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Importance of Shadowing/ Volunteering given Research
- Thread starter 1sttimehopeful
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50 hours of shadowing and 150 hours of non clinical volunteering are considered baseline. The shadowing should include some primary care, and the volunteering should be with underserved or disadvantaged groups.
Once you meet the shadowing baseline, whether you pursue more is entirely your choice—tons isn’t necessary. For the volunteering, the more the merrier. With your heavy research experience, you’ll want to get a healthy dose of volunteering in to counteract any perception that you’d prefer to be a PhD over MD, unless you go MD/PhD route.
Once you meet the shadowing baseline, whether you pursue more is entirely your choice—tons isn’t necessary. For the volunteering, the more the merrier. With your heavy research experience, you’ll want to get a healthy dose of volunteering in to counteract any perception that you’d prefer to be a PhD over MD, unless you go MD/PhD route.
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If you do well on the MCAT (515+) you should be competitive for MD/PhD
I concur with getting an extra 40ish of shadowing and make sure a good chunk of those are primary care.
I don't know what kind of value MD/PhD programs place on community service so if you're thinking MD/PhD only, someone more knowledgeable than me will have to advise.
To be competitive for MD only programs, you'll need a lot more clinical volunteering AND non-clinical volunteering - aim for a few hundred hours of each. Working directly with underserved or vulnerable populations is viewed especially positively.
I concur with getting an extra 40ish of shadowing and make sure a good chunk of those are primary care.
I don't know what kind of value MD/PhD programs place on community service so if you're thinking MD/PhD only, someone more knowledgeable than me will have to advise.
To be competitive for MD only programs, you'll need a lot more clinical volunteering AND non-clinical volunteering - aim for a few hundred hours of each. Working directly with underserved or vulnerable populations is viewed especially positively.
