How Much and How to do ECs?

[DrSukhijawitz]

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I see it being thrown around everywhere --- you *need* lots of great EC's coupled with your 3.5+ GPA and 35+ MCATS to get into a good medical school.

I just called UCSD Medical Center and asked if they had any program to let prospective medical students check out what doctoring is like.

UCSD said they have no such program and all that stuff would need to be done on my own..

So, here are my basic questions:

1. How do you check out a hospital (legally) without just waltzing in.
2. Whom do you contact and what do you say to them?
3. Where do you look to start getting patient-contact experience?

A little about me, graduated UCLA with an Electrical Engineering degree and I am considering a career switch into medicine. I am 23 years old, haven't done engineering work for a while, but I already kinda know its not really for me. I got a feeling medicine could be up my alley.

In a nutshell, I mostly want to see if day-to-day medicine is right for me. Whats the best way to do that?

 

[schrizto]

nvm.

 

[thatguy687]

Google a hospital near you, see if they have a number for the volunteer service Dept on the hospitals website. then sign up to be a volunteer. Then after a while get to know the doctors in the dept. and see if you could shadow one of them.

 

[murfettie]

do the clinical care extender thing at valley pres in van nuys
there is another one at st/john's in ventura.
assuming you still live in the area.

 

[Mattabet]

Yeah. Either look for a hospital volunteer department or find a doctor you know and see if he'll let you tag along / has friends that might let you tag along.

The ECs are just one of those annoying things. I wish this were a world where I could say I was interested in medicine, and that would be good enough. Unfortunately, schools increasingly look for documentation that proves your interest (anything you can do to whittle down the ten applicants for your one spot).