How important is research experience and can I get it during my gap years

[doctorastro]

I'm in my first gap year right now and didn't decide on medical school until some time after I graduated, although I have completed all my prerequisites. My cGPA is not that great at 3.45 and science GPA is a 3.1. I also don't have any type of volunteer experience or clinical volunteer experience. I guess being a scribe would be my best option to gain experience in my gap years. What I'm mostly concerned about is research. Since i'm not in a college anymore, I'm not really sure how I would get research experience.My ultimate interest is in mental health and I would want to be a psychiatrist. Would medical schools look for research if that is my aim? Should I even make the effort to get it or should I just focus on things like volunteering, shadowing and getting a job like CNA or Scribe.

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[ScrubswithnoSleeves]

First, you should definitely be applying to DO with those stats, although We'd really need to know your MCAT, state of residence, and Race/Ethnicity to say that for sure.

To answer your first question: Yes, if your aim is to do research in medical school and you plan on telling them that in your apps, you need to have some research experience.

And to answer your second question: Clinical experience is probably more important than research experience (especially for DOs), but both are important. It is also pretty tough to get research experience outside your university. I would recommend you go with your latter option, Begin volunteering and get a job as a scribe, and start reaching out to physicians to shadow. Definitely reach out to DOs, and I think they actually have a tool for finding DO's that are interested in having a shadow somewhere on this site: Considering Medical School? Become A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

 

[KnightDoc]

I'm in my first gap year right now and didn't decide on medical school until some time after I graduated, although I have completed all my prerequisites. My cGPA is not that great at 3.45 and science GPA is a 3.1. I also don't have any type of volunteer experience or clinical volunteer experience. I guess being a scribe would be my best option to gain experience in my gap years. What I'm mostly concerned about is research. Since i'm not in a college anymore, I'm not really sure how I would get research experience.My ultimate interest is in mental health and I would want to be a psychiatrist. Would medical schools look for research if that is my aim? Should I even make the effort to get it or should I just focus on things like volunteering, shadowing and getting a job like CNA or Scribe.

TBH, you should probably be asking about post-bacc work because you are going to need to get your GPA up to be competitive. Also, the schools you are going to be targeting with your GPA are not going to care about research ECs. Good luck!!