Help with documenting various experiences in AACOMAS application

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Kleimanb

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Hi,

I just had a few questions about documenting experiences on AACOMAS. I have shadowed a couple different doctors for substantial hours and it would seem reasonable to me to put that in my experiences. However, I have also had about 3-4 instances of shadowing a physician for just one day, and I was wondering if that is something that we would generally include?

Also, in terms of non-healthcare employment - are they really interested in all the jobs that I have had? Or just the ones that may have been somehow meaningful - such as working while I was in school in retail, showing that I took on extra activities. Or to the contrast, after school, when I worked construction for about 6 months - would they want to hear that for some reason?

Lastly, I also just had a quick question on differentiating and describing activities. When describing activities do they want just solid examples of what you did in just a quick easy to read style, or is it more beneficial to describe it in a way of what you were able to learn and gain as well. Then for differentiation, for example, I've worked as a scribe in both the ED and in primary care (both during the same time period too.) They obviously had similar key responsibilities, but there were definitely some differences too. They were also at different locations. So I was wondering if they should be put in two different experiences or one merged together.

Thanks so much in advance,
Brandon

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Hi,

I just had a few questions about documenting experiences on AACOMAS. I have shadowed a couple different doctors for substantial hours and it would seem reasonable to me to put that in my experiences. However, I have also had about 3-4 instances of shadowing a physician for just one day, and I was wondering if that is something that we would generally include?

Also, in terms of non-healthcare employment - are they really interested in all the jobs that I have had? Or just the ones that may have been somehow meaningful - such as working while I was in school in retail, showing that I took on extra activities. Or to the contrast, after school, when I worked construction for about 6 months - would they want to hear that for some reason?

Lastly, I also just had a quick question on differentiating and describing activities. When describing activities do they want just solid examples of what you did in just a quick easy to read style, or is it more beneficial to describe it in a way of what you were able to learn and gain as well. Then for differentiation, for example, I've worked as a scribe in both the ED and in primary care (both during the same time period too.) They obviously had similar key responsibilities, but there were definitely some differences too. They were also at different locations. So I was wondering if they should be put in two different experiences or one merged together.

Thanks so much in advance,
Brandon

1) I would list all physician shadowing even if only for one day.

2) List all jobs you held since you started college, including your construction work.

3) I would put each scribe job in separately. I briefly listed my duties and that was about it. Your PS and secondaries are the space for linking how things have shaped you.
 
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I would list everything separately as the above poster recommended. You really need to milk every activity since high school. When I started applying, the only things I could think of to put down were my job, my ER volunteering and shadowing. Over the next week, I wrote down every little thing I remembered since high school that I could put own (deans list, presidents list, research grant, another research grant, capstone design project, work award, work certification, church work, other church work). You'd be surprised at home many little things you can remember that you can put down.
 
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I only included activities if they were factored into my weekly schedule. For example, I didn't include intramural football because it was 5 goons playing an hour a week but did include my intramural volleyball because it was 4 of us practicing nearly 3 hours weekly and playing games 2 hours weekly.
 
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Awesome, thanks for the replies - I will make sure to include it all.
 
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