Med Student Now..Interested in EM

[kl323]

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Hey all,

I'm currently a MS1. I have had my eyes set on EM since my days in high school. Now some of you might say that it's still too early for me to say that EM is for me since I just started med school. However, I can't find a reason to say no.

Anyway, I'm currently at a school with a very strong EM program. In fact, that was part of the reason why I chose to attend this school. Having been in med school for only 3 months... I'm starting to TRULY understand the rigors of med school. I'm not sure if I can honor or high pass every single class. Since school started, I've only manage to pass my 2 blocks. Let's just say I passed comfortably and I'm happy. But I'm still concerned about the competitiveness of EM in 3 years when I need to apply.

With this in mind, I definitely want to prepare and make myself a competitive applicant.

What advice would you have for me (as a MS1)?

I'm looking to get involve with some projects in the department, do some shadowing, etc. Regarding my pre-clinical grades... let's just that honoring and high passing the bulk of my blocks seem difficult now... Not saying it's impossible, but it'll take a lot of work and adjustment to the rigors of school..

I would greatly appreciate any insights and advice from anyone!

Thanks for reading!

 

[willow18]

Focus on your classes. Ace step 1 next year. You can think about doing a summer project in EM; and in general, chill out and keep an open mind.

 

[astrolux]

Like you, I went into med school knowing that I wanted to do EM. Of course, you should explore all your options (I know, blah, blah, blah), but you have the unique opportunity to demonstrate an interest in the field early.

Get to know the faculty at your institution, get active in your EM interest group, look into the positions available to medical students within EMRA and AAEM, and try to attend any conferences in your region. Definitely go to this link for SAEM because there is a lot of great info:

http://www.saem.org/saemdnn/Home/Communities/MedicalStudents/tabid/62/Default.aspx

Research never hurts, especially since you can spread it out over your time in med school. You may feel busy now, but trust me, it will only get more difficult to spend time doing extracurricular activities and so take advantage of the opportunity now. The most important thing is to do something that you are passionate about. If you do research, get involved in a project that excites you. If you choose to do volunteer work, find an organization you can get behind and dedicate yourself to them as opposed to doing thirty different things. If you participate in activities you are enthusiastic about, it will show when you interview.

Finally, you can't forget about the numbers. Your clerkship and AI grades matter most but doing well as an MSI and MSII doesn't hurt. I'm sure you know plenty about step one already. I wish I could say that I followed all of my advice, but I did do a significant amount of it and it has really paid off. I have no idea where I'll match but I have interviews that I'm excited about and I feel that demonstrating an interest in EM early really helped my application. Best of luck.

 

[Apollyon]

Remember that there are classmates who will (whether they are aware of it or not right now) be future neurosurgeons, ENTs, derms, and ophthos, and they're sweating it, too.

Learn your stuff, and the grades will come with it, and live each day one day at a time. Before you know it, you'll be doing 3rd year, then applying and interviewing, then matched, then screwing around for 3 months, then an intern!

 

[kl323]

Thanks for all of the insightful replies!

Everything seems so crazy now!!! my life will never be the same again..

Thanks again!