Clinical/Research/Volunteer Experience for a Post-bacc with a day-job?

[chicagoryan]

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Hi All -

I'm finishing my first semester of post-bacc at the Harvard Extension School. I work as an accountant by day and attend class at night. I think my applications to med-school at this point will be decent, except there will be a bunch of blank lines where it says to list clinical, volunteer, or research experience. I know I need to do something about this.

I was wondering if people have examples of what they've done for these experiences, and if any of them would work for someone that has a day job. I have a lot more availability between May and August when school isn't in session. I've looked at some listings for research positions but they all appear to need a day-time commitment or they're looking for an undergrad. Any suggestions for someone in my situation would be much appreciated!

Good luck on finals!

 

[dmf2682]

Try to get a job where you do some research. Any research. Doesn't have to be medically related.

I've been told by a couple adcoms that my r&d job counts. There must be some cutting edge accounting you can do somewhere.

Also, volunteer on the weekends. You don't need more than a day of volunteering per month.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Volunteer in the emergency department of your hospital. You can pretty much pick your own shift, so if midnight to 4AM on a Friday night is the only time that fits your schedule, you can still get your volunteer experience in.

 

[FutureDrB]

Volunteer at a hospital, just make sure it's a "patient-contact" type role. They may try to stick you in a clerical position. Ask if you can work in the ER, or transport patients throughout the hospital. Transporting is what I did and it was an awesome experience. Not only do you get to see patients/cases of all types, you get to be in almost every department, not just the ER. Med schools also like to see non-medical volunteer experience. For example, I do a lot for Habitat for Humanity and Susan G. Komen. But, it could be anything, just hop on the web and google volunteer opportunities in your area.

Oh, and about the time constraints. I work full-time too and go to school at night. You always have the weekend!

 

[dmf2682]

Oh yeah that reminds me, b/c I just got an email about it.

Habitat for humanity. At least in my city they send out requests for help almost every week that invariably has a couple weekend shifts. They like to have skilled labor, but it's not necessary. You could do that on a couple saturday mornings and be home for lunch. Or work the full day. Whatever. It's fun and you get to meet new people. Search it out.

A big perk is that you get to learn home improvement skills that you can apply to your own home. I can now dry-wall things.

 

[DocGodfather]

My main issue is research. Seems like most research programs are offered to undergrads. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do research on as a non-traditional?

 

[chicagoryan]

Awesome. Thanks for all of the advice! I will definitely be applying to a few hospitals this weekend.

 

[Ghck]

My main issue is research. Seems like most research programs are offered to undergrads. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do research on as a non-traditional?

I've done clinical research in the emergency department at two different hospitals. The first one I found on the bulletin board outside the pre-med office at my undergrad institution. You could probably check there to see what has been posted.

You can also contact hospitals directly to find out if there are clinical research volunteer opportunities. You'll have your best luck with this if you contact hospitals affiliated with an academic institution.

For those who work, clinical research like this is perfect as you can volunteer on the weekends and late into the evening.

Lastly, I am not currently enrolled in a 4 year institution, but I can still get e-mails from the pre-med office, and I can still go to the pre-med societies meetings. I've seen several opportunities for research/volunteering/shadowing through these avenues.

 

[JennyBenny]

Awesome. Thanks for all of the advice! I will definitely be applying to a few hospitals this weekend.

At every school I interviewed, the PhDs asked me about research, but I never did any because I was nontraditional (Finance major, worked in ibanking) and most undergrads would prefer science majors to do their research anyways. I just said I would be interested in doing clinical research while in med school and they seemed to be okay with that.

I became a Certified Nurse Aide (takes 2 months for a course...every saturday) and then got a job at a hospital. Picked up 2 or 3 12-hour shifts and then worked part time at an orthopedic clinic doing insurance. Most interviewers ask about work experience and not so much about volunteering so maybe look for something like that. Also a lot of my friends did week-long summer camps for children and were able to talk about that too.

Good luck!

 

[DocGodfather]

I've done clinical research in the emergency department at two different hospitals. The first one I found on the bulletin board outside the pre-med office at my undergrad institution. You could probably check there to see what has been posted.

You can also contact hospitals directly to find out if there are clinical research volunteer opportunities. You'll have your best luck with this if you contact hospitals affiliated with an academic institution.

For those who work, clinical research like this is perfect as you can volunteer on the weekends and late into the evening.

Lastly, I am not currently enrolled in a 4 year institution, but I can still get e-mails from the pre-med office, and I can still go to the pre-med societies meetings. I've seen several opportunities for research/volunteering/shadowing through these avenues.

What kind of experience would I need to participate in research? I'm going to look into the hospital I'm going to start volunteering at in a couple weeks. I'm not an undergrad anymore, so that's why I'm having a tough time finding opportunities. Thanks!