Advice on preparing for applications?

[hintoflime]

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Hey everyone, I am in my 3rd year of my 5 year undergraduate program and would like some help preparing for my med school application. My stats and extracurriculars are listed below, and I will likely take the MCAT in a year. Until then, are there any activities I should really be improving on/partaking in, or am I alright with what I’m doing now? I would greatly appreciate any feedback and additional perspective on my current level of experience and how I can improve.

cGPA: 3.64
sGPA: 3.42
Residence: CA/PA
ORM
Drexel
Major: Biology
Minor: Neuroscience and Japanese
Clinical experience: 400 hours as an inter-facility transport EMT. I am still currently working about one shift (10-12hrs) a week.
Research experience: None but am currently applying for a 6 month period of part-time research. Before my undergrad is complete I will have another 6 months of work/research experience in addition to the 6 month period I am applying for currently.
Shadowing: None. No history of doctors in the family.
Non-clinical volunteering: 220 hours of Red Cross, 84 hours other (food pantries, meal prep, meal/clothing distribution, etc) I currently do about 8 hours of Red Cross a month.
Other extracurriculars: Marketing director of a large club, mostly just managing social medias, sending club emails, creating google forms and sheets as needed. I also worked for 6 months in the entomological collection of a museum doing curatorial work.

For the 6 month periods of work/research, should I focus on getting research, or would it be alright if I worked on upping my clinical hours? I know I sound a little neurotic but I’m just very nervous and would like some insight. Thanks guys!

 

[MyOdyssey]

What do you do as an EMT?

 

[hintoflime]

What do you do as an EMT?

I work as an EMT for inter-facility transport, so I generally transport patients who have reason to be in an ambulance rather than a paratransit van or other transportation. Reasons can include need for monitoring (oxygen or suctioning), patient safety, inability to sit upright (limb contractions, etc), or patients admitted for psychiatric emergencies. I work with a partner who drives and I provide patient care in the back of the ambulance while we transport the patient to their destination. I also communicate with dispatch, patients, facility staff, and patients’ families. I was required to complete EMT training and licensing, CPR certification, and EMSVO. I was also required to complete other training like patient handling, bloodborne pathogens, behavioral healthcare, and yearly BLS protocol updates. I remain with the patient for the entire duration of the transport from pickup to drop-off at the receiving facility and take vitals every 15 minutes. If the patient’s vitals drop during transport, I provide BLS interventions and communicate with dispatch. I complete a transfer of care form and a chart on ZOLL emsCHARTs for every transport, and I receive and give reports to the staff at each location. The job also requires physical aptitude as we must lift and carry patients in and out of locations if there are no ramps.

Lol I'm prepping for interviews hence the paragraph, but that should mostly cover it!

 

[MyOdyssey]

I work as an EMT for inter-facility transport, so I generally transport patients who have reason to be in an ambulance rather than a paratransit van or other transportation. Reasons can include need for monitoring (oxygen or suctioning), patient safety, inability to sit upright (limb contractions, etc), or patients admitted for psychiatric emergencies. I work with a partner who drives and I provide patient care in the back of the ambulance while we transport the patient to their destination. I also communicate with dispatch, patients, facility staff, and patients’ families. I was required to complete EMT training and licensing, CPR certification, and EMSVO. I was also required to complete other training like patient handling, bloodborne pathogens, behavioral healthcare, and yearly BLS protocol updates. I remain with the patient for the entire duration of the transport from pickup to drop-off at the receiving facility and take vitals every 15 minutes. If the patient’s vitals drop during transport, I provide BLS interventions and communicate with dispatch. I complete a transfer of care form and a chart on ZOLL emsCHARTs for every transport, and I receive and give reports to the staff at each location. The job also requires physical aptitude as we must lift and carry patients in and out of locations if there are no ramps.

Lol I'm prepping for interviews hence the paragraph, but that should mostly cover it!

Good stuff!

Things to help your app: raise your GPA, get a high MCAT score.

Research is a good idea given that you have none currently. How much research matters depends on the tier of school with the most selective (ie high MCAT) caring more about research.

 

[hintoflime]

Good stuff!

Things to help your app: raise your GPA, get a high MCAT score.

Research is a good idea given that you have none currently. How much research matters depends on the tier of school with the most selective (ie high MCAT) caring more about research.

Sweet! So I shouldn't be too worried about getting more volunteering both clinical and non-clinical? I'm still doing Red cross and some random volunteering opportunities when they pop up, but other than that my extracurriculars seem alright? I was thinking about trying to join another university club but I don't want to overload my already crazy schedule.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Sweet! So I shouldn't be too worried about getting more volunteering both clinical and non-clinical? I'm still doing Red cross and some random volunteering opportunities when they pop up, but other than that my extracurriculars seem alright? I was thinking about trying to join another university club but I don't want to overload my already crazy schedule.

The experience hours look okay for me. Take the time to reflect on those experiences so you can discuss them in essays or interviews.

 

[candbgirl]

You have to get about 50 hours of shadowing, including some with a primary care doc. If you get some research fine but you most likely won’t be applying to research powerhouses. Since you have allocated 6 months I’d use it for shadowing and maybe try to get some nonclinical volunteering outside of the Red Cross. Find a homeless shelter to volunteer at a few hours a week . Of course your primary focus should be raising your GPAs and focusing on doing well on the MCAT.

 

[MyOdyssey]

Sweet! So I shouldn't be too worried about getting more volunteering both clinical and non-clinical? I'm still doing Red cross and some random volunteering opportunities when they pop up, but other than that my extracurriculars seem alright? I was thinking about trying to join another university club but I don't want to overload my already crazy schedule.

Your clinical experiences seem fine.

Make sure your nonclinical volunteering involves mingling with people from underserved populations. Not sure if your Red Cross experiences are like that.

Get at least 50 hours of shadowing a doctor.

Boost that GPA. Spend several months prepping for the MCAT.

 

[hintoflime]

You have to get about 50 hours of shadowing, including some with a primary care doc. If you get some research fine but you most likely won’t be applying to research powerhouses. Since you have allocated 6 months I’d use it for shadowing and maybe try to get some nonclinical volunteering outside of the Red Cross. Find a homeless shelter to volunteer at a few hours a week . Of course your primary focus should be raising your GPAs and focusing on doing well on the MCAT.

Thanks for your reply! The 6 month periods are when I don't take classes and dedicate my full time to finding a job related to my major. It's a program the university does, so if I get research for both 6 month periods before graduation I'll have a year's worth of either part-time(20 hours a week) or full-time(40 hours a week) research depending on what jobs I get. I'll try to get some shadowing but I really have no idea where to start since I don't know any doctors and aren't in contact with any doctors through work or volunteering : /

 

[hintoflime]

Your clinical experiences seem fine.

Make sure your nonclinical volunteering involves mingling with people from underserved populations. Not sure if your Red Cross experiences are like that.

Get at least 50 hours of shadowing a doctor.

Boost that GPA. Spend several months prepping for the MCAT.

My 80 hours of "other" volunteering did include distributing and serving meals to homeless people, but I'll try and get some more regular hours volunteering for a homeless shelter or something. Red cross volunteering isn't very impressive since it's just sitting at blood drives checking people in lol but it's good for my schedule and lets me get some studying in

 

[MyOdyssey]

Thanks for your reply! The 6 month periods are when I don't take classes and dedicate my full time to finding a job related to my major. It's a program the university does, so if I get research for both 6 month periods before graduation I'll have a year's worth of either part-time(20 hours a week) or full-time(40 hours a week) research depending on what jobs I get. I'll try to get some shadowing but I really have no idea where to start since I don't know any doctors and aren't in contact with any doctors through work or volunteering : /

Ask your parents to recruit their doctors to let you shadow or you can cold call or email a bunch. Ask the ER docs that your EMT group works with.

 

[hintoflime]

Ask your parents to recruit their doctors to let you shadow or you can cold call or email a bunch. Ask the ER docs that your EMT group works with.

My parents live on the other side of the country and my EMT company doesn't work with ER docs... looks like I'm going to have to cold call/email or start throwing business cards at every doctor I see lol

 

[MyOdyssey]

My parents live on the other side of the country and my EMT company doesn't work with ER docs... looks like I'm going to have to cold call/email or start throwing business cards at every doctor I see lol

Do you have a primary care physician?

Know any medical students?

Is there a med school attached to your undergrad?

 

[hintoflime]

Do you have a primary care physician?

Know any medical students?

Is there a med school attached to your undergrad?

No no yes

 

[MyOdyssey]

No no yes

Start with emailing the clinical faculty at your medical school.