exploring/dabbling vs. long term committments

[cerulean]

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I know med schools like seeing long term committments and that many of the application boosters (published research, official leadership positions, etc.) can only come about through long term time committments. However, I love exploring/dabbling/learning about new things and trying to max out my opportunities during undergrad to do so. Since exploring & long term time committments tend to be mutually exclusive to some extent due to time constraints, I was hoping to get advice on how much long term committment is recommended.

I've shown a committment to research and community service, but within both, I've dabbled a lot to try to get the most breadth in experiences. I haven't stuck with any research gig long enough to get anything significant done (and thus no hope of publication) and in terms of service, I've had committments but few official top leadership positions (i.e. president, secretary, etc).

I love dabbling and want to continue to do so w/ my last year in undergrad (currently a junior), but should I devote my time to trying to produce an identifiable, respected output (publication, leadership position, etc.) instead?

I'd appreciate any advice, thanks!

Research experience:
-1 year part time in an internal medicine lab
-2 months full time one summer in a biomaterials engineering lab
-8 weeks this summer at NIH in a malaria research lab

ECs:
-part of the planning team that's putting on a human rights health conference (with speakers from the UN, PIH, and Harvard public health/law profs)
-co-site-led an alternative spring break trip to do volunteer work with a labor rights group
-member of the UMich's community service center's student advisory board
-member of an engineering for community team that did design work on water pumps for use in Niger
-service coordinator on the leadership team of a Christian student organization
-interned part time for two summers at the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (advocacy non-profit org)

 

[konverse]

i thought u were talking about relationships, playing the field etc 😉

 

[dajimmers]

Hmmm, I have no idea how this may be viewed pre-interview, but I imagine it could be a huge boost during interviews, if you use it right. If you remember enough about each EC to sound like you were involved and knew what you were doing, even if just for a short time, it will just make you sound more well-rounded. Explain it like you did here. Just make sure you keep a few threads of the story strong, and tie the random stuff together using those threads, like "I like Research" (but wanted to try a lot of different types to know what I like the best) and "I like Community Service" (but...), and believe that all of the opportunities to further explore these areas in medicine is a strong reason why I want to become a doctor...