Any point in being co-chair of 2 interest groups?

[gocelts]

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So I applied to be co-chair of 4 interest groups for next year, thinking I would be lucky to get accepted to just one. Last week, I found out I was accepted to 2 different groups. I have read on SDN that these things can be a big time sink, so I am considering dropping one of the groups before more time passes and I get further involved. Is chairing an interest groups considered substantial enough to residencies that it is worthwhile to be involved with two? Or is it best to just stick with the one I am most interested in? Thanks.

 

[Stagg737]

If you're not interested why would you do it? Even if it does look good, there's better things you could be spending your time doing...

 

[starstarie]

It is worth it if you personally get something out of it (ie. like it). If not, do research.

 

[mcloaf]

If you have an interest in one of those fields then it's a fine way to show early interest and network with the docs at your school. I help run one and it's been a nice way to meet some of the physicians and learn more about a field I'm interested in pursuing. There's absolutely no reason to do it in a field you don't care about because you're trying to pad your resume. It's a small time commitment and nobody is going to be impressed.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Real talk, program directors could care less if you were in an interest group or not. Do it because it's fun.

 

[Psai]

Big time sink lol
you email some docs then u email your classmates. You order some food and pick it up. Minimal time commitment. Don't be the guy that starts 10 useless groups for cv purposes and is copresident on all of them and spams emails to everyone for stupid things

 

[PL198]

Real talk, program directors could care less if you were in an interest group or not. Do it because it's fun.

couldn't care less*

if you could care less, that means you do care.

but yeah, the people in 40 different interest groups and planning 20 different events make me LOL so hard

 

[Apoplexy__]

OP, drop the other 2 pending apps ASAP. Your co-chairing of the 2 you were accepted for is good, because it shows you don't just sit at home all day and study, but don't do too many non-research EC's besides that. In other words, minimize volunteering, school programs/events, etc. to make up for the time you're sinking into these two interest groups. And if you have an option, only do one of the 2 you were accepted for.

Spend as much time as you can in pre-clinical years studying, researching, and doing awesome fun things. Half-baked EC's and mildly fun things aren't worth your time.

 

[NickNaylor]

An equally salient question is, "is there any point in being co-chair of anything?"

 

[AnonymousD.O.]

So I applied to be co-chair of 4 interest groups for next year, thinking I would be lucky to get accepted to just one. Last week, I found out I was accepted to 2 different groups. I have read on SDN that these things can be a big time sink, so I am considering dropping one of the groups before more time passes and I get further involved. Is chairing an interest groups considered substantial enough to residencies that it is worthwhile to be involved with two? Or is it best to just stick with the one I am most interested in? Thanks.

I'm sure on your interviews they will base their decision to admit you to their program for 3+ years based off of whether you were head of an interest group, probably not even in the specialty you are interviewing at. If you think you are going to dislike one of them just don't do it

 

[PL198]

An equally salient question is, "is there any point in being co-chair of anything?"

to which the answer is no as well.

inb4 the people who have 14 extra-academic commitments jump in and try to justify their decisions

 

[Slack3r]

An equally salient question is, "is there any point in being co-chair of anything?"

Survey says: No.

 

[pkwraith]

An equally salient question is, "is there any point in being co-chair of anything?"

You get to pick which pizza place to order from.

 

[operaman]

This gets asked a lot. If you're interested, do it. If you're not, then don't. Simple.

I think that ECs really do matter but I've had a hard time communicating the nuances of this in past threads. This is the best I've come up with:

The ideal resident applicant is the sort of person who, in addition to great numbers, is also a really interesting and cool person who makes time to give back, gets involved in things they care about, produces good research, unselfishly cares about others, and gives 110% without complaining. This kind of person will likely have a certain kind of CV that reflects their values and work ethic. In this way, the things on their CV "matter" because they communicate what kind of person they truly are, not because any one item is particularly valued on its own.

Conversely, trying to pretend to be this kind of person by accumulating enough CV fluff is not likely to be very successful. Doing something because it truly interests you is the kind of thing that may lead to other opportunities and help build a CV that tells a story about a passionate and hard working person. Doing something because you hope it looks good on a CV is probably not going to have the same effect.

Still a difficult nuanced point, but hopefully this makes sense.

 

[NickNaylor]

You get to pick which pizza place to order from.

Very good point.

 

[tvelocity514]

Depends on the other co-president. I'm co-pres for 2 but the other person in each one is actually super on top of things and loves it so I pretty much just do the parts that they ask me to and help when I can. If you're the one doing all the work and it is a big time sink, it prob won't be worth it as residencies honestly don't care about clubs you were in. You can list it though - just not important like step1, research , letters, etc .

 

[PL198]

This gets asked a lot. If you're interested, do it. If you're not, then don't. Simple.

I think that ECs really do matter but I've had a hard time communicating the nuances of this in past threads. This is the best I've come up with:

The ideal resident applicant is the sort of person who, in addition to great numbers, is also a really interesting and cool person who makes time to give back, gets involved in things they care about, produces good research, unselfishly cares about others, and gives 110% without complaining. This kind of person will likely have a certain kind of CV that reflects their values and work ethic. In this way, the things on their CV "matter" because they communicate what kind of person they truly are, not because any one item is particularly valued on its own.

Conversely, trying to pretend to be this kind of person by accumulating enough CV fluff is not likely to be very successful. Doing something because it truly interests you is the kind of thing that may lead to other opportunities and help build a CV that tells a story about a passionate and hard working person. Doing something because you hope it looks good on a CV is probably not going to have the same effect.

Still a difficult nuanced point, but hopefully this makes sense.

tldr it's icing on the cake. if your cake sucks, icing won't fix it. an avg to above avg cake with no icing is better than a crappy cake with icing, however a good cake with icing is very good

 

[tiedyeddog]

couldn't care less*

if you could care less, that means you do care.

but yeah, the people in 40 different interest groups and planning 20 different events make me LOL so hard

thx

 

[MedicalBeast]

this is a complete waste of your time.

 

[cbrons]

This gets asked a lot. If you're interested, do it. If you're not, then don't. Simple.

I think that ECs really do matter but I've had a hard time communicating the nuances of this in past threads. This is the best I've come up with:

The ideal resident applicant is the sort of person who, in addition to great numbers, is also a really interesting and cool person who makes time to give back, gets involved in things they care about, produces good research, unselfishly cares about others, and gives 110% without complaining. This kind of person will likely have a certain kind of CV that reflects their values and work ethic. In this way, the things on their CV "matter" because they communicate what kind of person they truly are, not because any one item is particularly valued on its own.

Conversely, trying to pretend to be this kind of person by accumulating enough CV fluff is not likely to be very successful. Doing something because it truly interests you is the kind of thing that may lead to other opportunities and help build a CV that tells a story about a passionate and hard working person. Doing something because you hope it looks good on a CV is probably not going to have the same effect.

Still a difficult nuanced point, but hopefully this makes sense.

A hard worker with superior knowledge/skills/intuition without 1 second spent doing ECs is 1,000x more valuable than an interest groups/CV try-hard. They seem to care more about whether you would be a not big PITA than if you organized bake sales for the specialty interest group.

 

[Ophthoseidon]

tldr it's icing on the cake. if your cake sucks, icing won't fix it. an avg to above avg cake with no icing is better than a crappy cake with icing, however a good cake with icing is very good

LOL this might be the best tl;dr ever

 

[touchpause13]

I'm a co-chair of a group on campus that I care about, so spending time working on that is relaxing to me. I wouldn't bother with an interest group if I didn't find the time I spent on it enjoyable. I don't think it will make a damn difference for residencies.