Clinical Experience Check - Is this sufficient?
Started by HopefulApplicant667
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Both of these are excellent clinical experiences in my book. Just my thoughts.
You have shadowing, and you interact with patients. If you can reflect well on how all of the experiences shape your purpose to be a physician, you'll be okay. Perhaps you haven't communicated the value of these experiences well enough with your advisor to explain your vision.
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I agree that these seem like valuable positions, but I would hope they’re also related to what you want to do. You mention shadowing surgery, but your volunteering seems like what I’d expect from someone who wanted to go into mental health. You may have a clear narrative that makes this clear, this is just an observation.
One other thing I want to highlight is your timeline comment. I worry a bit about applicants who are rushing and can’t do things because of that. Again, not saying you are, just wanted to highlight that you should apply when you’re ready, not on some particular timeline.
HopefulApplicant667
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From the perspective of an applicant, I'm looking a little into your future...mostly because I've been there and I understand how you might feel.
At some point, you're going to actually have to sit down and prepare an application. As you put together your personal statement, activity descriptions, and secondaries, you will be asked in a million different ways how you know you want to be a doctor and ways that you've tested that hunch.
And for what it's worth, they really only want to hear one answer: "I worked in a patient-facing role doing physician-adjacent work where I worked alongside/deeply yearned for the responsibility of a physician to serve my fellow human and reinforce the health of entire communities, especially those most vulnerable." Obviously you would never phrase it that explicitly, but that's really the core of what they're reading for.
Even past the application, once you approach interview season, you will again be confronted with—potentially—several minutes worth of follow up questions about your involvement with patients and your duties and what you took away from those experiences.
They are looking to be reassured that you understand what a physician does, how the medical team works, what it's like to actually perform the rather unglamorous (and, to most, initially revolting) work of patient care. They want to know that you have some appreciation for social justice, the psychology of illness, and a current of empathy that undergirds those reflections.
The brutal truth of it all is that the admissions landscape is hypercompetitive, expensive to participate in (both in upfront and opportunity cost), and pretty ruthless. I can totally understand the impulse to throw your hands up at some point and say "I'm giving you the application that was possible for me, not necessarily the one you want—and that needs to be enough." The issue is that you won't necessarily receive feedback, and even if you did, it would never come down to "you should've done 50 more hours doing X." It's about providing evidence and compelling reasoning behind your desire to do clinical work, which you can only obtain doing clinical work.
I'm not knocking your experiences or judging especially considering the opportunity simply hasn't been available, but I am saying that I am finding it hard to imagine how you can stretch them narrative-wise to make the claims you need to make in your application, and to that extent I agree with your advisor.
At some point, you're going to actually have to sit down and prepare an application. As you put together your personal statement, activity descriptions, and secondaries, you will be asked in a million different ways how you know you want to be a doctor and ways that you've tested that hunch.
And for what it's worth, they really only want to hear one answer: "I worked in a patient-facing role doing physician-adjacent work where I worked alongside/deeply yearned for the responsibility of a physician to serve my fellow human and reinforce the health of entire communities, especially those most vulnerable." Obviously you would never phrase it that explicitly, but that's really the core of what they're reading for.
Even past the application, once you approach interview season, you will again be confronted with—potentially—several minutes worth of follow up questions about your involvement with patients and your duties and what you took away from those experiences.
They are looking to be reassured that you understand what a physician does, how the medical team works, what it's like to actually perform the rather unglamorous (and, to most, initially revolting) work of patient care. They want to know that you have some appreciation for social justice, the psychology of illness, and a current of empathy that undergirds those reflections.
The brutal truth of it all is that the admissions landscape is hypercompetitive, expensive to participate in (both in upfront and opportunity cost), and pretty ruthless. I can totally understand the impulse to throw your hands up at some point and say "I'm giving you the application that was possible for me, not necessarily the one you want—and that needs to be enough." The issue is that you won't necessarily receive feedback, and even if you did, it would never come down to "you should've done 50 more hours doing X." It's about providing evidence and compelling reasoning behind your desire to do clinical work, which you can only obtain doing clinical work.
I'm not knocking your experiences or judging especially considering the opportunity simply hasn't been available, but I am saying that I am finding it hard to imagine how you can stretch them narrative-wise to make the claims you need to make in your application, and to that extent I agree with your advisor.
Sometimes, advisors are misinformed. It wouldn't be the first time. Just sayin'.
No, I think it's fine: like I said, those were just observations for you to consider, not "you're doing this wrong" statements. It seems like you have clear interests and your activities are well chosen to align with those.
