Do Residency Programs Care about Gap Year Before Med?

[Windem]

I got accepted pretty early in the cycle and I am taking a gap year. I'm just doing a few volunteering activities and doing volunteer clinical research. Overall a pretty relaxing and light workload. Plus the research gives me a chance to get my name on a paper which is usually not possible in other disciplines. Publication is not guaranteed though.

Do residency programs care about what I do in this time period? Is it okay to not work? It's been pretty challenging finding a good job with only a short time commitment. I also don't want to mislead employers and strain our relationship.

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[22031 Alum]

I notice (from graduation dates) if someone didn't go straight from undergrad to med school, but don't really care why or what they did. Gaps after starting med school need to be well accounted for.

 

[Windem]

Do people usually include things before med school on their residency CV or application? Obviously we would want to include big achievements like patents, publications and starting a company. What about more typical things like jobs or volunteering activities?

 

[RK.md]

What about more typical things like jobs or volunteering activities?

Nah, they might come in useful during interviews, but not really worth including on the residency application.

As far as gap year info, I never had anyone ask me about mine (teaching MCAT courses, research, etc.)

 

[Donald Juan]

If you sit on the beach and drink cervezas all day, noone will know unless you tell them.

Now, potentially you could do something amazing and talk about it in interviews, or at the least have an extra few lines on your experiences in your application.

 

[WingedOx]

no.

 

[Windem]

Thanks for the replies. I'll continue with volunteering and unfunded research. Will try to get a slice from the grant though. I like this clinical role compared to other basic science positions where there's a large training period and a lesser likelihood of publication. Not sure what kind of PI would want to fund someone for a 8 month commitment either lol

 

[TBV]

I vote beach and cervezas all day like Don Juan suggested

Edit: In all seriousness I was busting my hump during my gap year right up until I got my acceptance. At that point I took a look at my bank account, saw I had enough money to fund the remainder of the year (Vacations, strippers, cocaine, rehab [in that order]) and put in my two weeks notice. Still the best decision I made and came into Med school as relaxed as possible.

 

[Planes2Doc]

We just had a big residency presentation from administration at our school. We were told that residency program directors don't care about what you did before medical school. So no, no one will know or care unless you tell them.

 

[andrek82]

I think it entirely depends on the program/field. I spent my gap (6 years so a bit bigger to account for) in biotech and drug development while teaching. I haven't been to an interview yet where about 1/3 of the time we discuss how that gives me something extra to bring to the table. It all depends on what you want and how you use the angle.

 

[cbrons]

no, just stop pls