Extracurricular Activities

[Illegal Dream]

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Hi all,

First of all, i want to say this is a great community. I read these forums all the time and many of you've been great help. Today i finally decided to become a member.

I will be a junior in Fall 2010 and very concerned about my extracurricular activities. All i have so far is:-

Patient Ambassador at University Hospital (Mizzou)
Mizzou Volunteer Society (An organization my friend started for community service)
Ronald McDonald House Family Room at University Hospital.

Can you guys please give me some ideas this summer to rack up some more extracurricular activities?
I will continue being an ambassador and volunteering at the family room this summer to continue racking up ours but i feel like i need more.

Thank you much!

Illegal Dream

 

[Ari1584]

What I personally did was to make sure I had experience in ALL aspects of extracurricular activities...some of them were...Clinical volunteering, shadowing, research, leadership, community service, and any fun volunteer events or projects that i was interested in.

It seems like you already have some great activities for the clinical part, so you should star working on the shadowing part as well. Call up some doctors in the area and shadow them for a few hours during the week. Also, what else interests you besides medicine? I personally love dogs, so I spent a lot of time volunteering at animal shelters and humane societies.

You can help out your community in non-medical related ways as well by volunteering local elementary schools as a youth mentor or after school tutor (i was a mentor and truly loved it), helping with habitat for humanity, at local women's or homeless shelters, or at nursing homes. I mean there are TONS of opportunities out there...you just have to search around for them.

Also, have you done any research? If not, you might want to consider getting some in during the summer. Research was definitely not my favorite thing but i have to admit, it was good having SOME experience in it.

In the end, it doesn't matter what you end up doing. Just make sure you have experience to demonstrate you are a great leader, you truly love medicine and have been around patients for long enough to show commitment, and that you do other things in life BESIDES devote all your time to the hospital and medicine. You have to be well-rounded. Hope this helps and Good luck! 🙂

 

[Illegal Dream]

What I personally did was to make sure I had experience in ALL aspects of extracurricular activities...some of them were...Clinical volunteering, shadowing, research, leadership, community service, and any fun volunteer events or projects that i was interested in.

It seems like you already have some great activities for the clinical part, so you should star working on the shadowing part as well. Call up some doctors in the area and shadow them for a few hours during the week. Also, what else interests you besides medicine? I personally love dogs, so I spent a lot of time volunteering at animal shelters and humane societies.

You can help out your community in non-medical related ways as well by volunteering local elementary schools as a youth mentor or after school tutor (i was a mentor and truly loved it), helping with habitat for humanity, at local women's or homeless shelters, or at nursing homes. I mean there are TONS of opportunities out there...you just have to search around for them.

Also, have you done any research? If not, you might want to consider getting some in during the summer. Research was definitely not my favorite thing but i have to admit, it was good having SOME experience in it.

In the end, it doesn't matter what you end up doing. Just make sure you have experience to demonstrate you are a great leader, you truly love medicine and have been around patients for long enough to show commitment, and that you do other things in life BESIDES devote all your time to the hospital and medicine. You have to be well-rounded. Hope this helps and Good luck! 🙂

Thank you so much for your reply!

I do plan to shadow doctors this summer. And as far as interests besides medicine, the funny thing is I am a really good people person! When i am volunteering at University, those 3-4 hours seem like minutes. What do you think about volunteering at free clinics?

Great idea about volunteering at local elementary schools, and homeless shelters! That's something i'm definitely going to do!

Research is also not something i like but i guess it's one of those things i might have to do in order to look good?

What are your opinions as far as EMT-Basic Course?

Thank you

Illegal dream

 

[Ari1584]

Thank you so much for your reply!

I do plan to shadow doctors this summer. And as far as interests besides medicine, the funny thing is I am a really good people person! When i am volunteering at University, those 3-4 hours seem like minutes. What do you think about volunteering at free clinics?

Great idea about volunteering at local elementary schools, and homeless shelters! That's something i'm definitely going to do!

Research is also not something i like but i guess it's one of those things i might have to do in order to look good?

What are your opinions as far as EMT-Basic Course?

Thank you

Illegal dream

Volunteering at free clinics would be awesome experience! I shadowed at a clinic which was a great experience as well. As for research, i don't think its something that you MUST have 100%, but I think it just shows that you are academically well-rounded. I only did research for a year and it wasn't anything major at all (no pubs or anything like that...just helped out some grad students with their projects). I actually wish i had started sooner because it wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be haha. If you absolutely do not want to do research, then don't. But if you are neutral on the matter, i say go ahead. It can only help your application. An EMT-Basic course is also a great learning experience. There are many ppl on here that have gotten their certifications and work in the ER etc. Def gives you great patient and hospital experience!

 

[Illegal Dream]

Thanks so much Ari! You've really helped a lot. I just found out they made an exception in squeezing me in the EMT-Basic course this summer. I'm also taking summer courses so it'll be a fun managing my time.

I know your life probably doesn't revolve around SDN but if something else comes to your mind that would make me stand out, i would appreciate it so much!

Thanks again Ari! You've been great help!

Illegal Dream