Need help with deciding what experience to do!!!

[acha9349]

Hi,

I am a senior and planning to apply for 2021-2022 cycle.
current GPA: 3.63 sGPA: 3.52 (2 quarters left before applying) MCAT: plan to take in Jan, 2021

I think I am lacking experience hours, so I was wondering if I can get some help to improve my experience section and perhaps make it look more diverse.

Research Assistant: ~600 hrs, Jan 2019-March 2020 (continuing when school reopens), rat behavior experiments, performing IP injections and blood draws, etc.
Non-Paid Clinical Volunteer: 40 hrs, Sept 2018-Dec 2018 at Cardiac Rehabilitation department, ~60 hrs, Jan 2020 - March 2020 at Outpatient Surgery (continuing when volunteers can come in again)
Paid Tutor: ~80 hrs, May 2020 - Aug 2020 in Seoul, South Korea, taught basic English to elementary kids
Paid AP Bio Tutor: ~100 hrs, Feb 2020-June 2020
Non-paid Non-clinical Volunteer: ~50 hrs, taught basic Korean at a Korean Church
Shadowing: ~50 hrs, July 2020 (3 weeks) at Orthopedics in Seoul, South Korea => not sure if this will count since it was abroad
Performer / President: ~150 hrs, Jan 2018 - March 2020, organization called Chamber Music for Charity on campus

Plans
Volunteer at Hospice: some clinical and some non-clinical volunteers, starting since Oct 2020
EMT, applied to start in Jan 2021

non-paid clinical volunteer = ~100 hrs
non-paid non-clinical volunteer = ~50 hrs
paid clinical job = 0
paid non-clinical job = ~180 hrs (if count tutor, but I heard tutor goes into a different category of Tutor itself), 0 (if not count tutor)

Since I have a year left before applying, I am looking for a job that will help look my application better. I also have no hours for volunteering for underserved population.. Would that be very bad? I had a hard time finding an opportunity.
Which area regarding experience should I expand on?

Thank you so much for reading this long description and helping me!!

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[candbgirl]

This is what you need50 hours shadowing in the USA. You need a good bit with a primary care doc and the rest can be whatever you are interested in!
At least 200 hours of clinical experience with face to face contact with patients. At least 200 hours of nonclinical volunteering with those less fortunate than yourself in the community. This means the unserved/underserved in the community. You seem to have significant hours with the Korean population. Are you Korean? While your work is okay you need to get outside of your comfort zone and deal with/help people unlike yourself. As a physician you will be be dealing with all types of role!
Good luck!

 

[acha9349]

This is what you need50 hours shadowing in the USA. You need a good bit with a primary care doc and the rest can be whatever you are interested in!
At least 200 hours of clinical experience with face to face contact with patients. At least 200 hours of nonclinical volunteering with those less fortunate than yourself in the community. This means the unserved/underserved in the community. You seem to have significant hours with the Korean population. Are you Korean? While your work is okay you need to get outside of your comfort zone and deal with/help people unlike yourself. As a physician you will be be dealing with all types of role!
Good luck!

Thank you so much for your response!
I am Korean, and due to COVID19 I had to go back to Korea and stay there from March 2020 to August 2020. I thought I should still find something to do there even if it is abroad.
Regarding the volunteer for the underserved populations, I believed that you should help them in a clinical setting. Should I focus on looking for nonclinical volunteering for the underserved populations as you said (sorry I just need a confirmation)? Does children or adults with disabilities count as underserved populations? or does it mean only "medically" underserved? and does it have to be volunteer or can it be paid work?
Also is it okay not to have any hours for paid clinical hours?

Sorry for having so many questions ..

Thanks!!

 

[candbgirl]

ECs to serve underserved people in a clinical and nonclinical setting is great But frequently you take what you get in hospital/clinical settings. So I was referring to nonclinical volunteering with the unserved/underserved! Like helping at soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food banks etc.. I realize it’s tough with Covid all over the place , so do the best you can. Other activities are camps for disabled kids, coaching underprivileged kids in a team sport! Things like that! The Hospice work is a wonderful activity. Another activity is to go visit the vets at a VA hospital or VA home! But I’m not sure these are viable activities right now. Good luck as you move forward.

 

[LizzyM]

Thank you so much for your response!
I am Korean, and due to COVID19 I had to go back to Korea and stay there from March 2020 to August 2020. I thought I should still find something to do there even if it is abroad.
Regarding the volunteer for the underserved populations, I believed that you should help them in a clinical setting. Should I focus on looking for nonclinical volunteering for the underserved populations as you said (sorry I just need a confirmation)? Does children or adults with disabilities count as underserved populations? or does it mean only "medically" underserved? and does it have to be volunteer or can it be paid work?
Also is it okay not to have any hours for paid clinical hours?

Sorry for having so many questions ..

Thanks!!

Volunteering in clinical settings counts as clinical experience. Some adcoms like to see volunteering in non-clinical settings as a measure of your willingness to help those in needs without getting something you want (clinical experience) out of it. So that is why non-clinical volunteering with people unable to help themselves (children, elderly adults, the mentally ill, homeless, refugees, etc) is considered important in the application process.

Clinical hours can be paid or unpaid. Community service that is not clinical is usually expected to be unpaid with, perhaps, the exception of full-time service that pays a stipend (different service corps) or even a living wage (teach for america is one example).