Do your ECs need to be related?

[NP545]

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Would a good candidate be someone whose ECs have the same theme?

I.E. someone who does cancer research, volunteers clinically with cancer patients, shadowing oncologists, leadership as creating a group,etc to raise cancer awareness, other passions/hobbies relate to cancer

Or does it not matter if your ECs share a theme?

My leadership, research, volunteering, shadowing, and hobbies are not related at all and was wondering if this would be viewed differently

 

[hoihaie]

not everyone has 1 single passion in life. you can have multiple interests

 

[Planes2Doc]

They don't have to, but depending on the way you approach the process, it can definitely help.

For instance, you want to be able to tell ADCOMs the things they want to hear, but you can't just say it outright. You need to show it through ECs. Thus, if you're trying to show:

Commitment to the underserved: Volunteer with the poor over multiple ECs like soup kitchen, tutoring poor kids, etc...
Commitment to primary care: Shadow primary care doctors, maybe work in a PCP office, etc...
Commitment to rural medicine: If you grew up in a rural environment, then focus your ECs on rural medicine. Like shadowing and volunteering in rural places.
URM status: Volunteer in ECs based on your URM group whether you actually are passionate about it or not.

If you want to play any of those cards, you need to show them the goods. So in that case, it's good to have a theme.

If you aren't going with any particular focus, then just make sure your ECs have LONGEVITY. Start them early so they look genuine. This is far important than any theme or what not. With 500+ hours volunteering, you should be good at a lot of service-focused schools.

 

[imadome]

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[Mad Jack]

Related? Your ECs should be downright incestuous.

 

[LizzyM]

Having a theme can also make you look too focused on one thing to the point where one my wonder if you will be open to learning about many things in medical school. You don't want someone to look at your application and say, "he seems to care only about cancer."

 

[Aerus]

My EC's were in the middle. I had a few subgroups of EC's, each subgroup with its own theme. That way, I can be passionate about something as well as diverse in my interests as well.


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[Doctor Dream]

Having a theme can also make you look too focused on one thing to the point where one my wonder if you will be open to learning about many things in medical school. You don't want someone to look at your application and say, "he seems to care only about cancer."

Would this idea also apply to someone who is mainly interested in rural medicine and/or primary care?

 

[Planes2Doc]

Let's say I have a focus (underserved/primary care) but I didn't discover that focus early on, rather, I started volunteering at a hospital, shadowing, and developed that focus after a few years. Would it still seem disingenuous if I started volunteering for the underserved/primary care shadowing just for a short time before applications (~1 year)?

Yeah it's all about longevity. Developing that focus just before medical school sounds an awful lot like an ulterior motive, not genuine intentions. Hence you'll end up making yourself look worse. It's ridiculous given the time you put into these ECs.

 

[Mad Jack]

For the record, I was kidding- you should show that you've got varied interests and that you have put time into multiple different arenas if at all possible.

Having an activity that is related to your PS focus is great, as it shows interest. But you don't need to go overboard with a theme. Med school seems to look for well-rounded people these days, not hyperfocused automotons.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Would this idea also apply to someone who is mainly interested in rural medicine and/or primary care?

Probably not if you apply to a school with a strong focus on it... Do your best to figure out which schools are all about primary care and rural medicine.

 

[LizzyM]

Would this idea also apply to someone who is mainly interested in rural medicine and/or primary care?

That is a narrow interest that is very broad at the same time in that it is an interest in a generalist topic whereas oncology or HIV or diabetes is a super subspeciality.