Disappointed

[FSUMED]

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Well, I had a huge dissappointment today. I had applied for a program here that sends 10 pre-med students to 3rd worl coutnries each year. It is very selective group and while I didnt really think I had cahnce at first, I ended up getting an interview. THey only granted 15 so I felt pretty honored. Then they eliminated 2 people, which put me on the list for the 13 member group itnerview. I went to that last night and I thought it went pretty well, only I had no idea how things would turn out because everybody there was so deserving of it. We were told that we would find out within 24 hours whether we were chosen or not. So the day wore on and on and hour by hour I got more and more depressed, as I was coming to the realization that I was not going to be called. And as the 24 hour mark passed, I was had to accept that fact that I had been gotten so close to this thing that I have wanted for a whole year, yet didn't get it. I was left only to wonder what was it about me that singled me out from the rest of the group. I am not quite sure how to feel now, after my initial emotional breakdown. I want to tell myself that there is something else out there for me and that if this was meant to be for me it would have been. And while I am coming closer to accepting this, but I have not fully realized it yet. I dont have the time to worry about it though as I have an organic chem 2 test friday, and retreat this weekend. Now I am wondering what I will do to get medical volunteer experience. I dont really have more than a couple hours a week to give, and they arent during the day, so I feel pretty boxed in. If anybody has any advice as to what I should now, about volunteer work, and about the getting out of a slump I would appreciate.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Going to a third world country is not the ONLY way to get experience..but, if you are really want to do that...
Then join the peace corps after graduation. I think it's a 2 year committment. That's what my cousin did for 4 years..she's now at UCSF 🙂

 

[elle]

Hi,
I applied for a trip kind of like that a few years ago and didn't get in... so I know the feeling of being disappointed about not getting that sort of chance. But I think there are a lot of great ways to volunteer and gain great medical experience, probably even in your own town. For the past few years, I have been an HIV counselor in a clinic near where I live, and that has been a great teaching experience. I don't know if that falls under the "medical volunteering" category, but if you are interested in disease prevention and education, I would guess that a lot of cities and also college towns would have programs where you could volunteer. If you end up with an outreach program, you can actually get out and work in different communities... which for me was a great way to get out of my college-town sometimes. 🙂

Another way to get clinical experience would be to work for a clinical research study or in a doctor's office, during the summers or part-time if you're still in school.

Just my thoughts...and only based off my own experience... but I hope that helps a little!

Good luck and I hope you are feeling better!

 

[snowballz]

Hmm..I got an offer from my advisor for a thing like that. You go to Kenya and can go to a few others..I have the web address. I will warn you, the program is costly...in the thousands. If you have rich parents or something, it shouldn't be a problem. I'd love to do it..but I am the progeny of milk man and cook. 🙁

Here is the web addy..www.globalservicecorps.org

Good luck.

Alicia

 

[praying4MD]

Sorry about the bad news. Hopefully this will help.

My story/soapbox:

I would get the same response, "You're too young," the years before I went to Africa on a relief trip. Probably true, but I decided to prove them wrong. If you really want to go, show them how dedicated you are to the cause & that your desire to go lies internally, & NOT to pad your application. When I went I wasn't even seriously considering med school. I just went because that's the kind of thing idealistic, young, sometimes na?ve & stupid, "hippie-chicks" do: try to "save the world."

So, how did I land the gig? I showed the organization how committed I was-- fundraised like mad, publicity events, etc. They asked me to be their coordinator for 3 other relief agencies and the next year, they asked me to go to Africa alone on a relief trip. Warning: All the work I had done so far had been Non-medical, but it didn't matter to me. It took a lot of time and effort, but I ended up really enjoying it and I still do it. My reward: going to Africa & working under a surgeon with an intl relief org.

I must stress though: PLEASE, DO NOT GO THERE WITH THE INTENTION OF PADDING YOUR RESUME! Go because you want to go, because believe me, when it's 129 degrees, and you're living without electricity or water, and haven't bathed in 6 days, you will not be thinking about your resume. I don't mean to be rude, as this is probably not your motivation, but it's one of my pet peeves & I feel strongly about it.

Best of luck in this endeavor—it can be harrowing. I hope you decide to pursue this if this is really what you want. If you do go, Enjoy yourself! 🙂

 

[snowballz]

No running water? 130 degrees? No thanks, I'll keep reading to the kids. 😉

Alicia

 

[praying4MD]

Snowballz: hehe. No AC. Try No water at all. Running or not. Yup. And as I reached into the well for reserve water to cool me off, I saw the beetles' and roach eggs hatching in the water that was supposed to be my bath for the next week. 😱 But how could I complain when I only went there for a short time and people actually Live like that? I couldn't really because it wouldn't be right. Sometimes I wonder if I could muster up the strength to do it again. I sure hope so.

I have never enjoyed a shower as much as I did when I got home. Wow. 🙂

PS: I'm sure reading to kids is just as trying, but in different ways. 🙂

 

[snowballz]

Well..no, but it's what I enjoy. I love working with children...espiecally sick ones that need more love than your average kid. Sick children have a spirit that cannot be matched,truly.

If someone told me that they were abolishing peds, I'd look for another career.

Alicia

 

[glacierdropsy]

There's was a thread on the allopathic board a few months back about medical missions trips. In case you are looking for some trips like these, here are some links that were mentioned in that thread:
http://www.mfinder.org/ http://stuartxchange.com/Volunteer.html

I haven't really looked at these sites in detail, but you may find them interesting.

 

[CoffeeCat]

Scoobydoo-

Woohoo peace corps! Could you give some info on what kind of project your sister had and what country she went to? I would love to hear stories, thanks.

 

[SMW]

My sister and her husband did two years in the Peace Corps in Belize. He did archaeology for the government, she did multiple things in a refugee (from the central American civil wars) village -- teaching, getting their water and sanitation systems going (entailed writing grants to get the money and then a lot of backbreaking labor mixing cement and digging outhouse holes in near 100 degree weather), helping Mayan women villagers set up a program for marketing their weavings. They absolutely loved their time there. They practically adopted the 12 children (tutoring them and encouraging them to do well in school so they'd pass the entrance exam for high school) of an incredibly poor neighbor family, one of whom has since visited them in the U.S. and did get into high school.

They had no running water, a giant water tank -- that got really funky and had to be replaced -- to catch rainwater. Their first projects when they arrived were building their own outhouse and replacing the water tank. That's when they met the kids who came over to "help."

Unless the rules have changed, only married couples are guaranteed placement together. That's how my sister and her then fiance set their wedding date. They recently celebrated their seventh anniversary.