Meditation class activity

[Prometheus123]

What do you think of this activities paragraph? My apologies in advance. I ask because I'm hoping the info is clearly a pertinent and unobtrusive part of my process of growth and self-improvement.

For scientists: The citation leads to a recent review article with all these claims. I have most of the primary sources in my reference manager ready to show upon request. It's written by an MD internal medicine professor at University of New Mexico School of Medicine.


Taught Meditation Class at Memory Care Facility:
12 hours spread over 3 months

I practice a form of meditation that incorporates elements of loving-kindness, mindfulness, a Qigong exercise, and Kundalini yoga. It helps me be more resilient to stress, perform well on exams, and be more present with patients. I was astounded to read that meditation has been shown to improve sleep, depression, anxiety, insulin sensitivity, inflammatory gene expression, and telomerase activity in Alzheimer’s caregivers (PMID: 26445019). Inspired by this experience and knowledge, I taught a weekly meditation class at a memory care facility to elderly residents with memory disorders. Keeping them focused was challenging, but I was happy to hear that at least it made them feel more peaceful.

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[Chromium Surfer]

Just so you know there is a thread where you can ask questions related to your work and activities so you don't have to make a new thread every time.

The link can be found here: *~*~*~*Official AMCAS Work/Activities Tips Thread 2017-2018*~*~*~*

Best of luck during your cycle!🙂

 

[enchantediris]

It sounds like an interesting activity. My initial thoughts are that it seems out of place to have a citation in the description (and actually I think you could take out that entire sentence), and suspect that you're including an activity that you've only volunteered for 12 hours (is this a typo?). The description could be strengthened with a specific anecdote in place of your relatively weak concluding sentence.

Also, as Chromium Surfer said above (and I know I've mentioned this in another one of your threads), please post in the official thread if you have any questions about your AMCAS Work & Activities section!

 

[Prometheus123]

Just so you know there is a thread where you can ask questions related to your work and activities so you don't have to make a new thread every time.

The link can be found here: *~*~*~*Official AMCAS Work/Activities Tips Thread 2017-2018*~*~*~*

Best of luck during your cycle!🙂

It sounds like an interesting activity. My initial thoughts are that it seems out of place to have a citation in the description (and actually I think you could take out that entire sentence), and suspect that you're including an activity that you've only volunteered for 12 hours (is this a typo?). The description could be strengthened with a specific anecdote in place of your relatively weak concluding sentence.

Also, as Chromium Surfer said above (and I know I've mentioned this in another one of your threads), please post in the official thread if you have any questions about your AMCAS Work & Activities section!

Sorry, I thought that thread was for more universally relevant questions. I'll post there next time for anything related to activities.

Thanks for your feedback. I do have an anecdote I might be able to squeeze in if I delete the citation. I'll work on that now.

 

[Prometheus123]

It sounds like an interesting activity. My initial thoughts are that it seems out of place to have a citation in the description (and actually I think you could take out that entire sentence), and suspect that you're including an activity that you've only volunteered for 12 hours (is this a typo?). The description could be strengthened with a specific anecdote in place of your relatively weak concluding sentence.

Also, as Chromium Surfer said above (and I know I've mentioned this in another one of your threads), please post in the official thread if you have any questions about your AMCAS Work & Activities section!

12 hours is not a typo, just an estimate of time spent teaching the actual class (not preparing or travelling). Truth is residents stopped showing up because the senior staff was in flux, so they stopped reminding the residents to attend. After the third week of no one showing up, I decided to put it on hold. I've been meaning to start it again, maybe at a facility closer to home.

 

[efle]

I'd say two things:

Research on meditation has had some very mixed results, I wouldn't try to make a big deal of one paper
Do you really need to make an entry for a 12 hour activity ??

 

[Prometheus123]

It sounds like an interesting activity. My initial thoughts are that it seems out of place to have a citation in the description (and actually I think you could take out that entire sentence), and suspect that you're including an activity that you've only volunteered for 12 hours (is this a typo?). The description could be strengthened with a specific anecdote in place of your relatively weak concluding sentence.

Also, as Chromium Surfer said above (and I know I've mentioned this in another one of your threads), please post in the official thread if you have any questions about your AMCAS Work & Activities section!

What do you think of this instead of that weak concluding sentence?

"The daughter of a resident thanked me because her mother seemed less angry at her and more peaceful than normal after the class, which warmed my heart."

 

[Prometheus123]

I'd say two things:

Research on meditation has had some very mixed results, I wouldn't try to make a big deal of one paper
Do you really need to make an entry for a 12 hour activity ??

*Sigh*...my ECs are weak in the conventional areas. I wasn't going to include it for this reason, but I got the impression it would probably be a small net benefit to my application.

 

[efle]

*Sigh*...my ECs are weak in the conventional areas. I wasn't going to include it for this reason, but I got the impression it would probably be a small net benefit to my application.

Others will know better than I (@Goro @LizzyM) but I think this would be a "fluff" entry

I don't think I've seen an overall summary of your app - are you sure you're ready to apply?

 

[cactusman]

Did you do other volunteer work at the elder care facility? If so I think it would be interesting to include in there. Otherwise it's just fluff (especially because, again, any info in the citations is not going to be there and your app needs to stand on its own without journal articles).

 

[Prometheus123]

Others will know better than I (@Goro @LizzyM) but I think this would be a "fluff" entry

I don't think I've seen an overall summary of your app - are you sure you're ready to apply?

No. You know that scene in The Martian where he launches off the planet with a tarp covering one side of the ship? That's what I'm doing this cycle.

It's for family planning reasons. My wife is 33 and needs to have kids ASAP to avoid congenital birth defects. I'm worried I won't be a good enough father if I'm still in medical school, etc. If it weren't for that, I'd probably wait another year to apply.

EDIT: To clarify, I realize I'll still be in medical school for the first few years of my first kid's life no matter what. I'm just trying to avoid adding another year of neglect unnecessarily.

 

[Prometheus123]

Did you do other volunteer work at the elder care facility? If so I think it would be interesting to include in there. Otherwise it's just fluff (especially because, again, any info in the citations is not going to be there and your app needs to stand on its own without journal articles).

No, unfortunately not. I hang out there sometimes with my uncle (who lives there) and the other residents, but that's way too much of a stretch, right?

 

[cactusman]

No, unfortunately not. I hang out there sometimes with my uncle (who lives there) and the other residents, but that's way too much of a stretch, right?

Definitely. :/

 

[Toutie]

No. You know that scene in The Martian where he launches off the planet with a tarp covering one side of the ship? That's what I'm doing this cycle.

It's for family planning reasons. My wife is 33 and needs to have kids ASAP to avoid congenital birth defects. I'm worried I won't be a good enough father if I'm still in medical school, etc. If it weren't for that, I'd probably wait another year to apply.

EDIT: To clarify, I realize I'll still be in medical school for the first few years of my first kid's life no matter what. I'm just trying to avoid adding another year of neglect unnecessarily.

What if you get into a medical school nowhere near where your wife practices?

 

[Prometheus123]

What if you get into a medical school nowhere near where your wife practices?

It's even worse than that. She's an FMG, and she's currently in the final stages of studying for USMLE Step 1. So she has to get matched for a residency in the same city where I get into medical school. On top of that, she's an Indian ENT, and ENT in the US is almost impossible to get into for an FMG. She enjoyed working in the ICU in India and in internal medicine in Dubai though, so she's open to that too.

On the positive side though, the odds have been this stacked against us at every stage of our life together so far, and so far all of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles have been removed one by one in the due course of time as long as we put in the necessary sacrifices. We've received a lot of help, a lot of luck, and a lot of blessings.

 

[Goro]

What do you think of this activities paragraph? My apologies in advance. I ask because I'm hoping the info is clearly a pertinent and unobtrusive part of my process of growth and self-improvement.

For scientists: The citation leads to a recent review article with all these claims. I have most of the primary sources in my reference manager ready to show upon request. It's written by an MD internal medicine professor at University of New Mexico School of Medicine.


Taught Meditation Class at Memory Care Facility:
12 hours spread over 3 months

I practice a form of meditation that incorporates elements of loving-kindness, mindfulness, a Qigong exercise, and Kundalini yoga. It helps me be more resilient to stress, perform well on exams, and be more present with patients. I was astounded to read that meditation has been shown to improve sleep, depression, anxiety, insulin sensitivity, inflammatory gene expression, and telomerase activity in Alzheimer’s caregivers (PMID: 26445019). Inspired by this experience and knowledge, I taught a weekly meditation class at a memory care facility to elderly residents with memory disorders. Keeping them focused was challenging, but I was happy to hear that at least it made them feel more peaceful.

You just can't help yourself...you had to throw in a citation.

What is so difficult about stating : "ECs: non-clinical, taught meditation to nursing home residents???

But 12 hrs over three months is superficial.

A med school applicant who has citations for all of his/her ECs will be rejected immediately. It seems like you are trying to scientifically justify why you did what you did.

If I see one more citation in your posts, I'm putting you on Ignore.

 

[Prometheus123]

You just can't help yourself...you had to throw in a citation.

What is so difficult about stating : "ECs: non-clinical, taught meditation to nursing home residents???

But 12 hrs over three months is superficial.

A med school applicant who has citations for all of his/her ECs will be rejected immediately. It seems like you are trying to scientifically justify why you did what you did.

If I see one more citation in your posts, I'm putting you on Ignore.

Ok, sorry, I'll take it out. You're right. The only ways I've found to help people as a volunteer above and beyond the typical are diet and lifestyle interventions, and I'm worried now that they just don't seem that impressive without scientific justification. I have lots of other ideas that are more medical and significant, but they're outside my ethical scope as a premed.

 

[darkeon]

If meditation is big to you, no major harm in sharing it but stop trying to make it sound "clinical".

 

[Prometheus123]

If meditation is big to you, no major harm in sharing it but stop trying to make it sound "clinical".

Ok. It is big to me. I'll stop trying to force these things to sound clinical.

 

[Prometheus123]

Any thoughts on this conclusion for a small, arguably puff-seeming activity making and giving food to homeless people?

"Many people took the food without saying thank you, but I felt happy anyway. From this I learned I enjoy working for the good not for thanks, but for its own sake."

This really is an insight I gained from this and from volunteering which increased my confidence that this was the right path, since it's often thankless in my experience but that really doesn't matter to me.

 

[Prometheus123]

New version without the citation, new stuff in bold:

I practice a form of meditation that incorporates elements of loving-kindness, mindfulness, a Qigong exercise, and Kundalini yoga. It helps me be more resilient to stress, perform well on exams, and be more present with patients. Inspired by this experience, I taught a weekly meditation class at a memory care facility to elderly residents with memory disorders. It was challenging to keep the residents focused, but several of them told me they felt calmer afterwards. In addition, the daughter of a resident thanked me because her mother seemed less angry at her for putting her in the facility and more peaceful than normal after the class, which warmed my heart.

 

[JJRousseau]

New version without the citation, new stuff in bold:

I practice a form of meditation that incorporates elements of loving-kindness, mindfulness, a Qigong exercise, and Kundalini yoga. It helps me be more resilient to stress, perform well on exams, and be more present with patients. Inspired by this experience, I taught a weekly meditation class at a memory care facility to elderly residents with memory disorders. It was challenging to keep the residents focused, but several of them told me they felt calmer afterwards. In addition, the daughter of a resident thanked me because her mother seemed less angry at her for putting her in the facility and more peaceful than normal after the class, which warmed my heart.

This seems long, is this one of your three most meaningful activities?

EDIT: also what do you mean be more present with patients? You aren't a doctor yet, that just sounds silly.


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[lpp06]

What's Qigong?


Is what someone reading this paragraph will ask themselves.

In seriousness -

1) This feels more appropriate for a hobby activity - talk about your passion for meditation and how you've used it to benefit others. It will come across as less fluff and more of an extension of something you like doing.

2) I strongly recommend taking a step back, analyzing your motivation/qualification/experiences, and come up with the themes about yourself that you want to communicate through your application. This will allow you to mold your essays to what you want to say about yourself. Based on your many threads, it sounds like you're trying to piecemeal an application together. This is going to come off as disjointed and won't leave an adcom with a strong impression of you. No one on SDN is going to be able to tell you what you should communicate about you, only you can do that.

 

[Prometheus123]

This seems long, is this one of your three most meaningful activities?

EDIT: also what do you mean be more present with patients? You aren't a doctor yet, that just sounds silly.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

It's under 700, barely.

The being present thing is a reference to the central theme of my PS. I think it will work when someone reads both together, but I see what you're saying out of context it sounds weird.

 

[Prometheus123]

What's Qigong?


Is what someone reading this paragraph will ask themselves.

In seriousness -

1) This feels more appropriate for a hobby activity - talk about your passion for meditation and how you've used it to benefit others. It will come across as less fluff and more of an extension of something you like doing.

2) I strongly recommend taking a step back, analyzing your motivation/qualification/experiences, and come up with the themes about yourself that you want to communicate through your application. This will allow you to mold your essays to what you want to say about yourself. Based on your many threads, it sounds like you're trying to piecemeal an application together. This is going to come off as disjointed and won't leave an adcom with a strong impression of you. No one on SDN is going to be able to tell you what you should communicate about you, only you can do that.

You're right. I will remove the Qigong.

1) What you're saying makes total sense, but I'm reticent to make it a hobby because I'm already hobby-heavy. I have a lot of intrinsic motivation but tbh I didn't fully understand until I started posting here regularly what the competition is like for ECs.

2) I've been trying to do this recently, but I could do a lot better on this.

The themes that have emerged for me are:
1. the surprising power of giving people compassionate attention (main theme of PS, ties in with loving-kindness meditation, volunteering, and several key life events)
2. devotion to delivering and hopefully one day improving upon the standard of care for patients with age-associated chronic disease (secondary theme of PS), and
3. grit/perseverance/overcoming obstacles (very real and strong in a few of my other activities but hard to talk about convincingly since I'm a white male American born to middle-class parents who went to a private Waldorf school, i.e. an anti-URM)*

These are the central themes of my life too, so I feel really congruent with this outcome of the writing process. I was worried the whole thing would become too cookie-cutter, but to the contrary, I feel like I've pretty much finally written my truth reasonably well.

*To anyone into identity politics like those from my activist days reading this, please note I checked my privilege.