How important are "club officer positions" in med school?

[KarmaIsTruth]

It all seems very silly to me.

I'm an adult and I'm in med school to learn about the human body. I take this very seriously.

Yet - I find that my peers think it's very important to hold officer positions in the Surgery Club or the IM Club or whatever. I know for a fact that the majority of people do it for "their resume" - not because they really want to.

Do residency directors really care about such silly things?

What do you think?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I don't think anyone really cares.

 

[Stagg737]

They won't matter. The only thing it might get you other than self-satisfaction might be a few extra networking opportunities. Other than that it's mostly just self-gratification.

 

[notbobtrustme]

slightly better than worthless, but nothing that will make your application better by itself.

 

[NontradCA]

I don't think anyone really cares.

I care.

Sincerely,

NontradCA
OMS-2, COM
Surgery and Sports Club President
SNMA Vice President
Pediatrics Club Member
[email protected]

 

[operaman]

Yeah, by themselves they really don't mean all that much, but I think they may still be worth doing for some people.

While ECs aren't as important as they were in pre-med, a conspicuous absence of them would stack up poorly against fellow applicants down the line. Even the initial visual impression of an 8-10 page CV vs a 2-3 page one can be valuable, even if both CVs contain the same amount of truly substantive things (most people don't delve that deeply into them). So don't go nuts with them, but it's probably worth taking on a leadership role if something really interests you.

There are also the intangible benefits of increased interaction with faculty who may write you letters and generally becoming a more well-known and respected member of the class (assuming you don't suck).

However, never forget that it's always grades and boards uber alles.

 

[LoveIR]

If you're the president of the Ortho club or w/e you have an excuse to talk to local PDs and residents to organize events, etc.

It's about connections more than resume padding.

 

[AlmostAnMD]

Every bit as important as community service

 

[ridethecliche]

Screw it. I'd rather just do research than engage in half-wit popularity contests. I'll be involved in something if it's interesting, but I'm not going to self flagellate by wasting hours in meetings on topics I have no interest in.

 

[KarmaIsTruth]

Yeah, by themselves they really don't mean all that much, but I think they may still be worth doing for some people.

While ECs aren't as important as they were in pre-med, a conspicuous absence of them would stack up poorly against fellow applicants down the line. Even the initial visual impression of an 8-10 page CV vs a 2-3 page one can be valuable, even if both CVs contain the same amount of truly substantive things (most people don't delve that deeply into them). So don't go nuts with them, but it's probably worth taking on a leadership role if something really interests you.

There are also the intangible benefits of increased interaction with faculty who may write you letters and generally becoming a more well-known and respected member of the class (assuming you don't suck).

However, never forget that it's always grades and boards uber alles.

If I were a residency director and someone during the interview told me he or she was the treasurer of the peds club, I would roll my eyes on the inside.

 

[Darth Doc]

I see being an officer as a way to give back to the school and the class behind me. Sure, treasurer of ____ club isn't too important to residency directors. But being an officer is an opportunity to make the club more interesting and useful, a way to give MS1s insight into different specialties, get community service hours, etc. If there aren't officers, the clubs get dissolved. If there are too many people interested in officer positions, then it becomes a popularity contest, but not every class has that many people willing to be officers.

I say, get involved in something you're interested in and feel like you can make a small difference with. Don't overdo it to the point of sacrificing the all-important knowledge we're here for, but life is more than studying. Medicine can be more than just hospital rounds.

 

[Pacna]

I see being an officer as a way to give back to the school and the class behind me. Sure, treasurer of ____ club isn't too important to residency directors. But being an officer is an opportunity to make the club more interesting and useful, a way to give MS1s insight into different specialties, get community service hours, etc. If there aren't officers, the clubs get dissolved. If there are too many people interested in officer positions, then it becomes a popularity contest, but not every class has that many people willing to be officers.

I say, get involved in something you're interested in and feel like you can make a small difference with. Don't overdo it to the point of sacrificing the all-important knowledge we're here for, but life is more than studying. Medicine can be more than just hospital rounds.

Caaaan you show me the woooorld...?

 

[trino]

Screw it. I'd rather just do research than engage in half-wit popularity contests. I'll be involved in something if it's interesting, but I'm not going to self flagellate by wasting hours in meetings on topics I have no interest in.

But, but, but...the free food

Amazing that I can't take 5 minutes to make a sandwich for myself in the morning, but will sit for an hour at a lunch talk

 

[operaman]

If I were a residency director and someone during the interview told me he or she was the treasurer of the peds club, I would roll my eyes on the inside.

True, though I would roll my eyes less than I would at someone who was too cool for school and didn't do anything else but study.

It's not so much the stripe on the CV as where it can lead if you make something great of it. I would ask the former peds club treasurer what he or she did and what kind of novel ideas they advanced during their tenure. Maybe they took their school allotment and membership dues and, rather than simply use them for food at meetings, invested in a nice fundraiser and ended up dramatically increasing the group's operating budget which enabled them to start funding new ideas that were previously not possible. Hopefully the treasurer position led to a president/vp position wherein the person worked to advance some new project that hadn't been done before, something that caught the attention of his or her letter writers and was mentioned multiple times and shows that this is a person who will come to my program and truly make an impact rather than sit around like a slug waiting for things to happen. There are med students doing some truly incredible things as students, and many of them probably started as rather small, innocuous activities that snowballed with time and effort.

 

[alpinism]

I care.

Sincerely,

NontradCA
OMS-2, COM
Surgery and Sports Club President
SNMA Vice President
Pediatrics Club Member
[email protected]

Remides me of a few classmates whose signatures would look something like this:

Susie Rottencrotch, BS
MD candidate, class of XX
The XX School of Medicine
AMA Regional Delegate - Midwest Section
Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery Interest Group
President and Treasurer 2015-2016
--personal website
--email address
--phone number

 

[KarmaIsTruth]

Remides me of a few classmates whose signatures would look something like this:

Susie Rottencrotch, BS
MD candidate, class of XX
The XX School of Medicine
AMA Regional Delegate - Midwest Section
Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery Interest Group
President and Treasurer 2015-2016
--personal website
--email address
--phone number

Lol.

 

[NontradCA]

Remides me of a few classmates whose signatures would look something like this:

Susie Rottencrotch, BS
MD candidate, class of XX
The XX School of Medicine
AMA Regional Delegate - Midwest Section
Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery Interest Group
President and Treasurer 2015-2016
--personal website
--email address
--phone number

I know dude. That's the joke

 

[BurghStudent]

I feel like there's a new national medical student body for xyz cause every year

-President, Medical Students for Team Edward

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I don't think anyone really cares.

/thread