ERAS/residency question

[crater09]

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Is it necessary to list the work/activities that one has undertaken during his years between post college graduation and start of medical school. I have taken two gap years before med school and have only worked for one year at a temp job. For my second year, I didnt do pretty much anything. Is this going to be a red flag when I apply for residency?

 

[gutonc]

Is it necessary to list the work/activities that one has undertaken during his years between post college graduation and start of medical school. I have taken two gap years before med school and have only worked for one year at a temp job. For my second year, I didnt do pretty much anything. Is this going to be a red flag when I apply for residency?

Not really. List any volunteer work or other stuff you did but don't stress about it...especially since it's a moot point now (unless of course you have a time machine, in which case, why are you in med school?).

 

[Psychiatrized]

Is it necessary to list the work/activities that one has undertaken during his years between post college graduation and start of medical school. I have taken two gap years before med school and have only worked for one year at a temp job. For my second year, I didnt do pretty much anything. Is this going to be a red flag when I apply for residency?

Not a red flag, not a big deal. As an interviewer I was always curious about what people were up to in their "years off" and would frequently ask. I was especially charmed when people put their odd jobs in - I loved talking to an applicant about being a Walmart greeter. I'm in psych so getting to know someone's personality and life history is of particular interest. Other fields may have no interest. I don't think it can harm you.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I'd certainly have an answer ready in case someone asks what you did with that time off. However, if it's not really something you would want to spend part of your 30 minutes in an interview highlighting (as anything you put on your app is fair game), then I wouldn't go out of your way to put it--let them ask if they are so inclined, but a decent number of programs may never even notice that year went unaccounted for.

 

[mcl]

Apparently in the minority on this issue, but my reviewers like to see time accounted for. Productivity doesn't have to mean employment. Any kind of education, volunteer work, tutoring, travel, etc will do. Not everyone knows during undergrad that they want to become a doctor, so I completely agree that the gap between college and medical school isn't a big deal and doesn't require a lot of explanation. Just put something down so we know you weren't in prison (in years past, that was always the default reasoning of one particular selection committee member--I was never positive that he was joking).