Gap year plans don't include clinical

[dayman]

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After applying this cycle and most likely ending up empty handed (come on waitlists!), I have planned out the next two years before I hope to enter med school. I will be teaching full time, working towards my masters in education, and studying to retake my MCAT. As these are time intensive I don't plan on having any more clinical exposure between now and when I plan to reapply next June (2015). At the present I have the following experience:

100+ hours of clinical volunteering over 1.5 years
220+ hours of paid clinical EMT-B experience
40 hours of shadowing in different areas

Is it OK to not have any recent clinical experience when reapplying to medical school? At this point I don't simply want to be a box checker and am confident I want to go into medicine long-term without any additional exposure.

 

[phunky]

Why not just volunteer at a hospital for a few hours a week? It's fun, helps you improve your bedside manner, and looks good for medical school.

 

[Planes2Doc]

At this point I don't simply want to be a box checker and am confident I want to go into medicine long-term without any additional exposure.

Ironically enough, quitting volunteering long before applying is what will make you look like a "box checker," not the other way around. In order to keep yourself from looking like the dreaded "box checker," you should be doing your primary volunteer activity at least until after submitting AMCAS (so you could show it as a "current" activity). It's best to quit things after getting admitted. You don't need more of the paid EMT work, since I'm guessing that also takes up a lot of time. But by all means keep volunteering!!!

Edit: Your 100+ hours is a bit on the low side anyhow. You definitely need more hours.

Why not just volunteer at a hospital for a few hours a week? It'̶s̶ ̶f̶u̶n̶,̶ ̶h̶e̶l̶p̶s̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶i̶m̶p̶r̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶b̶e̶d̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶n̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ looks good for medical school.

There, fixed it for you. 😛

 

[LizzyM]

Try to find something that you enjoy and that puts you face to face with patients. If you are teaching on weekdays and can spare 2-4 hours/wk in an emergency department or a pediatric floor on Saturdays or Sundays, that would work. Don't just tell me that you want a career in a clinical setting, show me that you are attracted to that setting and do volunteer work there even while holding down a job in another setting.

 

[dayman]

Ironically enough, quitting volunteering long before applying is what will make you look like a "box checker," not the other way around. In order to keep yourself from looking like the dreaded "box checker," you should be doing your primary volunteer activity at least until after submitting AMCAS (so you could show it as a "current" activity). It's best to quit things after getting admitted. You don't need more of the paid EMT work, since I'm guessing that also takes up a lot of time. But by all means keep volunteering!!!

Edit: Your 100+ hours is a bit on the low side anyhow. You definitely need more hours.



There, fixed it for you. 😛

Ironically I do enjoy my clinical volunteering. I just foresee it being hard to hold a full time job, lesson plan, study for the MCAT, be in grad school and study, and volunteer. But I guess it's the game I have to play

 

[Planes2Doc]

Ironically I do enjoy my clinical volunteering. I just foresee it being hard to hold a full time job, lesson plan, study for the MCAT, be in grad school and study, and volunteer. But I guess it's the game I have to play

Lucky you. It's really hard to find a decent clinical volunteering gig when you're a pre-med. Most volunteer places know what pre-meds are up to, and that's why they are treated like garbage. You definitely have enough clinical experience. You should just focus on doing the best you can on the MCAT (most importantly) and your grad school grades. Since you enjoy your clinical volunteering, you should probably stick with it until you get admitted to medical school. You can always throw in some non-clinical volunteering too if you haven't done that. That tends to be fun if you do something you actually care about. They can be sporadic experiences, but can definitely help your application as long as sporadic non-clinical volunteering is piggy-backed on a consistent weekly volunteer gig. Best of luck!!!

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Ironically I do enjoy my clinical volunteering. I just foresee it being hard to hold a full time job, lesson plan, study for the MCAT, be in grad school and study, and volunteer. But I guess it's the game I have to play

If you decrease the amount of time stalking the waitress, it will free up a few hours a week for clinical volunteering.

 

[QofQuimica]

Ironically I do enjoy my clinical volunteering. I just foresee it being hard to hold a full time job, lesson plan, study for the MCAT, be in grad school and study, and volunteer. But I guess it's the game I have to play

Correct. But no one is forcing you to play any games you don't want to play. If you don't want to do what is necessary to get into med school, you could always go do something else with your life. And do you not "foresee it being hard" to balance your studying and other obligations once you're a medical student? 😉