Extracurricular help

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Chuck15

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  1. Pre-Medical
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So I am currently finishing up my freshman year and need advice. I didn't know what I wanted to do going into college, but after taking some science courses and talking to some professors I think I wanna pursue med school. I don't know where to start with extracurriculars, I know I need to have research, clinical experience, volunteer hours, shadowing hours, and a bunch of other stuff. I know I still have 3 years of college left, but I haven't started anything yet. What would be a good start for the summer/next semester in terms of research/clinical experience/volunteering. Thanks!
 
A few steps now and then more later....
Start with doing some community service. No matter where you are, there are people who need help with things they can't do themselves and can't afford to pay people to do for them. Organizations that serve those in need can use your help and ideally you'll find a position that helps you help people face-to-face. Food pantries are still handing out food, soup kitchens are preparing and distributing meals, homeless shelters are still operating, kids need tutoring and mentoring and coaching, older folks still need meals on wheels and friendly visitors. Find something and start helping out. If you can do 8 hours a month, every month for as long as you live, you will be in good shape and the world will be a little bit better, too.

Next, you need to see if medicine is really a good fit for you. This means finding a physician who will let you shadow them. Ideally, this is an in-person activity and lasts long enough for you to get an idea of what the day-to-day acivities are-- seeing patients in various settings, phone follow-up, paperwork, team meetings, etc. Ideally you want to shadow at least one primary care provider (family medicine, internal medicine (internist), or general pediatrics) and if you really want to see a surgical specialty or emergency medicine, then add that. The point is, don't go too far down this road without being sure you know the pluses and minuses of medicine as a career choice. Your personal physician might be a place to start, or the physician who takes care of a family member. You can also ask one physician to recommend a colleague who might be open to having you shadow for a day. In all, you want to have about 50 hours of shadowing.

You are going to need to have clinical employment or clinical volunteering. Get vaccinated and come back for some advice in that regard.

You might want to take a for credit research elective or otherwise get involved in resesarch of some time during sophomore year or the summer after. Again, get through this summer and come back for some additional advice in that regard.
 
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