is this a red flag?

[medcarrot]

applying this cycle w/ no gap year. i wanted to ask if this is an objective red flag.

in terms of clinical experience, my timeline is as follows:
- hospital volunteering (direct patient involvement, but not that substantial (first 6 months of college)
- patient transporter (8 months, stopped right before sophomore year)
- nursing assistant (1 year, stopped right before summer after sophomore year)
- continued with hospital volunteering after NA job and still volunteering there to present date (direct patient involvement, but this time very substantial for me).

is it a red flag that I stopped my two paid clinical positions? it was to focus on courses & research, and I still continued with hospital volunteering but I'm not sure if this would raise some questions.

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[anon2]

No.

You're way overthinking it.

"They quit two entry-level jobs while still attending school". This sound like "therefore someone we shouldn't let into the medical profession"?

To paraphrase the imitable Goro, this is less than a nothingburger.

 

[medcarrot]

No.

You're way overthinking it.

"They quit two entry-level jobs while still attending school". This sound like "therefore someone we shouldn't let into the medical profession"?

To paraphrase the imitable Goro, this is less than a nothingburger.

Haha your rephrasing of this makes me feel so much better...just now realizing how much I've been overthinking it. Thank you so much

 

[Goro]

applying this cycle w/ no gap year. i wanted to ask if this is an objective red flag.

in terms of clinical experience, my timeline is as follows:
- hospital volunteering (direct patient involvement, but not that substantial (first 6 months of college)
- patient transporter (8 months, stopped right before sophomore year)
- nursing assistant (1 year, stopped right before summer after sophomore year)
- continued with hospital volunteering after NA job and still volunteering there to present date (direct patient involvement, but this time very substantial for me).

is it a red flag that I stopped my two paid clinical positions? it was to focus on courses & research, and I still continued with hospital volunteering but I'm not sure if this would raise some questions.

No. And stop overthinking

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Whatever you needed to do to focus on your grades, you're fine.

 

[medcarrot]

No. And stop overthinking

Thank you for the reassurance. I'm just worried that adcoms may not look favorably upon the fact that most of my "significant" clinical experience is from a year ago by time of primary applications. I can explain this discrepancy well in interviews, as I truly quit to focus on what meant the most to me (along w/ coursework), but obviously I don't have the chance to fully explain this before interview invites, if my logic makes sense.

 

[medcarrot]

so I re-did the calculations of my hours to the tee and sheesh I was overestimating this whole time & this is making me so stressed. no gap year applicant, i have yet to submit my application for this cycle but was wondering whether these hours are sufficient (contingent on them being meaningful to me of course).

clinical hours: 900, which I know is enough, *however* 700 of these hours were from 2022-2023 and from 2023 onwards I have only been doing hospital volunteering for 2 hours a week. I am unsure how this lack of "recent clinical commitment" compared to previous years will look.
nonclinical hours: 300 and that's it, this is probably enough but does this mean if I apply this year, I should foregoe the service-oriented schools?

the rest of my application is fine, it's honestly the lack of recent clinical experience that is bothering me. i'm probably overthinking, maybe not. i had asked a similarly worded question before on here but wanted to make sure proper context was provided. any advice is appreciated during this time.

 

[ClashRoyaleKing]

You wouldn't be expected to have many hours for not having gap years. What you have listed seems fine. That being said, you need to show meaning in your descriptions. I'm not sure how your clinical experience will be evaluated, but I believe it would be fine. As long as you have continued your clinical engagements.

 

[medcarrot]

You wouldn't be expected to have many hours for not having gap years. What you have listed seems fine. That being said, you need to show meaning in your descriptions. I'm not sure how your clinical experience will be evaluated, but I believe it would be fine. As long as you have continued your clinical engagements.

Thank you for your response. I have tried my best to show meaning in my descriptions, one of those clinical paid positions is my most meaningful but not the clinical volunteering. They are both meaningful to me but with the max. 3 MM slots and the fewer hours for volunteering, that is the decision I made.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I am merging your multiple active threads on this same question.

As others have said, this is not a red flag. I think you're looking for reasons that you are not ready, but those simply do not exist.

 

[medcarrot]

I am merging your multiple active threads on this same question.

As others have said, this is not a red flag. I think you're looking for reasons that you are not ready, but those simply do not exist.

Thank you for merging the active threads, I apologize for the messiness of it all. Thank you also for the reassurance. Just to confirm, is 2 hours of hospital volunteer per week not a red flag? At least I am still volunteering but I just feel like it comes off as so odd after having worked so many clinical hours before. I hope adcoms don't think of it as a check the box and run sort of situation.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Thank you for merging the active threads, I apologize for the messiness of it all. Thank you also for the reassurance. Just to confirm, is 2 hours of hospital volunteer per week not a red flag? At least I am still volunteering but I just feel like it comes off as so odd after having worked so many clinical hours before. I hope adcoms don't think of it as a check the box and run sort of situation.

How could we more clearly state that NONE of what you are describing (the number of hours, the timing of your hours, the nature of your activities) is red flag

Again, you've asked this question in basically every possible iteration one could think of trying to invalidate your experiences. So far it doesn't appear anyone shares your concerns.

 

[medcarrot]

How could we more clearly state that NONE of what you are describing (the number of hours, the timing of your hours, the nature of your activities) is red flag

Again, you've asked this question in basically every possible iteration one could think of trying to invalidate your experiences. So far it doesn't appear anyone shares your concerns.

Thank you, my neurotic brain is really getting the best of me. I will be submitting this cycle. Thank you, I super appreciate it

 

[lioneljohn]

No. I don't think it is especially since you continued substantial volunteering and managed other commitments effectively.