Medical How should I address frequency of shadowing has changed since I submitted my secondaries?

[Catalystik]

I just started my gap year job and I wrote in 4 of my secondaries that I would be shadowing my PI weekly because that was what I thought I would be doing at the time based on my conversation with him. Turns out my lab work has been very busy and while he is receptive of me shadowing I haven't actually done any shadowing yet, and I don't think it will be weekly when it does begin. I'm very paranoid that medical schools will think that I was lying or will call my PI to check about this, but lying was not my intent It was just what I knew at the time.

I only said it for 4 secondaries( I altered my gap year essay based on space and took out "weekly" a lot) but I am still nervous. Should I send updates to these schools or leave it alone?

If I get an interview at any of these schools should I clarify it then, or will it seem like I am trying to cover something up?

Thanks in advance for your help, I tried to search this online but I only found things about falsifying hours on AMCAS which isn't my situation.

How many shadowing hours did you list on your Primary application? What specialties? Keep in mind that anything over 50 hours is unlikely to make you a stronger candidate.

Future intended hours aren't much regarded by adcomms, as the best of plans often fall through. In a manner of speaking, presuming your PI is a physician, you are shadowing him (wearing his researcher hat) when you are with him in the lab. I'd still try hard to get in some shadowing while he's wearing his clinician hat, though.

You can clarify in the late fall update letter, by which time you'll hopefully have some clinician shadowing time to report back on. It's unlikely this would come up at an interview, as you will have gotten the interview based on completed experiences. If it did, you would need to be honest.

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[Catalystik]

Okay thank you so much, I have 2 interviews this week but they didn't ask about gap year plans so it wont come up for those. If I get future interviews where I stated that I was shadowing weekly I will be sure to clarify. Thank you so much for your time!

And I have 170 hours of primary care shadowing as well as other medical volunteer experiences that I did not explicitly list as shadowing, so you're right that they probably won't base my interviews off of my gap year "future shadowing".

1) If I get future interviews where I stated that I was shadowing weekly I will be sure to clarify. Thank you so much for your time!

2) And I have 170 hours of primary care shadowing

1) To be clear, if you're not "asked," there's no need to "tell," the reason being that you can't rely on the interviewer to make the information part of your file.

2) You are WAY more than "fine" already.

 

[Catalystik]

Okay thank you so much for this advice. I got very in my head about this yesterday and was feeling unintentionally dishonest but I feel much better now, thanks so much!

Happy to be of help and put anxieties to rest.