Lots of free time before applying - what to do?

[JingleChips]

This is NOT a "what are my chances thread". I am providing some background info about my resume/stats to obtain better input of what I should be spending my time on to improve my chances. That being said I hope this post is in the correct section.

I graduated in May of 2013, and decided on pursuing med school during that spring semester (I was deciding between med school vs grad school). I took the MCAT 5 days ago. I won't be applying to medical school until next June - essentially giving me TWO years off. I am lacking volunteering/clinical/shadowing ECs.

My question : With two years off before matriculation (assuming an acceptance), what should I do during this time to improve my chances?

In short, my resume looks like this:

- BS Chemistry, minor biochemistry
- 3.71 GPA ( 2/28 rank in major)
- Expected MCAT: anywhere between a 33-36.
- 4 semesters + 2 x full time summers doing undergraduate research (3 poster presentations, no publication)
- 3 years Relay for Life Team Captain (junior + senior year in hs, senior yr in college)
- 25 hours shadowing (10hrs shadowing a cardiologist, 10-15hrs shadowing different ultrasound techs doing vasculars, echocardiograms, and stress tests)
- 4 years + 3 summers working in a restaurant (bus boy / server / host)
- 1 semester chemistry TA
- minor stuff (secretary of a collegiate club sports team for 1 year, CPR/AED/first aid certified, deans list x8, ect)

How I'm currently keeping busy:
I have "new volunteers orientation" at my local hospital next week so I can begin volunteering. They offer 4 hours of shadowing for every 50 hours of volunteering, which I plan on taking advantage of. I will also be shadowing a plastic surgeon in ~2 weeks for 15-20 hours total. I have night class twice a week. I plan on being a Relay for Life team captain again for the next two years.

What should I do with all the extra free time I have? There are many full time entry level medical research positions available at hospitals in the city close to me that I would probably be a competitive applicant for. However, since my application lacks so much in volunteering/shadowing, I don't think I have time to work full time AND complete the volunteering/shadowing. What kind of things should I be looking for? I applied to be a part time ER scribe, but nobody around is hiring currently. I don't know what else there is out there in a clinical setting that I could do part time to benefit my application. Are my ECs enough (with the planned volunteering/shadowing) that I don't need a medically relevant part time gig and could just find a random job? I'm just nervous of getting rejected because of a lack of clinical experience, not because of academic issues.

Thanks everyone for your advice in advance I don't know how I would have prepared for the MCAT without the guides and outlines provided by this community, as a whole you guys are awesome!

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[dcamkl1]

1) As you've already noted, bump up the shadowing hours a little bit. However, you won't need 100+ hours or anything extreme.

2) Meaningful clinical experience: while you are about to start volunteering at a hospital, make sure your duties will allow you to work directly with patients in a "clinical" capacity (working in a gift shop or delivering patient mail isn't clinical). If not, look for opportunities at a hospice, nursing home, etc.

3) Try getting involved in non-clinical community service. Find an organization that you're actually interested in or passionate about.

4) Keep your mind sharp: continue being involved in research or take some courses as a post-bacc.

 

[Dropit]

I am in the same position as you, but I am working as a full-time tech in a lab while studying for my MCAT. Once I get the MCAT out of the way, I will be volunteer at a hospice because my goal is to become an oncologist. I find it very difficult to find shadowing opportunities too, but my PI is super nice. I am pretty sure she will let me take a couple of morning off to shadow. The great thing about being a lab technician is it's super flexible. If you can manage the lab well, you will find time to do other things. What's better than making money and strengthening your medical school application at the same time. Not mentioning your name will most likely be in a published paper. And just side note, you don't have 2 years, you only 9 months until you apply for the next cycle. Time flies really quick ;(

 

[JingleChips]

Why don't you apply now if you are worried about all of this free time? you have plenty of time to fill in your weaknesses and update med schools. Yeah, you will be late, but all you need is one acceptance.

If you don't get in the $$ spent applying can easily be made up. Time cannot. Why wait?

Not possible. MCAT scores don't come back for a month. Can't get my committee letter until next May. Not enough shadowing or clinical hours. Applying this late is asking for failure even if I had everything.

1) As you've already noted, bump up the shadowing hours a little bit. However, you won't need 100+ hours or anything extreme.

2) Meaningful clinical experience: while you are about to start volunteering at a hospital, make sure your duties will allow you to work directly with patients in a "clinical" capacity (working in a gift shop or delivering patient mail isn't clinical). If not, look for opportunities at a hospice, nursing home, etc.

3) Try getting involved in non-clinical community service. Find an organization that you're actually interested in or passionate about.

4) Keep your mind sharp: continue being involved in research or take some courses as a post-bacc.

1.) Okay, thanks.
2.) Yes, all my hospital volunteering opportunities will include DIRECT patient contact - I made it a point that I was not interested in volunteering in any positions without patient contact.
3.) Do you think Relay for Life satisfies this? http://www.relayforlife.org/
4.) Are part time research gigs common? I don't think taking classes that I don't need would be a beneficial EC for me - my GPA is fine and I've taken multiple grad level classes on the chem/biochem/bio side from my undergrad school.

I am in the same position as you, but I am working as a full-time tech in a lab while studying for my MCAT. Once I get the MCAT out of the way, I will be volunteer at a hospice because my goal is to become an oncologist. I find it very difficult to find shadowing opportunities too, but my PI is super nice. I am pretty sure she will let me take a couple of morning off to shadow. The great thing about being a lab technician is it's super flexible. If you can manage the lab well, you will find time to do other things. What's better than making money and strengthening your medical school application at the same time. Not mentioning your name will most likely be in a published paper. And just side note, you don't have 2 years, you only 9 months until you apply for the next cycle. Time flies really quick ;(

Its 9 months until I apply, yes, but interviews could be going on into mid spring of 2015, giving me about 1.5+years of opportunity to do things I can talk about during interviews. I don't think you can just "stop" everything once you apply to medical school but someone can correct me if I'm wrong. As for the hospice idea - I was thinking about this, but is volunteering at both a hospital and hospice overload? I do have lots of research experience, so its not something that my app is lacking, so maybe just doing pure volunteering between now and applying might be best? I don't know.

 

[chillaxbro]

No such thing as free time... Start looking for more things to volunteer with. Get a full time clinical/research job. Start a homeless shelter in your basement. You have no non-clinical volunteering, how can you possibly be altruistic?

 

[dcamkl1]

3.) Do you think Relay for Life satisfies this? http://www.relayforlife.org/

Hmm... you could choose to classify it as either leadership or non-clinical community service, but I would learn towards leadership, since you were the captain (assuming you were organizing and coordinating some aspect of the event). Either way, it'd be nice to have both leadership and non-community service.

4.) Are part time research gigs common? I don't think taking classes that I don't need would be a beneficial EC for me - my GPA is fine and I've taken multiple grad level classes on the chem/biochem/bio side from my undergrad school.

I'd say it's common to do some light research during the gap year. Maybe you can volunteer at a lab, that way you won't be contractually obligated to work 40+ hours a week and can still be flexible. The reason why I mentioned taking some classes (which doesn't have to be full-time--maybe a course or two, whether at the UG or grad level) is because it will be two years between graduation and matriculation. While your GPA and presumably your MCAT are great, you want to show ADCOMs that you're still learning, keeping your brain fresh, and not forgetting your science knowledge prior to medical school. I think research and/or courses can fulfill this.

 

[JingleChips]

No such thing as free time... Start looking for more things to volunteer with. Get a full time clinical/research job. Start a homeless shelter in your basement. You have no non-clinical volunteering, how can you possibly be altruistic?

This is what I needed (pointing out non-clinical volunteering). Thanks.

I'd say it's common to do some light research during the gap year. Maybe you can volunteer at a lab, that way you won't be contractually obligated to work 40+ hours a week and can still be flexible. The reason why I mentioned taking some classes (which doesn't have to be full-time--maybe a course or two, whether at the UG or grad level) is because it will be two years between graduation and matriculation. While your GPA and presumably your MCAT are great, you want to show ADCOMs that you're still learning, keeping your brain fresh, and not forgetting your science knowledge prior to medical school. I think research and/or courses can fulfill this.

This is an awesome idea - offering ~10-15 hours a week as "free labor" to groups that I'm really interested in joining and maybe advancing to full time paid when I stop taking classes and have all my shadowing done. Thanks!

 

[DrEnderW]

I second others for a research gig. It's not back breaking work by any means and it will undoubtably help you in the future with either simply improving our CV or giving you a boost for landing a research spot in med school. Furthermore, it gives you more contacts and networking that could lead to shadowing and volunteering as well. You'll still have time to volunteer with a research job, I definitely did.