being an EMT is also a great idea (probably more exciting too). In short, a year-off is worth it...

 

[SoCuteMD]

Do It! Do It! Do It!

 

[menemotxi]

Get a work visa and go abroad to work and play. I suggest New Zealand. That's what I did.

 

[StudentDoc327]

1. Learn Spanish

Even if the only productive thing you did besides enjoy life was learn spanish, you would still be a comodity at a lot of medical schools with that skill.

If you're dieing for this break, do it because your not gonna get another chance for 7-9 years depending on what field you go into. If you take a break b/w medical school and residency your gonna have to come up with a good reason and something to show for it. You got nothing to lose right now.

 

[dsherida]

I would definitely do it! I did research in a lab for the year and got a publication. I also went to the Bahamas with some buddies for a fishing trip and headed over to Europe with my fiance backpacking around for 3 weeks. If you are going to Europe stay in hostels and definitely buy a Eurorail pass. A second thought would be to maybe even work outside the US. I almost was going to work in switzerland for the winter, but I wasn't able to for personal reasons. I was offered a job though. They have a winter camp over there for extremely rich kids...I mean princes or foreign countries and stuff. One of my friends in college worked at their summer camp and turned me onto it. It is called Camp Montana. I think if you google Camp MOntana AND Switzerland you can find it. Shoot me a message if you need more. That would be a thought if you really want some time away from medicine!

 

[Hoooba]

I'm smacking myself right now for not deferring. Eventhough I graduated in December and quit my job in February, I feel it wasn't enough time. If I could do it over again, I would've deferred and worked for a couple of months in the UK (you can get visas to work in the UK easily and the British pound is strong these days). With the money I earn and my savings, I would've traveled around the world for 5-6 months; but as they say, retrospect is 20/20. It's a little depressing to know I might not be able to take any significant time off in th next 10 years, but that's life. Looks like I'm gonna have to tough it out.

 

[sentrosi]

Working as an EMT is awesome. Try to find the service that does the highest ratio of 911 to transfers. Good experience either way.

 

[SalsaGrrrl]

Whatever it is you want to do....DO IT! Trust me, once you're in school it's kind of like Hotel California...

 

[JulioFly]

I say do it too. I could not recommended it enough. (and i was one of those people who was initially pretty bummed that I wasn't going to go straight from undergrad to med school)
I took two years off actually. One to study for the MCAT, and the next to apply to schools. But in between I did a number of things that have without a doubt enhanced my life immensely.

To name a few...
-travelled to sri lanka and did tsunami relief work
-went to europe twice, once with college roomate, and once with boyfriend
-worked a little to make some $$ to travel, but the work was medically related and non-profit, so it gave me a lot to talk about at interviews
-read a lot of books for pleasure and not work
-relaxed and enjoyed sleeping in and working out at my leisure
-went down to Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina with American Red Cross
-partied, partied, and partied some more

i feel so motivated to begin school again with a better appreciation for life and medicine.
if you are a person with initiative, you can find lots of fun things to do in your time off, and i doubt that many people look back and regret it.

 

[gaikokujin]

I taught english in Japan for a year on JET. I saved lots of money and backpacked around China, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Singapore. I learned some Japanese, made life-long friends and grew as a person. I have NO regrets. I just finished my first year of med school.

I think taking off a year should be a REQUIREMENT. There is a real maturity level difference between the people who went straight from undergrad to med school with out stopping and the people who took time off. If you've never been outside of the protective bubble of school you enter medical school as an undergrad. if you've actually held a job and discovered yourself outside of the structur of school, you enter medical school as an adult.

Do it!

 

[gaikokujin]

I'm smacking myself right now for not deferring. Eventhough I graduated in December and quit my job in February, I feel it wasn't enough time. If I could do it over again, I would've deferred and worked for a couple of months in the UK (you can get visas to work in the UK easily and the British pound is strong these days). With the money I earn and my savings, I would've traveled around the world for 5-6 months; but as they say, retrospect is 20/20. It's a little depressing to know I might not be able to take any significant time off in th next 10 years, but that's life. Looks like I'm gonna have to tough it out.

my school allowed deferral requests until mid july i think. you should ask! you never know, you may still be able to defer. (or you could make up a story like "i got pregnant" or "i got someone else pregnant!") hahaa

 

[Jon Davis]

I took a year off between ugrad and med school. It was the best thing for me and I don't regret it at all!
During ugrad I pretty much killed myself in school and when I was done I felt so dead. In my year off:
1. Went to med school interviews
2. Worked when I wanted with a temp agency. The flexibility was great!
3. Traveled the west coast for a month. I loved Vancouver and Seattle.
4. Volunteered at a hospital when I could.
5. Played all the PS2 I wanted! I beat a lot of games.
6. Took up many of the hobbies I had before but didn't have much time for. My hobby is learning about financial investments and so I learned a huge amount of info. I highly recommend that people who go to med school learn the "ins and outs" on how to invest and manage your money. (example: Read Suze Orman's books. Shes a goddess! 😉 )

 

[ColinHay]

To those of you who are in medical school or already finished with it,

Did any of you take a year off between undergrad and med school? I am going to have to do that, but I'm not 100% sure of what to do inbetween.

Some ideas I had:

1. Learn Spanish
2. Work as an EMT
3. Do research on the side
4. Travel for at least a month

Is there anything (like programs) you know/heard of that is really worthwhile to experience before med school? Any advice would be really helpful. Thanks!

Working as an EMT can be great - if you live in a spanish speaking area you can learn spanish from your patients very fast (the hard way).
I was a paraemdic all through college - it will teach you a lot about other areas of medicine and if you even like it.
and it leaves time for long vacations.

 

[toehammer]

take a break.