Gap year traveling

[deleted388502]

hey all,

I'm interested in taking a gap year post graduation not to strengthen my application, but to take some personal time and possibly take an extended trip around the world, and not really do anything else - then, come back and apply the next cycle, and either continue to travel or work during that year. If I speak in my interviews and application about how I just enjoy observing the world and learning about cultures, would that be viewed unfavorably because I didn't really do anything "medical related" in my time off?

I currently work as a medical scribe which would probably be what I continue to do when I come back.

thanks!

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[AlteredScale]

hey all,

I'm interested in taking a gap year post graduation not to strengthen my application, but to take some personal time and possibly take an extended trip around the world, and not really do anything else - then, come back and apply the next cycle, and either continue to travel or work during that year. If I speak in my interviews and application about how I just enjoy observing the world and learning about cultures, would that be viewed unfavorably because I didn't really do anything "medical related" in my time off?

I currently work as a medical scribe which would probably be what I continue to do when I come back.

thanks!

Well if they compare another student from your school who took that same gap year to work in clinic and strengthen their app I'd say they would choose them over you.

Can you try to perhaps travel for the sake of helping others and learn the culture as well?

I guess it just shows, if you have a passion and desire to help and are truly altruistic then you wold take a year-long gap to go out and help in some way. Your travels for the sake of "relaxing and experiencing" will really show a sort of selflessness unless you can really tie in your travels to how it shaped and prepared you as a physician.

Not saying you shouldn't or that it's a bad idea (hell, I would do that!) but I'd really be careful about a whole year of travel and nothing else.

 

[sunflower18]

hey all,

I'm interested in taking a gap year post graduation not to strengthen my application, but to take some personal time and possibly take an extended trip around the world, and not really do anything else - then, come back and apply the next cycle, and either continue to travel or work during that year. If I speak in my interviews and application about how I just enjoy observing the world and learning about cultures, would that be viewed unfavorably because I didn't really do anything "medical related" in my time off?

I currently work as a medical scribe which would probably be what I continue to do when I come back.

thanks!

Would your scribe company really let you take an extended leave of absence like that, and then allow you to come back and continue working when you're done with your trip? Wow. I'm a scribe too, and I am 98% certain that my company wouldn't allow that. If yours is more lenient and you can swing it, taking a trip like that is definitely something to consider. But make sure that you're not putting your job in jeopardy, especially if you're relying on it to still be there when you come back.

 

[deleted388502]

Well if they compare another student from your school who took that same gap year to work in clinic and strengthen their app I'd say they would choose them over you.

Can you try to perhaps travel for the sake of helping others and learn the culture as well?

I guess it just shows, if you have a passion and desire to help and are truly altruistic then you wold take a year-long gap to go out and help in some way. Your travels for the sake of "relaxing and experiencing" will really show a sort of selflessness unless you can really tie in your travels to how it shaped and prepared you as a physician.

Not saying you shouldn't or that it's a bad idea (hell, I would do that!) but I'd really be careful about a whole year of travel and nothing else.

Here's my thing, and the reason I posted, is my curiosity on how a gap year is viewed.
I don't want to take a gap year for the purpose of becoming a stronger applicant; I have a 3.7, quite a bit of clinical experience through my job, research experience, etc - I have spent my undergrad years very heavily working on having a strong application. Med school is obviously still a crapshoot for me and I'd be lucky to get in, but I'm not really looking to tak time off so I can get into Harvard or something. I just want to get into really, any medical school, and travel/experience life, before I dedicate the rest of my years to corporate america and the world of medicine.
Is it really viewed that unfavorably to take a year not doing medical school related things? I feel like this is the last chance I have for another 10-12 years to travel with no responsibilities or hinderances. I'm not looking to run around and sit on a beach for a year, I'm more looking to see as much of the world as I can while I'm young and how people live. Volunteer programs just don't offer the flexibility of being able to travel to many, many places in that period of time - I don't really want to stay in one place for an extended year period.
As for the scribe thing - I don't know how it would go over, but honestly I don't think that of all things would hinder me. I would probably just find another job when I got back as a lab tech or something.

 

[pandaman2000]

Here's my thing, and the reason I posted, is my curiosity on how a gap year is viewed.
I don't want to take a gap year for the purpose of becoming a stronger applicant; I have a 3.7, quite a bit of clinical experience through my job, research experience, etc - I have spent my undergrad years very heavily working on having a strong application. Med school is obviously still a crapshoot for me and I'd be lucky to get in, but I'm not really looking to tak time off so I can get into Harvard or something. I just want to get into really, any medical school, and travel/experience life, before I dedicate the rest of my years to corporate america and the world of medicine.
Is it really viewed that unfavorably to take a year not doing medical school related things? I feel like this is the last chance I have for another 10-12 years to travel with no responsibilities or hinderances. I'm not looking to run around and sit on a beach for a year, I'm more looking to see as much of the world as I can while I'm young and how people live. Volunteer programs just don't offer the flexibility of being able to travel to many, many places in that period of time - I don't really want to stay in one place for an extended year period.
As for the scribe thing - I don't know how it would go over, but honestly I don't think that of all things would hinder me. I would probably just find another job when I got back as a lab tech or something.

People do this all the time and there's nothing wrong with it. Enjoy your last year off.
The better way to go about it though is do at least something medically related in the first half of the year...then hopefully after early interview season (by February or earlier lets say), you'll know where you are going. Then you can commit the rest of the year to traveling and enjoying yourself. At the same time, if your application is already strong then there would be no problem telling them you traveled to gain perspective. Heck that's more genuine to me then people going to 3rd world countries to volunteer for a few days.

No one said your gap year has to be filled to the brim with medicine. I know plenty of people who spent the year doing non-science things and they did fine. It matters more if you need that extra push. Good luck.

 

[deleted388502]

People do this all the time and there's nothing wrong with it. Enjoy your last year off.
The better way to go about it though is do at least something medically related in the first half of the year...then hopefully after early interview season (by February or earlier lets say), you'll know where you are going. Then you can commit the rest of the year to traveling and enjoying yourself. At the same time, if your application is already strong then there would be no problem telling them you traveled to gain perspective. Heck that's more genuine to me then people going to 3rd world countries to volunteer for a few days.

No one said your gap year has to be filled to the brim with medicine. I know plenty of people who spent the year doing non-science things and they did fine. It matters more if you need that extra push. Good luck.

Thank you! I appreciate the insight. And really, the last part of what you said is why I want to do something like this..I feel like people do the volunteering and lets save all the African children thing for their resume. I enjoy service work in other avenues and don't really want to half ass something.

If I were to do a double gap year, is it possible to spend the second year traveling as well or is it too hard with applications?

 

[AlteredScale]

Here's my thing, and the reason I posted, is my curiosity on how a gap year is viewed.
I don't want to take a gap year for the purpose of becoming a stronger applicant; I have a 3.7, quite a bit of clinical experience through my job, research experience, etc - I have spent my undergrad years very heavily working on having a strong application. Med school is obviously still a crapshoot for me and I'd be lucky to get in, but I'm not really looking to tak time off so I can get into Harvard or something. I just want to get into really, any medical school, and travel/experience life, before I dedicate the rest of my years to corporate america and the world of medicine.
Is it really viewed that unfavorably to take a year not doing medical school related things? I feel like this is the last chance I have for another 10-12 years to travel with no responsibilities or hinderances. I'm not looking to run around and sit on a beach for a year, I'm more looking to see as much of the world as I can while I'm young and how people live. Volunteer programs just don't offer the flexibility of being able to travel to many, many places in that period of time - I don't really want to stay in one place for an extended year period.
As for the scribe thing - I don't know how it would go over, but honestly I don't think that of all things would hinder me. I would probably just find another job when I got back as a lab tech or something.

If you feel confident in your application and don't feel that taking a gap year solely for traveling and experiencing the world would effectively downplay your application (which I don't know if it would or would not) then I would say go for it.

Again where I'm getting at is even if you came to the AdCom during interviews and said "I took a gap year because I wanted to travel and did not do anything medically related whilst traveling because I just wanted to gain an experience for myself" or in whatever context you may put it...I wouldn't know their reaction.

I would do what you're doing if I felt that confident in my app, I would love to travel the world for a year, seems like a great experience.

 

[hmockingbird]

I think you could frame it in a positive way! I would talk about personal growth... like gaining independence, learning coping skills/how to adapt to new situations, cultural competency (that is becoming big with some schools, I think OSU was the one who had a secondary question about it when I applied), educating yourself, etc. And at an interview I might say something like you wanted to travel before you had the commitment of med school, career, family etc. If you're interested in doing something later after you become a doctor, like Doctors Without Borders, you could tie that in too.

I mean, I don't think the gap year has to be science-related. My friend took a gap year to do a non-medical/non-science volunteer program and she got in, and I think that's pretty common.

I think it would be hard to travel during peak interview season (fall/early winter)... or at least expensive having to come back and sometimes on short notice so I'd maybe do something else during that time. Again I don't think it necessarily has to be science-related or medical, but volunteer or work to show that you are being productive with your time at home, and then maybe travel after you do most of your interviews.

 

[Planes2Doc]

I hope ADCOMs realize that applicants are human beings, and not just pre-med robots pretending to be passionate about things that ADCOMs want them to be passionate about. In fact, it may even look better if you travel the world and tell them stories, even if it didn't involve volunteering in some South American village. Hopefully genuine passion will shine through!