PorkBellyBowl
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Last edited:
j
- Thread starter PorkBellyBowl
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Your clinical and non clinical hours are adequate. Projected hours have minimal value.
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Welcome to the forums. I don't see a previous WAMC unless you have created a new account (shouldn't do that).
So if that is what you believe, I'll assume you are well above-average as an applicant shooting for all "brand-name" schools. I'll take the position your reflection contains many premed myths that you cling to as a means of self-deprecation or some expression of humility. I assume you have the full support of your prehealth advisors and will obtain a committee letter with solid recommendations. I also assume you have attended recruitment sessions and visited campuses to talk with current students about their experience. If none of this is true, take this as a veiled suggestion of anticipated activities you should add to form a competitive profile.
Your experiences look like they check the boxes. What you must work on is why it's important to your expectations and purpose as a future physician. (There are many articles on the SDN website to read.) You will be competing with many other applicants who have impressive accomplishments and impacts they can discuss as part of their journey to being a physician. From what you describe, you have a very good start: it's okay to have a grounded interest in geriatric medicine since it is not a popular specialty (no one has cured people of old age). You have taken steps to understand what these challenges and the social safety nets that are supposed to help.
Sure, you can't expect to work in geriatrics for all of your medical school career, and it takes a lot of courage to work in hospice or assisted living. I don't know if you attend church or a faith community where the demographics are decidedly older and probably more entrenched in their thinking, but you seem to enjoy this.
Do your homework: find out what the medical students do in their geriatrics/eldercare SIGs. What community activities do they do with veterans, sensory disabled, homeless, or ethnic communities? Can your experiences add value to what your peers should know contextually when they meet an older patient? Yes don't be a one-note samba, but unlike others who focus on becoming a ROAD scholar, saying you want to be involved in the primary care of the elderly won't be a turn-off.
No lists without your metrics. But you can move a little more confidently as you begin pre-writing secondaries. I hope you have kept a journal (also read articles about this).
So if that is what you believe, I'll assume you are well above-average as an applicant shooting for all "brand-name" schools. I'll take the position your reflection contains many premed myths that you cling to as a means of self-deprecation or some expression of humility. I assume you have the full support of your prehealth advisors and will obtain a committee letter with solid recommendations. I also assume you have attended recruitment sessions and visited campuses to talk with current students about their experience. If none of this is true, take this as a veiled suggestion of anticipated activities you should add to form a competitive profile.
Your experiences look like they check the boxes. What you must work on is why it's important to your expectations and purpose as a future physician. (There are many articles on the SDN website to read.) You will be competing with many other applicants who have impressive accomplishments and impacts they can discuss as part of their journey to being a physician. From what you describe, you have a very good start: it's okay to have a grounded interest in geriatric medicine since it is not a popular specialty (no one has cured people of old age). You have taken steps to understand what these challenges and the social safety nets that are supposed to help.
Sure, you can't expect to work in geriatrics for all of your medical school career, and it takes a lot of courage to work in hospice or assisted living. I don't know if you attend church or a faith community where the demographics are decidedly older and probably more entrenched in their thinking, but you seem to enjoy this.
Do your homework: find out what the medical students do in their geriatrics/eldercare SIGs. What community activities do they do with veterans, sensory disabled, homeless, or ethnic communities? Can your experiences add value to what your peers should know contextually when they meet an older patient? Yes don't be a one-note samba, but unlike others who focus on becoming a ROAD scholar, saying you want to be involved in the primary care of the elderly won't be a turn-off.
No lists without your metrics. But you can move a little more confidently as you begin pre-writing secondaries. I hope you have kept a journal (also read articles about this).
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We cannot say where you'd be competitive for without your GPA and MCAT. They don't even make the silly top 20 list anymore, which really was roughly a list of 25-30 bigtime research powerhouse schools.
Having a focus on the elderly population is fine. Schools will not roll their eyes at someone with demonstrated interest in geriatric medicine. It is not like saying you are fixated on ortho or derm.
Having a focus on the elderly population is fine. Schools will not roll their eyes at someone with demonstrated interest in geriatric medicine. It is not like saying you are fixated on ortho or derm.