Hours for experience and volunteering

[Sharknad0]

---

Members do not see this ad.

.

 

[Sharknad0]

So there's a difference between applying with those numbers and continuing with them throughout the gap vs. not applying in June 18 and waiting?

 

[Goro]

I'm a senior and I don't have much clinical experience (I have plenty of research and volunteering though), and I am planning on starting this year. I am also taking a gap year. Will it matter how much I have done when I apply vs. how much I also expect during my gap year?

I'm expecting ~100 or so hours by June, and a lot more at the end of my gap year due to working as a scribe or working in a hospital. Will the 100 hold me back?

Also, for volunteering, I'll have ~300 at my college, and maybe 50-100 at an underserved location (RMHC, other underserved locations). Will the low underserved hold me back?

STATS:
GPA: 3.65 c 3.50 s by June
MCAT: April
ORM
Research ~800 in 3 labs
Shadowing ~150 in 2 specialties & FM
College volunteering ~245 for one club, 30-50 for service fraternity
Underserved volunteering ~20 at one organization, ~100 expected at another organization (starting now) with more during gap year
Clinical experience ~35 in a Latin American country clinic, ~100 domestic expected (starting now) with more during gap year
Clubs ~230 hours in 2 clubs


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Apply when you have the best possible app.

 

[Sharknad0]

.

 

[MCATISEZ]

This totally looks like checking boxes. Why not do it all, but focus on what you really like? Like there really is no set rule on hours. Your activities should show your commitment to medicine, your altruism, your hobbies, interests, etc.

 

[Sharknad0]

This totally looks like checking boxes. Why not do it all, but focus on what you really like? Like there really is no set rule on hours. Your activities should show your commitment to medicine, your altruism, your hobbies, interests, etc.

Which is why I sent that picture. I can't apply without clinical experience and these are all things I want to choose between. But I'd also like to know if it would hold back my application.

I'd love to keep doing the things I'm doing but not to the detriment of my application. I NEED clinical experience, but my first 3 years were focused on research, shadowing, school organizations, and volunteering. I've been wanting to start clinical work but a combo of a busy schedule (doing all the above) and some other reasons are why I haven't been able to.

The way I phrased my post DID make it seem like I'm chasing hour after hour but I do want to say it isn't the case. I wouldn't be a sober driver for 7 semesters because it would look good, I've done it because it's something I like to do in my community. Same goes with the service frat, it's a thing all my friends have been a part of that seems like a ton of fun to me. And I've stuck around in research labs because they appeal to me, otherwise I'd find more productive things to do with my time. I've been with a lab since their pilot study and I'm in year 3 with them now. I'm not a number chaser, but I do want a well rounded application.

Could you please help me figure out my clinical experiences?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[FlowRate]

This totally looks like checking boxes.

Strong predictor of success as a PGY-1.

 

[Sharknad0]

Strong predictor of success as a PGY-1.

Maybe if you'd read my post before calling out my "success" as a med student...

If you don't have any advice and just wanna say I'll be a bad med student you don't need to respond. I appreciate your message though, I should just switch to business thanks to your input.

Every post has people asking for advice and no one screams "BOX CHECKER" at them. Of course I'm gonna ask for advice because I didn't even know what clinical experience was before I joined this site.

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[FlowRate]

Maybe if you'd read my post before calling out my "success" as a med student...

If you don't have any advice and just wanna say I'll be a bad med student you don't need to respond. I appreciate your message though, I should just switch to business thanks to your input.

Every post has people asking for advice and no one screams "BOX CHECKER" at them. Of course I'm gonna ask for advice because I didn't even know what clinical experience was before I joined this site.

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Woah dude, take a deep breath.

Being an intern is all about the checkboxes. It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to residency that had pretty much nothing to do with you.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Do whichever one you believe you would enjoy most. Otherwise, do the one with the most convenient schedule and also having significant downtime to study is an added bonus. No one is judging you for "chasing hours."

 

[Sharknad0]

Woah dude, take a deep breath.

Being an intern is all about the checkboxes. It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to residency that had pretty much nothing to do with you.

Sorry, the way the message was phrased and what it responded to made it seem like it was some sort of call out. Like "hey you're checking boxes (bad)" to "shows PGY-1 success (I assumed also bad). I've just been really freaked out about not having certain essential things on my application and just needed some help. Again I apologize.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Sharknad0]

Do whichever one you believe you would enjoy most. Otherwise, do the one with the most convenient schedule and also having significant downtime to study is an added bonus. No one is judging you for "chasing hours."

Thanks for the help and reassurance


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[LizzyM]

Three of those descriptions include the word "patients". The descriptions put you in close proximity to those patients. To me, that makes them clinical experiences. The job that involves working only with patients' families is less "clinical" but it is in a clinical environment and it does mean dealing with people who are in a high stress-anxiety producing environment where you have to observe certain rules that pertain to clinical environments. It would be suitable as an "add-on" to other more direct patient interaction experiences.