Gap year questions...

[Alakazam123]

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1) Currently have about 75 hours of hospital volunteering work, and about 60 hrs of shadowing with my local primary care physician. Would it be more beneficial for me to work as a Medical Assistant or do some research in my gap year (technically 1.5 years for me)?

2) If research would be beneficial, would clinical or bench research give me more ROI?

I'd also like to add the following: When I shadowed my primary care physician, she allowed me to participate actively in the patient care. I was allowed on several occasions to take vitals, assist in setting up EKGs, helping the patient move around if they required assistance, etc. She also allowed me to help in some of the initial physical exams (checking strength, etc.). The only aspect I didn't really get a chance to work on was Electronic Health Records.

 

[Alakazam123]

anyone?

 

[teasvup]

Do you have other/more volunteering, especially some nonclinical? If not, that's what I would work on.

 

[Kardio]

1) Currently have about 75 hours of hospital volunteering work, and about 60 hrs of shadowing with my local primary care physician. Would it be more beneficial for me to work as a Medical Assistant or do some research in my gap year (technically 1.5 years for me)?

2) If research would be beneficial, would clinical or bench research give me more ROI?

I'd also like to add the following: When I shadowed my primary care physician, she allowed me to participate actively in the patient care. I was allowed on several occasions to take vitals, assist in setting up EKGs, helping the patient move around if they required assistance, etc. She also allowed me to help in some of the initial physical exams (checking strength, etc.). The only aspect I didn't really get a chance to work on was Electronic Health Records.

You’re good on the shadowing hours. I don’t know how the extra things you did while shadowing will impact anything.

I agree that some non clinical volunteering could be helpful.

If you choose research in lieu of the medical assistant job, make sure that you continue your clinical volunteering. You should get enough experience within medicine to articulate a strong reason for your interest in medical school. Keep in mind that longitudinal experiences are preferable to short-stunts (the latter indicates that you’re attempting to check a box)

It looks like MD schools place more emphasis on research than DO schools. If you’re primarily interested in MD, I think that research is the better option. There are mixed opinions on the value of one kind of research versus another.

You can’t go wrong with basic science/bench work. If you choose research, try to find a lab where you will have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the project in some way.

10% acting-like-a-scientist + 90% scut work > 100% scut work

 

[Alakazam123]

Thank you very much!! I suppose research also has some good exit opportunities. Being a Medical Assistant/Scribe has little to no upward mobility and the job options if medical school doesn't work out, are fairly limited.