wontonsayshi
New Member
- Joined
- May 26, 2020
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
Hello, I am a rising senior in high school. Before you tell me to post this in the high school forum instead, I want to say that this question is more med-schools admissions related rather than premed admissions related, and I hoped that this forum would be better equipped to answer this.
Does the type of clinical experience matter to medical school admissions officers? My freshman year, I discovered the field of forensic pathology. And I LOVED it. As a kid, I'd always been fascinated with why and how people die and the clues they leave behind in their bodies. I loved learning about what specifically happens in the human body when it is afflicted with a certain disease that may result in death. I didn't realize that it actually was a real profession until high school. Forensic pathology as as a career appeals to me as it embodies some of the deeply rooted interests I've had since I was young. I know that quite possibly this interest may change, but as of right now, it is my career of choice.
As a rising high school senior, I have been searching for colleges that match my interests, yet are also located close to a medical examiners office so that it could open up the possibility of interning/shadowing/volunteering in a forensic pathology setting so that I could further determine whether I really do want to go into such a gruesome field. Yet, simultaneously, I am worried if my interests are too specific and too morbid. Although I do plan to volunteer at a traditionally clinical medical setting as well, would this type of clinical experience with the deceased hurt my application to medical schools? I heard that medical schools highly value clinical experience. Does that change if some of said "clinical experience" is working with dead patients instead of living ones, and comforting patient's loved ones through their grief instead of counseling live patients and their kin (Idk if that's what people actually do, but it is my guess)? Should I worry less about applying to schools located nearby medical examiners' offices because I should be more focused on clinical experiences with living patients as it demonstrates "people skills" and "empathy" among other things?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Does the type of clinical experience matter to medical school admissions officers? My freshman year, I discovered the field of forensic pathology. And I LOVED it. As a kid, I'd always been fascinated with why and how people die and the clues they leave behind in their bodies. I loved learning about what specifically happens in the human body when it is afflicted with a certain disease that may result in death. I didn't realize that it actually was a real profession until high school. Forensic pathology as as a career appeals to me as it embodies some of the deeply rooted interests I've had since I was young. I know that quite possibly this interest may change, but as of right now, it is my career of choice.
As a rising high school senior, I have been searching for colleges that match my interests, yet are also located close to a medical examiners office so that it could open up the possibility of interning/shadowing/volunteering in a forensic pathology setting so that I could further determine whether I really do want to go into such a gruesome field. Yet, simultaneously, I am worried if my interests are too specific and too morbid. Although I do plan to volunteer at a traditionally clinical medical setting as well, would this type of clinical experience with the deceased hurt my application to medical schools? I heard that medical schools highly value clinical experience. Does that change if some of said "clinical experience" is working with dead patients instead of living ones, and comforting patient's loved ones through their grief instead of counseling live patients and their kin (Idk if that's what people actually do, but it is my guess)? Should I worry less about applying to schools located nearby medical examiners' offices because I should be more focused on clinical experiences with living patients as it demonstrates "people skills" and "empathy" among other things?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Last edited: