Are Medical Brigades good Extracurriculars?

[Adrielm]

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Edit: davaf

 

[Pusheen]

I'm just a premed, but I'm skeptical about the help a college student can offer to other countries (I'm assuming this is an international organization). Surely the respective countries have plenty of people who can help take medical histories and build water reservoirs.
Not to be a snob, but the most helpful opportunities are usually not the most glamorous or exciting. There are plenty of great things you can do just within your city, but most people don't because it's not cool or exciting enough.

 

[Adrielm]

You've demonstrated very well in your post that you are well aware of all of the negatives/criticisms of medical brigades. So what exactly are you looking for us to answer? Seems to me that you already have your mind made up, otherwise you wouldn't have bothered making this post in which you basically tried to justify all the criticisms you knew people have regarding medical brigades.

To answer the question you quoted above, a quasi-proverb I've heard thrown around these forums is to "start in your own backyard." You don't need to fly halfway across the world to find people in need. You can find that anywhere. Find local clinics or nonprofit organizations, and work with the community you have around you. There are ample opportunities to achieve what you're trying to do without spending thousands of dollars to go on a glorified vacation, and frankly, no adcom will be fooled by this.

Thanks for the answer (even though it was somewhat hostile)! My intention is not to fool any adcoms. I failed to mention in my post that I was interested in the brigade for "the experience" that so many people talk about. The members at my local branch have all stated that it has changed them and they have used the trip as "Most Meaningful" material. I want to gain a perspective on foreign medical care that I can't gain from my local community.

 

[Dral]

You have done your research. In addition, many adcoms seem to view these as medical volunteering 'vacations'...as Xyphr alluded to

I think they were impressive like 10 years ago. Now... not so much.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

To answer one of your questions, no they don't want/expect all of your ECs to be medically related. If you want to help people you can volunteer at a soup kitchen, and if you want to do something outside of school you can join a recreational flag football league. At some point you have to get some clinical experience, but that's at any point before you graduate. Just do what interests you and what's fun when you're a 1st year.

 

[Stagg737]

The problem with medical mission trips, or really mission trips of any kind, are that they are short-term trips which show limited commitment to the actual mission itself. Even if you do something like help build a well or housing, you essentially just go and then never see them again. The only time I think it would really be considered a strong EC is if you make multiple trips the same town/clinic and express that you want to practice international medicine as a career.

In terms of ECs as a whole, you should show variety. Make sure you're doing either clinical volunteering or work. It doesn't really matter, but you need to be able to show that you've at least exposed yourself to medicine and know that it is what you want to do. You should ideally have a decent amount of volunteering and research (depending on the type of med school you want to attend). Perhaps most importantly, you need to have some ECs that you do just for fun. That can be athletics, joining a random club/organization, volunteer organizations, or just a hobby that you commit significant time to. Stats are important, but schools also want to see that there's an actual person behind the numbers with some kind of life outside of medicine. You need to have some kind of outlet to help prevent burnout that you can carry into med school, so I'd try and include something like that as well.

Edit: Just realized I gave a lengthier explanation of the previous post. Sorry.

 

[Spector1]

its not terrible but some adcoms including some of those on this forum seem to frown upon "medical tourism"

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

I did a lot of medical missions in undergrad, and it made up a significant portion of my very successful application. I know people here disagree with this, but I strongly believe that medical missions can significantly boost your application if they are done correctly.

First, make sure you go with a reputable organization. You need to vet your organizations and go with one that has a permanent presence in the area they are serving. Both organizations I went with had established clinics and hospitals in the area, and we simply worked alongside the people working in the area delivering health care.

Next, you need to make sure that the organizations will be having you doing meaningful work down there. This is not a tourist trip; this is about service.

I agree with a lot of what the previous posters say about the possible pitfalls of medical missions. A great book to read about medical missions and their pitfalls is When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor... Or Yourself by Steven Corbett and Brian Fikkert. They do an excellent job of talking about the problems with medical missions and how to avoid a lot of the problems the OP and other posters have raised in this thread.

I know a lot of students who have gone on lots of medical brigades and missions and have gotten into medical school. If done right, it can significantly boost your application, especially at schools that value experience working with underserved populations. I listed medical missions as one of my three most meaningful activities, and it made up the story for my personal statement. I ended up getting 3 II and 2 acceptances, one at a top 20. So OP, please do not let all the negativity surrounding medical missions discourage you from doing it if it is something you are truly passionate about. Just make sure you do it with reputable organizations.

OP, please feel free to PM me with any questions.

Here are some other posts I have made on this topic.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/medical-mission-trip-inquiry.1129699/#post-16767885
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/medical-mission-trips.1152625/#post-16765755

 

[Stagg737]

I did a lot of medical missions in undergrad, and it made up a significant portion of my very successful application. I know people here disagree with this, but I strongly believe that medical missions can significantly boost your application if they are done correctly.

First, make sure you go with a reputable organization. You need to vet your organizations and go with one that has a permanent presence in the area they are serving. Both organizations I went with had established clinics and hospitals in the area, and we simply worked alongside the people working in the area delivering health care.

Next, you need to make sure that the organizations will be having you doing meaningful work down there. This is not a tourist trip; this is about service.

I agree with a lot of what the previous posters say about the possible pitfalls of medical missions. A great book to read about medical missions and their pitfalls is When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor... Or Yourself by Steven Corbett and Brian Fikkert. They do an excellent job of talking about the problems with medical missions and how to avoid a lot of the problems the OP and other posters have raised in this thread.

I know a lot of students who have gone on lots of medical brigades and missions and have gotten into medical school. If done right, it can significantly boost your application, especially at schools that value experience working with underserved populations. I listed medical missions as one of my three most meaningful activities, and it made up the story for my personal statement. I ended up getting 3 II and 2 acceptances, one at a top 20. So OP, please do not let all the negativity surrounding medical missions discourage you from doing it if it is something you are truly passionate about. Just make sure you do it with reputable organizations.

OP, please feel free to PM me with any questions.

Here are some other posts I have made on this topic.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/medical-mission-trip-inquiry.1129699/#post-16767885
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/medical-mission-trips.1152625/#post-16765755

The bolded sums up pretty much every potential EC. Doing a single trip isn't going to look good even if you "do it right" though. It'll be viewed by many as medical tourism either way. The EC needs to be multiple trips with significant work which can be tied into one's overall motivations, either as a physician or just their general life goals. There's nothing wrong with just doing one trip or even with a "medical tourism" trip, one just can't expect it to be seen as a serious EC.

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

The bolded sums up pretty much every potential EC. Doing a single trip isn't going to look good even if you "do it right" though. It'll be viewed by many as medical tourism either way. The EC needs to be multiple trips with significant work which can be tied into one's overall motivations, either as a physician or just their general life goals. There's nothing wrong with just doing one trip or even with a "medical tourism" trip, one just can't expect it to be seen as a serious EC.

I think it depend on the length of the trip. I listed a single 5-week trip over the summer as a most meaningful experience. This was because this trip changed my entire view of medicine and I was able to get a lot of hands-on experience with medicine. I also got a strong letter of rec from one of the mission organization missionaries I worked with. I believe a single trip can be taken seriously as an EC. Again, a lot of people I know who did a single trip over the summer got into medical school, so I do think that these trips get taken seriously if there is evidence that it was "done right".

 

[Stagg737]

I think it depend on the length of the trip. I listed a single 5-week trip over the summer as a most meaningful experience. This was because this trip changed my entire view of medicine and I was able to get a lot of hands-on experience with medicine. I also got a strong letter of rec from one of the mission organization missionaries I worked with. I believe a single trip can be taken seriously as an EC. Again, a lot of people I know who did a single trip over the summer got into medical school, so I do think that these trips get taken seriously if there is evidence that it was "done right".

Sometimes, if it's a long enough trip and you have strong enough evidence that it was legitimate. However there are plenty of acoms out there that would see even a 5 week trip as medical tourism if you couldn't strongly tie it in with your motivation. I did the same thing as you (slightly shorter trip) and got no love for it at all as far as I know. I'm pretty sure it was just seen as another random experience even though I saw/experienced a few things that completely changed my life perspectives and conveyed that pretty well.

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

Sometimes, if it's a long enough trip and you have strong enough evidence that it was legitimate. However there are plenty of acoms out there that would see even a 5 week trip as medical tourism if you couldn't strongly tie it in with your motivation. I did the same thing as you (slightly shorter trip) and got no love for it at all as far as I know. I'm pretty sure it was just seen as another random experience even though I saw/experienced a few things that completely changed my life perspectives and conveyed that pretty well.

It probably matters how you write it up in your application and if you get a strong letter of rec out of it. My mission experiences completely changed me, and I talked about that in length in my application.

I am sorry to hear it did not work for you. However, I still think it can be a big piece of your application, as medical missions was by and large the most important piece of my EC activities and personal statement, and I got a lot of love for it as a result.

For the OP, now you see both sides of the issue.

 

[Not A Troll]

The real value in any EC comes from sustained commitment to whatever the particular goal/mission is. One mission trip is useless. A ton of trips with the same organization to the same country where you eventually take on leadership roles is what is important for med schools. So if Brigades is really what you want to do, get involved early and consistently and take on a leadership role after a couple trips.

 

[gyngyn]

It probably matters how you write it up in your application and if you get a strong letter of rec out of it. My mission experiences completely changed me, and I talked about that in length in my application.

I am sorry to hear it did not work for you. However, I still think it can be a big piece of your application, as medical missions was by and large the most important piece of my EC activities and personal statement, and I got a lot of love for it as a result.

For the OP, now you see both sides of the issue.

It is also important to note that your target school is focused on missions (medical and otherwise). It is a mission-based school in every sense of the word!
Other schools and individuals are very likely to view them differently.

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

It is also important to note that your target school is focused on missions (medical and otherwise). It is a mission-based school in every sense of the word!
Other schools and individuals are very likely to view them differently.

True, the school I attend is a missions-based medical school. But I interviewed at other schools that looked positively on them. My interviewers at other public medical schools thought it was a great activity, and I was able to talk with the them about missions opportunities their schools offer. So I really do think it comes down to how it is conducted and written up, and how it contributes to your platform of why you are pursuing medicine.

 

[gyngyn]

True, the school I attend is a missions-based medical school. But I interviewed at other schools that looked positively on them. My interviewers at other public medical schools thought it was a great activity, and I was able to talk with the them about missions opportunities their schools offer. So I really do think it comes down to how it is conducted and written up, and how it contributes to your platform of why you are pursuing medicine.

These activities, as described by the large majority of those who participate, have not been perceived as an important component of the application by most evaluators I know.

 

[doctorleospaceman]

The way I saw medical brigades was that at this point I would just be more of a handicap than any actual help. I'm not a doctor or even a med student. What can I really do besides put on a bandaid? Makes more sense to go when I can actually make a difference as a doctor, rather than risk getting sick for no reason in a third world country and just becoming another casualty for the actual medical professions to take care of.

Just my two cents.

 

[ls2412]

I also knew someone with a stellar application who did not get in anywhere because she went on in interviews and essays about all the things she did on these trips that were totally unethical. If you do decide to go on one, just be careful with which one you pick and make sure it's ethical.

 

[nwts]

I feel like whether you do or not do one of these is unlikely to make or break your application at very many places. I think it is much more likely that making one of these experiences be one of the most highlighted parts of your application would have a large impact on the outcome of applications.