How important are volunteer/extracurricular activities to program directors?

[Icecold]

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I understand that pre-clinical grades, Step I, clerkship grades, AOA, research, LOR, and interview are all very important aspects that program directors consider in the match process.

But where do volunteer/extracurricular activities fall into this process? Do program directors really care that you were for example some officer (or even less just a member) of a student organization in your medical school, or that you did volunteer work for some healthcare organization during medical school?

Let's keep it real, would these humanistic things even matter to a program director, or is it mostly all about measurable things such as Step I score, number of clerkships honored, were you able to check the AOA box on ERAS, number of research pubs, etc?

 

[Dermguy]

I understand that pre-clinical grades, Step I, clerkship grades, AOA, research, LOR, and interview are all very important aspects that program directors consider in the match process.

But where do volunteer/extracurricular activities fall into this process? Do program directors really care that you were for example some officer (or even less just a member) of a student organization in your medical school, or that you did volunteer work for some healthcare organization during medical school?

Let's keep it real, would these humanistic things even matter to a program director, or is it mostly all about measurable things such as Step I score, number of clerkships honored, were you able to check the AOA box on ERAS, number of research pubs, etc?

I think the only extracurricular that people care about is research. Several 3-year student officers at my school failed to match in much less competitive residencies than Derm, and they were decent applicants. It is not uncommon for people to get involved in DIGA thinking that this will give them an edge, but people heavily involved in DIGA often go unmatched. Focus on the big stuff like grades, Step 1, AOA, and getting good letters from some people you've done some research with. The other stuff is great for enriching your life, but it won't get you a Derm spot.

 

[PartyPants]

Let's keep it real, would these humanistic things even matter to a program director, or is it mostly all about measurable things such as Step I score, number of clerkships honored, were you able to check the AOA box on ERAS, number of research pubs, etc?

No need for extracurriculars. A friend of mine matched a couple of weeks ago, without being MD PhD. She did nothing outside of studying and research. And I mean nothing. She is so uninvolved I don't even think she signed up to receive JAMA in the mail. What she does have: AOA, Step 1 > 240, 1st author publication, the department chair rallying behind her.

 

[asmallchild]

I'd also say "not very"

 

[sensitive skin]

Not very important. Most people have volunteered and were officers in med school...it's almost always considered "fluff" (just like case studies...hah!), according to PDs.

It's the stuff you do outside of med school that garners attention and become a nice topic of conversation on interviews, and helps committees remember you. My own story -- I have a side career outside of medicine, and it helped me garner waaaaay more interviews than I was expecting, have really fun interviews, and it definitely helped me match.

Having AOA, 230+ (guess it's 240+ now?), research, pubs, and connections, almost seem like a prerequisite to match nowadays. You should feel a little more confident if you fulfill all of those "requirements." Anything else is icing.