M1 summer plans

[ciestar]

I am not highly interested in research so summer long programs aren't appealing to me right now. I currently have a summer to end all summers planned out right now which includes three separate vacations. However, I am interested in a global health trip. I am asking how bad a summer of basically nothing (minus volunteering I've been doing for years that I'll increase greatly over the summer, so i do plan on doing something) really looks on residency applications, even if I do have volunteering planned, but I am not sure if it's enough.

Global health trips once you're a med student aren't frowned upon like they are for premeds, right? So if I have an interest, I should dive into those opportunities further? I just don't want to shoot myself in the foot because I want to relax as much as possible this summer.

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[mvenus929]

My summer after M1, I went to Europe for 2 weeks, then hung out around my apartment, then did a rural health stint, including training, for a couple weeks, and then I helped out with orientation for the new M1s. I matched fine.

Global health trips as part of a long term project are useful. Those where you just go hang out for a couple weeks because you can't actually do anything aren't all that useful.

 

[ChrisMack390]

Go abroad! You aren't shooting yourself in the foot, at absolute worst it is just neutral.

 

[ciestar]

My summer after M1, I went to Europe for 2 weeks, then hung out around my apartment, then did a rural health stint, including training, for a couple weeks, and then I helped out with orientation for the new M1s. I matched fine.

Global health trips as part of a long term project are useful. Those where you just go hang out for a couple weeks because you can't actually do anything aren't all that useful.

Oh that rural health stint sounds interesting, any further details? I also completely forgot I applied to help with the MS1 orientation!

Also, the organization I am looking at is Unite for Sight.

Go abroad! You aren't shooting yourself in the foot, at absolute worst it is just neutral.

Thank you! I needed to hear that

 

[ChrisMack390]

Oh that rural health stint sounds interesting, any further details? I also completely forgot I applied to help with the MS1 orientation!

Also, the organization I am looking at is Unite for Sight.



Thank you! I needed to hear that

FWIW, a good friend of mine is applying for residency right now. She did a summer in a clinic in Africa. She attempted some research but it was not particularly productive (no publications or posters or anything). This experience has been a huge talking point at all of her residency interviews! SDN is down on abroad trips, but real life people think its cool (at least some of them) 🙂

 

[ciestar]

FWIW, a good friend of mine is applying for residency right now. She did a summer in a clinic in Africa. She attempted some research but it was not particularly productive (no publications or posters or anything). This experience has been a huge talking point at all of her residency interviews! SDN is down on abroad trips, but real life people think its cool (at least some of them) 🙂

I have an overall interest in service, but these places are definition underserved but you can't gain global health experience and know if you want to pursue a future in it without doing it. I definitely feel that research can be hit or miss, but there is value in these trips but especially value as far as personal growth is concerned, IMO.

 

[solitarius]

If you don't want to do research, then don't do research. I had a research project lined up, and it took the IRB well over the summer to approve it. Result: no research.

People who need to use that summer to do research are those interested in competitive specialties where maxxing out the number of pubs is key. But the reality is that those are competitive specialties where Step 1 is more important. So dude puts in a lot of effort to push out ENT research and gets a 230. Guess what? Waste of time.

 

[mvenus929]

Oh that rural health stint sounds interesting, any further details? I also completely forgot I applied to help with the MS1 orientation!

It's called Remote Area Medical, and our school had a program you had to apply to in order to go back when I was an M1 (I think they've changed the structure a lot, so I'm not sure if that's true anymore). We helped out with the set up and take down in exchange for practicing some of our (weak) clinical skills.

 

[.hematoma.]

I don't recommend a short term trip, those are called voluntourism. Go for a long period of time (about a month) with classmates and do a project. I did research and taught local med students. PM if you want ideas.