Choosing your ECs

[pagemmapants]

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Okay, so this is probably a ridiculous question but at least I'm no n00b anymore so you can't accuse me of not having been around long enough. 😀 Plus a search turns up contradictory info. . .

How, exactly, do particular residencies view extra-curriculars? My cynical self at this point wants to think that they realize 🙂idea🙂 many people use some ECs as CV "pads" to make up for less-than-awesome numbers, and thereby don't give them much weight. However, the "what if I'm doing something wrong" part is scared I should stop rock climbing and painting my house and start something CV-applicable.

To be more specific:

Things like teaching sex-ed to high school kids or volunteering at various rural clinics/orphanages/hospices/soup kitches are, of course, positive things in a general sense, but in a narrow sense, do RDs give a crap?

What about things like "interest groups"? My school is awash with EMIGs and RIGs and SIGs and DIGs even a WMIG - sure it helps you find contacts with residents (and holycrapmaybeattendings) in your desired field, but does the RD of Awesomeness at Man's Greatest Hospital care if you were in the "Awesomeness Interest Group"?

What if you want to spend your outside-of-school time enjoying yourself - hiking, running, taking dance/yoga/underwater basket weaving? 👎 or 👍 ? Sure, if you do this, you get honors in life, but will R.D.Awesome say you're not motivated enough toward your desired field?

Also, on a "my-school-sucks" note: would they take into account the fact that class here during year 1 is easily 9-4 daily, and our summer is 3 weeks long, whereas at other places it's more like 9-1 4x/week with a full day once? This is probably the least important factor, but since I'm asking questions, I may as well get them all out there.

And just for the sake of completeness:
Part time jobs: not on the list of possibilities. ROI not good enough, so not concerned with whether these are viewed + or -.
Research = if applicable and useful, then awesome. Not an option at this point, either. 🙁

Thoughts?

 

[njbmd]

For residency, the most impressive parts of your application will be your grades and your board scores (Step I). Anything that takes time away from you maximizing your grades or your board scores is not going to make your application more competitive.

The next most important things for your residency application is the quality of your letters of recommendation. Good letters from clinicians who are impressed with your work are very helpful especially if those clinicians have a national reputation.

If you feel like you need more contact with the residents (and attendings) in your specialty choice, then specialty interest groups are a good way to start networking. My specialty interst group did things like organize board review sources, provided information about residency application and interviews, help mock residency interviews and provided speakers about practice/lifestyles. I felt that joining my specialty interest group was worth my time but I don't think it made any difference in the competitiveness of my application.

If your grades/boards/LORs are solid, you don't NEED ECs. The fact that you were a member of AMSA (for the free Netter Atlas) is not going to carry much weight with a residency director.

 

[Bertelman]

OP, out of the list of ECs you provided, I would say personal interests can get you a little nod during the interviews. Things like underwater basket weaving can be a conversation point in an otherwise boring, rote interview. I'm not saying it's going to get you in the program, but it is a window into your real personality. Several times during my interviews folks would ask about whatever hobby I listed, usually because they also shared the interest.

It's not at all a sign that you aren't motivated. It's a sign that you have a life outside med school. Believe it or not, they want to know that you do.