How do I stand as far as ECs go?

[dice404]

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I'm currently a junior pre-medical student and will be applying to medical school during the coming summer. I'm really worried that my extracurricular activities will not not be enough in comparison to other applicants. My experiences are as follows:

1. Last winter, I shadowed my uncle, a pain management physician, who primarily treats geriatric patients with spinal stenosis by injecting cortisone into the facets of the spine to alleviate nerve impingement. I only shadowed him for a week, but I was able to see a lot of patients and a variety of procedures. Even though it was a short lived experience, I feel as though I learned a lot, and I would consider it to be a very valuable experience.

2. This summer, begining in june and ending this week, I volunteered in endoscopy at my local hospital for eight hours each week. One of my responsibilities was to walk patients coming out of conscious sedation to the main lobby for their ride, therefore this volunteer oppertunity entailed a lot of patient interaction. I was also afforded the oppertunity to view a variety of procedures including colonoscopies, ERCPs, and EUSs. Again I personally found this to be very enjoyable and to be great exposure to the medical field.

3. Also, I just completed a phlebotomy training program. Notably, the most enjoyable part of the course was the lab, where we were able to practice drawing blood. I was able to really work on my skills as a clinician, as well as improve my manual dexterity. There are currently no oppertunities for me to draw blood at any hospitals near my school, but I plan to use my training at my local hospital over the winter break and after the spring semester.

How do you guys think I look in comparison to other applicants? Maybe I'm being neurotic, but I can help but worry. I want to go to medical school so bad, and I don't want to leave anything up to chance.

 

[lstone13]

You are covered as far as your medical EC's are concerned. But what of community service? Or any leadership activities? Any other special certifications? Any cool hobbies?

 

[FirefighterDoc]

I think this topic might be better in the "What are my chances forum?" But I think you could try to have some more EC's if you can afford the time. I know it can be crazy looking at other applicants on SDN because everyone here has like crazy applications, but i think as far as EC's go, the more the merrier. If you can fit more, definitely try and get them in.

The phlebotomy class is great. See if you can use that somewhere because more clinical experience would be great. Try and shadow some more physicians if you can as well. If you can find any more time for any more volunteering i would try that too.

I think you're looking good so far, just see if you can do a little more. Thats just my opinion though.

Good luck!

I'm currently a junior pre-medical student and will be applying to medical school during the coming summer. I'm really worried that my extracurricular activities will not not be enough in comparison to other applicants. My experiences are as follows:

1. Last winter, I shadowed my uncle, a pain management physician, who primarily treats geriatric patients with spinal stenosis by injecting cortisone into the facets of the spine to alleviate nerve impingement. I only shadowed him for a week, but I was able to see a lot of patients and a variety of procedures. Even though it was a short lived experience, I feel as though I learned a lot, and I would consider it to be a very valuable experience.

2. This summer, begining in june and ending this week, I volunteered in endoscopy at my local hospital for eight hours each week. One of my responsibilities was to walk patients coming out of conscious sedation to the main lobby for their ride, therefore this volunteer oppertunity entailed a lot of patient interaction. I was also afforded the oppertunity to view a variety of procedures including colonoscopies, ERCPs, and EUSs. Again I personally found this to be very enjoyable and to be great exposure to the medical field.

3. Also, I just completed a phlebotomy training program. Notably, the most enjoyable part of the course was the lab, where we were able to practice drawing blood. I was able to really work on my skills as a clinician, as well as improve my manual dexterity. There are currently no oppertunities for me to draw blood at any hospitals near my school, but I plan to use my training at my local hospital over the winter break and after the spring semester.

How do you guys think I look in comparison to other applicants? Maybe I'm being neurotic, but I can help but worry. I want to go to medical school so bad, and I don't want to leave anything up to chance.

 

[ksmi117]

Moving to the What Are My Chances? forum.

 

[Stratego]

So, you have ~40 hours of shadowing one doctor and 3 months of clinical experience. You completed phlebotomy training, but have yet to interact with patients doing this.

I agree with you, that your ECs need work. I'd suggest you shadow two other types of doctors for 8+ hours each, of which one is in primary care. Adcomms like to see a year of clinical experience, so you need more of that starting ASAP if you intend to apply next summer. Four hours a week volunteering in a hospital, clinic, or nursing home would be good. Volunteering in a clinical setting also counts as community service. If you get an opportunity to work as a phlebotomist, you will need some separate humanitarian work. Research is good to have; 60% of applicants list it, and the average amount is about a year. Leadership and/or Teaching are also desirable. As mentioned, you'd also want to list hobbies and other jobs.

 

[apumic]

I think you have a decent start but a long way to go. Your volunteer, clinical & research stints are way too short. While 3 mos is probably marginally acceptable, it really takes 6-12 mos to get a good solid experience in something. The first 3 mos is really little more than trng for a new position -- it's after that initial training & honeymoon that the *real* clinical, research or volunteer experience begins.