gap year dilemma!

[lluvgb]

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hello!

i'm trying to decide between 2 gap year positions, and wanted to get some advice. i dont have any major gaps in my application, i.e. ive done alot of basic science research, service, and clinical stuff, so i am just trying to choose smth that will look the best to adcoms + smth that i really enjoy

community health fellowship @ project horseshoe farm (alabama)

• pros:
  • ik the experience will be very meaningful/rewarding (doing alot of community service activities for rural/marginalized populations)
  • harder to come by experience (when will i ever get another year to just serve the community?)
  • was a rigorous application process - prestigious fellowship?
• cons:
  • intensive & long hours & work some weekends - less flexible
  • less direct patient interactions
  • may be looked upon less favorably compared to clinical research? since its not research/clinical based, which i feel top schools really care about

clinical research in emergency medicine @ yale (connecticut)

• pros:
  • super good experience in clinical research - will gain skills that will help me alot in med school + residency (i've only ever done basic science research, so i would def learn alot here)
  • good interaction with patients
  • i find the study to be pretty cool
  • more flexible, since it is shift-based
  • prestigious university and really good resources (i.e. postgrad workshops + mentoring)
• cons:
  • may not get a pub by the time of residency, since the PI said that this trial will be ongoing for at least 4 more years
  • i'll be doing clinical research + patient interaction for a long long time (med school, residency, career), so do i really wanna spend my gap year doing this too?
  • will also need to work weekends

overall, i feel that the community health fellowship is harder to come by, and idk if ill ever get such an opportunity to serve the community for a whole year. on the other hand, the yale research is also a really good opportunity, and i love the emergency department environment, and i wonder if adcoms would find this more impressive? at the end of the day, i care about and love both service and research, so its a really hard decision for me

both opportunities fit in well with my story (1. i've done alot of service + research on rural med and 2. i worked in EMS for 3 years). would appreciate any advice tysm!

 

[LindaAccepted]

What do you see yourself doing after medical school (I realize it can change)? Rural, community-based medicine? Or ER, perhaps in a large hospital or in an urban area?

 

[GoSpursGo]

If you more or less have all the boxes checked on your app, then I think you should choose based on what you're personally interested in, what pays better, and where you want to spend your gap year geographically. While the clinical research position may have a slightly higher chance of helping your eventual residency application, it's far from assured, and not every choice needs to be made based on the lens of what may give you a marginal advantage on a theoretical residency application. A year of your life is a significant investment of time, particularly since it will be your last year before you jump on the medical training treadmill, so while you should do something meaningful with your gap year you should also do something you enjoy and are excited about.

 

[lluvgb]

What do you see yourself doing after medical school (I realize it can change)? Rural, community-based medicine? Or ER, perhaps in a large hospital or in an urban area?

I'm honestly not sure. I've always been passionate about working with underserved populations, and I could definitely see myself working in a rural area for a few years. Long-term, I would definitely want to live in a city and work in a large hospital. Specialty-wise, I wonder about surgery, ENT, derm, a bunch of different ones, but probably not family medicine.

 

[LindaAccepted]

I'm honestly not sure. I've always been passionate about working with underserved populations, and I could definitely see myself working in a rural area for a few years. Long-term, I would definitely want to live in a city and work in a large hospital. Specialty-wise, I wonder about surgery, ENT, derm, a bunch of different ones, but probably not family medicine.

BTW, I agree with @GoSpursGo that not everything needs to be geared to future potential, professional benefit. If you feel the fellowship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and that you will later regret not doing it , go for it. My question was motivated by your post where you seemed to be torn almost equally between the two. I asked about potential future benefit because I though it might add clarity. . However, from your response, it seems like future benefit isn't really helping the analysis.

At this point all I can say if that you have two good options. This is a good problem to have. Go with your gut.

 

[lluvgb]

BTW, I agree with @GoSpursGo that not everything needs to be geared to future potential, professional benefit. If you feel the fellowship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and that you will later regret not doing it , go for it. My question was motivated by your post where you seemed to be torn almost equally between the two. I asked about potential future benefit because I though it might add clarity. . However, from your response, it seems like future benefit isn't really helping the analysis.

At this point all I can say if that you have two good options. This is a good problem to have. Go with your gut.

Thank you so much - your comment was really reassuring 🙂

 

[lluvgb]

If you more or less have all the boxes checked on your app, then I think you should choose based on what you're personally interested in, what pays better, and where you want to spend your gap year geographically. While the clinical research position may have a slightly higher chance of helping your eventual residency application, it's far from assured, and not every choice needs to be made based on the lens of what may give you a marginal advantage on a theoretical residency application. A year of your life is a significant investment of time, particularly since it will be your last year before you jump on the medical training treadmill, so while you should do something meaningful with your gap year you should also do something you enjoy and are excited about.

Awesome advice, thank you so much!

 

[polymerization]

Can I just say it? Pick Yale.

Rationale: It's Yale.

From all of the LinkedIn perusing I do, I know that MS1s at top institutions are disproportionately people who have had relevant experiences within that tier of academic institutions. For example, amongst Harvard MS1s, I see a disproportionate number of Columbia-affiliated students this year, for some reason? It's weird and incestuous, but it's a pattern. And apparently you can exploit that pattern to your advantage.

It honestly doesn't sound like you want to practice rural medicine outside of entertaining it as a possible change of pace you could tolerate hypothetically.

Unless it's like your last dying wish to pursue this other avenue, it is absolutely advantageous to have association to an Ivy League institution. Rightly or wrongly, it is an inherent advantage, even if it is social faux pas to acknowledge it.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Can I just say it? Pick Yale.

Rationale: It's Yale.

From all of the LinkedIn perusing I do, I know that MS1s at top institutions are disproportionately people who have had relevant experiences within that tier of academic institutions. For example, amongst Harvard MS1s, I see a disproportionate number of Columbia-affiliated students this year, for some reason? It's weird and incestuous, but it's a pattern. And apparently you can exploit that pattern to your advantage.

It honestly doesn't sound like you want to practice rural medicine outside of entertaining it as a possible change of pace you could tolerate hypothetically.

Unless it's like your last dying wish to pursue this other avenue, it is absolutely advantageous to have association to an Ivy League institution. Rightly or wrongly, it is an inherent advantage, even if it is social faux pas to acknowledge it.

I don’t think anyone is arguing that going to an ivy undergrad helps. But just doing a generic CRC or lab tech job doesn’t really have any meaningful benefit. In fact, if anything I’ve observed the opposite from spending part of my training at a similar ivory tower—these CRC jobs pay poorly, they run you into the ground, and often serve as an impediment to doing other important things like MCAT studying. They often don’t put CRCs on their publications. We all know what doing a CRC job entails and it’s obviously apparent that one doesn’t need Yale academic acumen to do the job, so it isn’t something that opens doors as much as some students seem to think

If the OP does an amazing job and gets a glowing letter from a Yale luminary, would that help? Sure. But that isn’t guaranteed. To me this isn’t as open/shut as deciding to choose to a more prestigious undergrad

 

[polymerization]

I don’t think anyone is arguing that going to an ivy undergrad helps. But just doing a generic CRC or lab tech job doesn’t really have any meaningful benefit. In fact, if anything I’ve observed the opposite from spending part of my training at a similar ivory tower—these CRC jobs pay poorly, they run you into the ground, and often serve as an impediment to doing other important things like MCAT studying. They often don’t put CRCs on their publications. We all know what doing a CRC job entails and it’s obviously apparent that one doesn’t need Yale academic acumen to do the job, so it isn’t something that opens doors as much as some students seem to think

If the OP does an amazing job and gets a glowing letter from a Yale luminary, would that help? Sure. But that isn’t guaranteed. To me this isn’t as open/shut as deciding to choose to a more prestigious undergrad

I totally agree. I've very openly shared my disdain for the CRC role after having trained as one and offered a role that did not align at all with my expectations.

My understanding of the OP was that she was doing clinical research as a research assistant, not a CRC. I may have misinterpreted that...but that wouldn't really be an additive experience to the extent worth moving for. I mean, at that point it's more employment/task-oriented than really focused on learning anything.

My response was oriented around the idea that OP intended for the role to be academic, i.e., the PI would be offering "really good resources (i.e. postgrad workshops + mentoring)" per OP. And if it is the case, even if the PI isn't publishing the clinical trial results for 4 years doesn't mean she can't be mentored into a publication on a tangential topic. It seemed like OP implied patient interaction too, which didn't align with CRC duties for me at all.

Maybe OP will give some clarification.

 

[hommefatale]

one of my best friends did the project horseshoe farm fellowship! let me know if you have any specific questions for her but i know it was a very growth-provoking experience for her!

 

[GoSpursGo]

I totally agree. I've very openly shared my disdain for the CRC role after having trained as one and offered a role that did not align at all with my expectations.

My understanding of the OP was that she was doing clinical research as a research assistant, not a CRC. I may have misinterpreted that...but that wouldn't really be an additive experience to the extent worth moving for. I mean, at that point it's more employment/task-oriented than really focused on learning anything.

My response was oriented around the idea that OP intended for the role to be academic, i.e., the PI would be offering "really good resources (i.e. postgrad workshops + mentoring)" per OP. And if it is the case, even if the PI isn't publishing the clinical trial results for 4 years doesn't mean she can't be mentored into a publication on a tangential topic. It seemed like OP implied patient interaction too, which didn't align with CRC duties for me at all.

Maybe OP will give some clarification.

Based on the description, it sounds like a CRC position, but I could be wrong. Assuming that is the case, as you highlighted, I often find that people take those jobs thinking they'll get some amazing mentorship, and more often than not they're let down because they're really just getting hired to do a job--a PI may say they'll "do their best" to help their future career, and all these amazing sounding resources are dangled as a possibility, but the follow through is often lacking. Furthermore, there are a LOT of mouths to feed when it comes to mentorship between fellows/residents/medical students/post baccs/undergrads, and the person getting the paycheck is usually at the bottom of the totem pole for career development.

Regardless, it sounds like you and I are aligned--either of these options would be a reasonable choice. They're both good options.