If I recently relocated and stopped clinical volunteering, how important is it to find an alternate position before interviews?

[deleted1106140]

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Hello. I recently relocated to a new city this month but said on my app I would volunteer at a hospital until next August. I didn’t know I would relocate at the time. How important is it for me to find some alternate clinical position before interviews in the upcoming few weeks? Would explaining I recent relocated be sufficient for why I’m not doing clinical volunteering right now?

 

[NormalUsername42]

Try to find some new experiences, but don’t stress about finding them within the next week or two - that’s a bit of an unreasonable expectation. I’m not an adcom, but if I were, I’d completely understand that you’re not doing something clinical the second you relocate to a completely new area. Take some time to settle in and just explain your situation during your interviews and you should be perfectly fine!

 

[candbgirl]

Hello. I recently relocated to a new city this month but said on my app I would volunteer at a hospital until next August. I didn’t know I would relocate at the time. How important is it for me to find some alternate clinical position before interviews in the upcoming few weeks? Would explaining I recent relocated be sufficient for why I’m not doing clinical volunteering right now?

Do you have enough, long term clinical volunteering/job on your app?
I think it would be understood that you aren’t doing something immediately after you move but don’t take 6 months to find new experiences. Don’t notify individual schools that you aren’t doing that activity at this point. Wait until you have some other things to update .

 

[KnightDoc]

Do you have enough, long term clinical volunteering/job on your app?
I think it would be understood that you aren’t doing something immediately after you move but don’t take 6 months to find new experiences. Don’t notify individual schools that you aren’t doing that activity at this point. Wait until you have some other things to update .

Totally agree, but I think OP is worried about being outed during upcoming interviews, not about just organically sending updates. I think it might be an issue if it comes up during interviews, and it is revealed that a year of projected clinical volunteering has been replaced with nothing due to a recent move that wasn't projected along with the activity a mere three months ago.

After all, it's not like the primary was submitted a year ago. Unless OP recently entered witness protection, it might look funny to an interviewer that the relocation came out of nowhere immediately after submitting the primary and secondaries, and that a year of projected clinical experiences disappeared as a result.

 

[candbgirl]

Totally agree, but I think OP is worried about being outed during upcoming interviews, not about just organically sending updates. I think it might be an issue if it comes up during interviews, and it is revealed that a year of projected clinical volunteering has been replaced with nothing due to a recent move that wasn't projected along with the activity a mere three months ago.

After all, it's not like the primary was submitted a year ago. Unless OP recently entered witness protection, it might look funny to an interviewer that the relocation came out of nowhere immediately after submitting the primary and secondaries, and that a year of projected clinical experiences disappeared as a result.

I see what you mean. Could be a sticky situation at that.

 

[DoctorFate]

Hello. I recently relocated to a new city this month but said on my app I would volunteer at a hospital until next August. I didn’t know I would relocate at the time. How important is it for me to find some alternate clinical position before interviews in the upcoming few weeks? Would explaining I recent relocated be sufficient for why I’m not doing clinical volunteering right now?

Just don't bring up the fact that you're not doing clinical volunteering anymore. There's no particular reason for them to suspect that you did. Unless your relocation is critical to your story for some reason, there's no need to talk about it. Once you find a new position, then either send an update or mention it in future interviews, but I would recommend just omitting this recent detail until then.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hello. I recently relocated to a new city this month but said on my app I would volunteer at a hospital until next August. I didn’t know I would relocate at the time. How important is it for me to find some alternate clinical position before interviews in the upcoming few weeks? Would explaining I recent relocated be sufficient for why I’m not doing clinical volunteering right now?

Have you already received IIs?

 

[deleted1106140]

Have you already received IIs?

Yes.

 

[LindaAccepted]

I advise you to try to get involved in some clinical volunteering, but you don't have to drive yourself nuts to do so the day/week after you arrive in your new city. I'm assuming that you have sufficient clinical exposure in your previous location(s) because you got the IIs. At the same time, you may get more and time will pass. I don't think you want to be invited to interview in a few months and still not have clinical experience in your new location, or be waitlisted and have nothing to update (for those schools that accept updates.)

 

[deleted1106140]

Thanks everyone. I found a new position and will start by my first interview.