Clinical hours after applying/during gap year?

[Ready_to_learn]

I am a junior in college, and am planning on taking a gap year before hopefully going to medical school. I am having some confusion as to whether or not it is important to have all of my clinical hours done by the time that I apply to medical school versus if it is okay to complete the majority of my clinical hours during that gap year. Do medical schools want to see xyz number of clinical hours completed on the application, or are they okay with seeing that abc number of clinical hours will be done during the gap year? Please advise! This also applies to other things like volunteering, research, etc. I suppose.

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[pedneuro6894]

The "anticipated hours" really mean nothing to admissions committees, they focus on the hours completed. You should have at least some experience prior to applying. They will take into account that you have been in school and won't have the sheer number of hours as someone who has been out for a year and volunteering/working full time, but you still need to have a good baseline. How many hours will you have at the time of submitting your app?

 

[Ready_to_learn]

The "anticipated hours" really mean nothing to admissions committees, they focus on the hours completed. You should have at least some experience prior to applying. They will take into account that you have been in school and won't have the sheer number of hours as someone who has been out for a year and volunteering/working full time, but you still need to have a good baseline. How many hours will you have at the time of submitting your app?

I'm not sure how many I'll have. I will have at least 130 ish from clinical volunteering, but am trying to plan my extracurriculars for next year and wanted to ask this so that I can have some better direction as to whether I should prioritize doing clinical hours (of which, besides clinical volunteering, I currently have none).

 

[pedneuro6894]

I'm not sure how many I'll have. I will have at least 130 ish from clinical volunteering, but am trying to plan my extracurriculars for next year and wanted to ask this so that I can have some better direction as to whether I should prioritize doing clinical hours (of which, besides clinical volunteering, I currently have none).

What is the nature of the clinical volunteering? The clinical volunteering counts towards your overall clinical hours, and you do not need to have paid hours for it to be deemed worthy. Do you have any non-clinical activities? What about research? I would suggest laying out a full WAMC with your current hours/what you will have by the time of application so we can get a better idea.

 

[Ready_to_learn]

Thanks for your responses! I may do a more formal WAMC at some point in the future.

Clinical volunteering is helping out in a nursing unit (getting water/blankets/etc for patients, talking to them one on one to help improve mental health). This will likely be for around 130 hours by the end of my time there.
Non-clinical activities include working for student newspaper as an editor (will have been on the paper for 3.5 years when I apply) and volunteer tutoring public school students (have done about 25 hours so far).
I have done two semesters of wetlab research and one summer drylab/clinical research internship (I am on one review paper from the two semesters and two short papers from internship).

The big things I think I'm missing are a more hands-on clinical experience and more hours of non-clinical volunteering.

 

[pedneuro6894]

If you can get more hands-on clinical experience great, since 130 hours is definitely on the lower end, but I see more of a need in your non-clinical volunteering. You need to volunteer with the underserved. Soup kitchen type-deal. Tutoring doesn't really get you very far unless it's in low-income areas, with disabled kids, etc. People on here will tell you it needs to "push you out of your comfort zone."

I have applied to medical school 4x, and was only successful this most recent time. One of the things I wish I would have done was wait until I knew my application was ready, but I was eager and impatient. Your best option might be to post-pone your application for a year until you can really build a strong foundation of experience. Patience is a virtue.

Since I am only an applicant, take my advice with a grain of salt. Hopefully one of the adcoms will hop on here with some more advice.

 

[chilly_md]

Have 250 hours by the time you submit your app. I agree that you should also get significant hours of non-clinical volunteering done by then too. You're fine with the amount of research you've gotten so far.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Non-clinical activities include working for student newspaper as an editor (will have been on the paper for 3.5 years when I apply) and volunteer tutoring public school students (have done about 25 hours so far).

Being on the editorial staff of your student paper is good for campus leadership.

Most premeds are volunteer tutors, especially for underserved/marginalized students in STEM areas. We're glad you do it, but it's an academic competency (you need to be good at science and math, right?), not a service orientation activity like food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation. You need 150 hours minimum of those service orientation activities, 250+ if you are going for "brand schools" desiring high metrics.

 

[Ready_to_learn]

Have 250 hours by the time you submit your app. I agree that you should also get significant hours of non-clinical volunteering done by then too. You're fine with the amount of research you've gotten so far.

When you say 250 hours, do you mean 250 clinical hours? Does that number include the clinical volunteering hours?

 

[Ready_to_learn]

Being on the editorial staff of your student paper is good for campus leadership.

Most premeds are volunteer tutors, especially for underserved/marginalized students in STEM areas. We're glad you do it, but it's an academic competency (you need to be good at science and math, right?), not a service orientation activity like food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation. You need 150 hours minimum of those service orientation activities, 250+ if you are going for "brand schools" desiring high metrics.

Thanks for your response. This has worried me a bit as I want to make sure I am using my time wisely (I love tutoring so it will always be fulfilling to me, of course). Does the tutoring count for volunteer hours?

 

[chilly_md]

When you say 250 hours, do you mean 250 clinical hours? Does that number include the clinical volunteering hours?

Yes, clinical hours. You shouldn't count on tutoring for your non-clinical volunteer hours, see Mr. Smile's suggestions for activities you can start for that.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thanks for your response. This has worried me a bit as I want to make sure I am using my time wisely (I love tutoring so it will always be fulfilling to me, of course). Does the tutoring count for volunteer hours?

If you love tutoring, why not be a teacher or a professor? Or get an education degree? Are you sure that's not your calling? How's your research going if you want to head in an academic medicine direction?

 

[Ready_to_learn]

If you love tutoring, why not be a teacher or a professor? Or get an education degree? Are you sure that's not your calling? How's your research going if you want to head in an academic medicine direction?

I appreciate what you're doing with this comment, but I want to be a physician. I love tutoring and teaching, but there is no greater feeling than doing the hard work and the problem solving to help someone in need, and I find that the problems of the body (as well as mind) are especially enlightening and fulfilling. Maybe down the line I could teach medical school classes!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I appreciate what you're doing with this comment, but I want to be a physician. I love tutoring and teaching, but there is no greater feeling than doing the hard work and the problem solving to help someone in need, and I find that the problems of the body (as well as mind) are especially enlightening and fulfilling. Maybe down the line I could teach medical school classes!

Thanks for indulging in this thought experiment since I hope it helps you clarify why medicine. This is why you need more clinical exposure: problem solving in medicine or health isn't the same as tutoring (or what you are doing). Many problems you will solve deal with access and navigating the system. The news is full of stories about insurance companies denying authorizations and the doctors who have to address these problems. It's about finding resources so a patient can eat healthy or be in a safe home (nonclinical service orientation). Lifestyle is almost as critical as practicing to suture or stick an IV (which others will do for you). It's not the same as teaching public school students unless you are doing more (employed).

 

[AsclepiusAdvisingLLC]

I am a junior in college, and am planning on taking a gap year before hopefully going to medical school. I am having some confusion as to whether or not it is important to have all of my clinical hours done by the time that I apply to medical school versus if it is okay to complete the majority of my clinical hours during that gap year. Do medical schools want to see xyz number of clinical hours completed on the application, or are they okay with seeing that abc number of clinical hours will be done during the gap year? Please advise! This also applies to other things like volunteering, research, etc. I suppose.

This is a really good question! Medical schools will want to know that you have started to forge relationships within your volunteering and clinical experiences that will extend into your gap year. Many students will apply to medical school with a job lined up that has clear responsibilities which they are able to outline in their application. Often, these students will submit update letters in the Fall describing how the experiences they're pursuing during their gap year have impacted them.

As Mr.Smile and Chilly_MD said, you want to make sure you accumulate a sufficient number of hours by the time you submit your application so that schools can see how much time you have put into these commitments. This is especially true if you are applying to competitive schools; however, referencing that you will continue these experiences throughout your gap year can also enhance your application and show that you are dedicated to the experiences that fulfill both you and your desire to help others.

 

[Ready_to_learn]

Thanks for indulging in this thought experiment since I hope it helps you clarify why medicine. This is why you need more clinical exposure: problem solving in medicine or health isn't the same as tutoring (or what you are doing). Many problems you will solve deal with access and navigating the system. The news is full of stories about insurance companies denying authorizations and the doctors who have to address these problems. It's about finding resources so a patient can eat healthy or be in a safe home (nonclinical service orientation). Lifestyle is almost as critical as practicing to suture or stick an IV (which others will do for you). It's not the same as teaching public school students unless you are doing more (employed).

Thank you for explaining this!