Help with med schools?

[DBLBO]

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I've just started studying for the mcat and I want to know what else I can do to make me look good in the eyes of the different med schools. Will doing volunteer work at a hospital help? If so I looked into that and volunteer work at a hospital is limited to feeding the patients, transporting them, answering phone calls, stuff like that that to me doesn't look like much in the way of preparing for med school or getting experience as far as maybe taking blood, or helping a doctor administer drugs or just something that would put me in a position to experience what a doctor goes through. So should I go a different route than applying for volunteer work?

Also aside from volunteer work is there any other extra curriculum activity that might help me? Couching a little league, volunteering at habitat for humanity, being involved with a club.......? And then aside from extra curriculum activity is there anything I can do that I have not thought of yet that could help me?

By the way I am 27 year old engineer, wanting to make a career change and as such may not have taken any prerequisite courses which may be demanded by a school. So as far as my situation goes is there any advise you can give me? What classes are a must to take, chances of getting in a such.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Apparition]

Hey, you should definitely do some healthcare work, especially since you're changing fields. It will come up during the application for sure, why you decided to switch. Most of hospital volunteering does suck, you do mostly useless things. Try to find a free clinic where they actually need help and will be happy to let you perform medical stuff like EKG, blood pressure, etc. If you're interested in taking blood, you can get certified as a phlebotomist and actually earn some money. You need some clinical experience and any of these things will work. Hopefully, you can find something intresting because volunteering just for the sake of application sucks (speaking from experience). If you want to know more about what physicans do, you can shadow.

As for classes, generally med schools require:
1 year of biology
1 year of general chemistry
1 year of organic chemistry
1 year of physics
some require math, like calculus, that you, as an engineer, probably have

 

[crys20]

Do volunteering but don't do it at a hospital. Check out free clinics, suicide prevention hotlines, local hospices, childrens hospices, things at your university or college health clinics or student wellness centers. I have found some pretty awesome volunteer opportunities in such places. Clinical volunteering experience doesn't have to be in a hospital. Free clinics especially will give you way more to do and provide, IMO, a much nicer experience. Hospice is also great. volunteermatch.org is a great website also you might want to check out.

 

[fpr85]

Most important are your grades (BCPM and Cumulative) and MCAT scores, of course other factors too (volunteer work, interview, etc.)

I'm still looking around for some volunteer/work to do, I might look into being a part-time phlebotomist. (need some source of income, now don't I? 😀 )

I recommend going to your local public library and checking out a book on "how to get into med school" or just do some reading on the web.
I've done a lot and yet it seems like so little -- got plenty more to do. These forums are a big 👍 too.

Good luck!

 

[DBLBO]

When you say one year of biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics what does that mean? I took Chemestry I and II is that enouph for chemestry? What exactly is ment by a year of a subject?

 

[fpr85]

When you say one year of biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics what does that mean? I took Chemestry I and II is that enouph for chemestry? What exactly is ment by a year of a subject?

Don't quote me on this but....

a year would be two semesters, e.g.

at my school first semester I'm taking BIO 101, next will be BIO 102. This, I believe, is a year of Biology

same with chemistry, there's CHM 111 and CHM 112 and as far as your question about the chemistry goes, I'm going to have to say 'no', that probably isn't enough (at least to do well on the MCAT)

You may want to take a look at this