Bad to not have something medical related as most meaningful?

[djsbaseball2014]

So I am trying to figure out my most meaningful activities and 3 things come to mind but they arent medically related.

1.) President of the schools cooking club, got funded $20k for food demonstration to advocate for food insecurity
2.) Research experience in psychology lab for 2 years, poster presentation, great LOR, possible 2nd author in school journal
3.) Tutoring both at a tutoring center and private tutoring on my own did it for 4+ years and absolutely love it

The one medical thing i could swap in there would be my EMT course where i really learned alot about medicine as a team based field (helped the ER team to treat patients within my scope of practice etc.) and was exposed to some of the harsh realities. (saw people die)

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[TakotsuboOkazaki]

They asked for what is most meaningful to you.

If it isn’t medically related, so be it.

You risk more by sacrificing your genuity to please the adcoms than you do telling the truth and letting your passion show through.

Write from the heart, or, as the kids say, SAY IT WITCHA’ CHEST!

 

[500miles]

So I am trying to figure out my most meaningful activities and 3 things come to mind but they arent medically related.

1.) President of the schools cooking club, got funded $20k for food demonstration to advocate for food insecurity
2.) Research experience in psychology lab for 2 years, poster presentation, great LOR, possible 2nd author in school journal
3.) Tutoring both at a tutoring center and private tutoring on my own did it for 4+ years and absolutely love it

The one medical thing i could swap in there would be my EMT course where i really learned alot about medicine as a team based field (helped the ER team to treat patients within my scope of practice etc.) and was exposed to some of the harsh realities. (saw people die)

Its probably ok as long as you write about something medical in the other ones. Did you also shadow or do anything else medically related besides EMT? I think between the most meaningful experiences, other experiences and your personal statement, there better be some talk about the medical field some where!

 

[djsbaseball2014]

@500miles Ive shadowed about 60 hours, volunteered at a free clinic for about 3 months,have volunteered at a hospital will have about 150 hours by the time i apply, plus might be doing paid clinical research over the Gap year but wont be able to include that in my app so ill have to update. I have clinical experiences I just wouldn't consider them as meaningful as the other things I have done, I also have had a compelling life story that deals with my illnesses as a kid and how thats inspired me to go into medicine so I am not 100% clueless

 

[KU Brendan]

My opinion is that you already answered your own question by the way you said what you felt was meaningful to you--you "absolutely love" the tutoring. I would MUCH rather read a personal statement or interview someone who is passionate about something and can express that instead of "yeah, I was on an ambulance, and we saw some bad stuff." It is even better if you can tell a story about a student you tutored or explain what "food insecurity" is (I always like learning about unique experiences when I'm interviewing). I'm sure you'll have plenty of other questions and times to state your desire to be a physician.

 

[The Unburnt]

I had an artistic endeavor as one of my most meaningful, unrelated to medicine but taught me a lot about myself and how to work with others and deal with hardship so I chose that. I had a pretty successful cycle so take that as you will. Adcoms want to know that you're a real person with interests and meaningful experiences in all aspects of life, not that you're a cookie-cutter pre-med robot. Chances are you will be able to write a much more impactful description about something that was actually meaningful to you, regardless of it's relation to medicine!

 

[Darmani]

Definitely not bad. I only had 2 most meaningful activities and neither had any relation to medicine. I ended up with multiple interviews, one at a top 20.

 

[500miles]

@500miles Ive shadowed about 60 hours, volunteered at a free clinic for about 3 months,have volunteered at a hospital will have about 150 hours by the time i apply, plus might be doing paid clinical research over the Gap year but wont be able to include that in my app so ill have to update. I have clinical experiences I just wouldn't consider them as meaningful as the other things I have done, I also have had a compelling life story that deals with my illnesses as a kid and how thats inspired me to go into medicine so I am not 100% clueless

Yeah as long as you've had medical experiences and can speak to then when asked, write about whatever you want. My most meaningful are about non clinical volunteering and research, although my personal statement includes medical experiences. Haven't applied yet so I can't say much, although I wouldn't change my most meaningful because they really were very meaningful to me and I'll talk passionately about them.