Is research/volunteering necessary if coming from an allied health field? (OT to MD)

[codybarbar]

Hi everyone, I'm a current OT student and will be graduating this May with my doctorate. I'm looking into pursuing medicine, and am trying to make a plan for myself.

I'm planning on working full time at a hospital as an OT once I graduate, and I was wondering if you all think I will need research and volunteering even if I have a lot of clinical experience. By the time I apply for med school, I'm guessing I will have 2 years of full time clinical experience (and this is not taking into account all of the hours I had during my school rotations). I will definitely shadow physicians and continue my extra curriculars, but what do you guys think of the research/volunteering aspect? Is this relevant to me as a non-traditional applicant?

Would greatly appreciate any advice! Thanks in advance!

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[walnutfloor]

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[codybarbar]

hey! congrats on your doctorate. I'm an OT too, and am in a similar boat. will you be hired on from your OTD at your hospital? If not, just be mindful that it is really hard to get hired FT, depending on the state. Most places will hire per diem.

I don't believe you need additional clinical volunteering, but you would probably benefit from having non-clinical volunteering, even as a non-trad. A couple hours a week/month wouldn't hurt.

So cool to meet a fellow OT pursuing medicine! Thanks for your input. I'll definitely continue to volunteer in a clinical and non clinical capacity. Have you done any research yet? The research aspect of the application makes me a bit concerned because I'm not sure how I would get any experience as a post bacc student. I don't really have any connections with science profs that are conducting research. How's that part going for you?

 

[walnutfloor]

So cool to meet a fellow OT pursuing medicine! Thanks for your input. I'll definitely continue to volunteer in a clinical and non clinical capacity. Have you done any research yet? The research aspect of the application makes me a bit concerned because I'm not sure how I would get any experience as a post bacc student. I don't really have any connections with science profs that are conducting research. How's that part going for you?

So I did a little bit of psych research in undergrad (~70 hours) that I'll be putting on my application. Beyond that, I don't know if I'm going to pursue additional research, as I'll be primarily focusing on the MCAT and shadowing. Unfortunately, I'm not in a hospital, so I'll need to find some hours for that. Once I take the MCAT, I might look into research. I might cold email professors from various universities or organizations, but I think as a non-trad, it's not as pertinent unless you're aiming for a research heavy school.

 

[MichelobULTRA]

I am an experienced nurse and I’ll be matriculating this fall. I had both research and volunteering. I think some kind of volunteering is required, but it can be anything. It’s best to pick something you are passionate about because that shows in your application. I’m not sure if I needed research, but it did come up in my interview. I also spent about 40 hours shadowing a physician because I think schools like to see that you took the effort to experience what life will be like in the different role. I figured that I might as well cover all my bases because I didn’t want to be kicking myself later for not doing something that could have made a difference in my application.