Advice for accepted medical student?

[keemobad]

Greetings all,

I was accepted into the medical school where I am currently a senior undergrad and I am looking for some ways to spend the plethora of free time I have. I contacted the chief of RadOnc at our university affiliated hospital if I could shadow/provide help on clinical studies since RadOnc is something I might consider for residency further down the line. I was informed I was welcome to come in and was told to attend the new patients rounds. I am assuming we will discuss clinical studies when I meet the physicians.

Do you believe involving myself with RadOnc clinical studies this early would help out with residency application if this is what I decide to do? Also does anyone recommend anything to maximize my experience with the department? Thank you.

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[medicinewoman101]

Right now you should go, listen and absorb, be kind, look good (but not too good - medicine is all about looks actually, I know it sounds crazy). Don't be an over eager beaver. Most of us don't understand rad onc until we're PGY3 so don't think you're going to understand anything for a while so don't worry about taking notes. They'll be happy to have you around and might ask you some stuff but they might ask you nothing which is more likely.

 

[laserbeams]

I was accepted into the medical school where I am currently a senior undergrad and I am looking for some ways to spend the plethora of free time I have.

Congratulations on the acceptance. Getting involved "early" in research can be helpful, but in my opinion, you're better off enjoying all of that free time. Even if you start research as an MS1, you'll still be earlier than many other future rad one applicants. Pretty soon you'll be up to your eyeballs in Anatomy and Physiology and Biochemistry, so enjoy being a college student for a few more months!

 

[keemobad]

Thanks all for the advice.

 

[evilbooyaa]

I'd treat it like a shadowing opportunity. Pretty great one to shadow something that you'll most likely never see in medical school. I wouldn't worry too much about the research aspect of it just yet, IMO. If you love it and feel like you really want to do it for the rest of your life, then you could consider starting a project with them as a MS1.