*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2013-2014*~*~*~*

[caereax]

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Is it bad to repost for an answer? Boy I hope not...

Another question: I did some undergraduate research which resulted in a poster presented at a conference. It is not anything special (and I'm the sixth author). Is this worth mentioning as a separate slot (I am woefully lacking research)? Also, is there a proper way to cite it?

 

[thebluthfamily]

Is it bad to repost for an answer? Boy I hope not...

Another question: I did some undergraduate research which resulted in a poster presented at a conference. It is not anything special (and I'm the sixth author). Is this worth mentioning as a separate slot (I am woefully lacking research)? Also, is there a proper way to cite it?

I would say it's worth mentioning if you worked on the poster and helped with the research, especially if you're lacking in that area.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

I am currently studying abroad and taking classes for credit at a foreign university, and am wondering if I can list this as an activity. I will of course list the university in the school section, but I just wanted to make sure that the adcoms actually notice I'm studying abroad lol. This program is only for school though and I won't be doing any volunteering or anything like that so I'm no sure if I should include it.

I did this to highlight it since they are likely to pass over the school list. It taught me more than most of the standard pre med activities would have.

 

[beansontoast]

Thanks for all the people answering on this page! I've had a lot of my questions answered already but I still have a few after reading through...

Mostly I'm trying to figure out how to narrow down my activities to 15, so I have some options for grouping. In two orgs that I was very involved in as an undergrad, I had a few different positions.
In one, I was a volunteer tutor, but then also held different positions on the exec board (eventually the leader). I was thinking of doing one entry for teaching (or community service?) and the other for leadership and just talking about all the positions.

The other group I was very involved in, I was a counselor for and I also later trained new counselors. I was thinking of splitting this into a community service for my own training and counseling time and then teaching or leadership for my time as a trainer.

I was had two positions at a job and thought I might split these -- I was a receptionist and then a medical assistant at the same place. I believe these would both be paid clinical employment though, so maybe I should just keep them together.

With all these splits, I was thinking about grouping other clubs I was involved with as an undergrad into a single 'short-term community service projects' heading (all around 20 hours each).

I also presented a poster, but it was more of just a poster day thing than a conference, so I was going to add it onto my research heading. But, I was also wondering if I should make a posters entry and add in posters by other people in my lab that I am an author on. Should I even have those??

I would be grateful for any input about how to best group/label my activities! Thanks!! 🙂

 

[SPTtoMD]

2. I went on a missions trip to Ethiopia where I volunteered in an HIV+ orphanage (I didn't do anything medical-related there like take care of the kids, give them their meds, etc.) I also visited a leprosy/tuberculosis hospital, and obstetric fistula hospital, but again didn't do any hands on medical volunteer work. However, on the same trip, I shadowed an orthopedic surgeon both in surgery and the clinic for 3 days. Finally to my question, I have no idea which category to place this in...obviously I was thinking "Volunteer- Not Medical/Clinical." Also, I wasn't sure if I should separate the time where I shadowed to a whole separate activity under "Physician shadowing/clinical observation"?

I had a very similar experience on a mission trip to Venezuela (we visited a free clinic and nursing home for veterans, but it was more upkeep and listening to talks than actual patient contact, plus a couple of us shadowed a traveling doctor for two afternoons). I am also confused as to how to go about it.

I was also employed full-time in a group-home setting from high school until matriculating into PT school. I still work part-time as a PCA. We had some medically-related responsibilities like passing meds, helping with ADL's, and first aid when necessary. Would those sorts of jobs be considered medical/clinical or non-medical/clinical?

I also spent a year volunteering as a swimming and fitness instructor at an outpatient neuro rehab center... same deal. The bulk of my AMCAS 15's are in rather grey areas when it comes to whether or not they are clinical.

 

[medCR]

Got it. Thanks!

...Don't know how I would be able to fill out the AMCAS if not for this forum...

 

[neurokid2013]

I'm doing a pediatric clinical research internship this summer and I'm not sure whether or not to classify it as research or unpaid clinical. I do have contact with patients, but it's not everyday. And I'm doing a lot of other reading, imaging analysis, and data input. What do you guys think?

 

[thebluthfamily]

Do all three meaningful experiences have to be during undergrad? I was part of the Air Cadet program in high school and most people "retire" after Grade 12, which is what I did. My experience as part of the program was very meaningful to me though and I really learned a lot and developed skills that I think are transferable to being a physician. Would it be a good idea to include this as one of my meaningful experiences?

 

[SPTtoMD]

I am also wondering if getting a doctorate in an allied health field counts as something you could include as one of your AMCAS 15. Has anyone else here taken the grad school route before applying to med school?

 

[polyatomic]

I'm doing a pediatric clinical research internship this summer and I'm not sure whether or not to classify it as research or unpaid clinical. I do have contact with patients, but it's not everyday. And I'm doing a lot of other reading, imaging analysis, and data input. What do you guys think?

List as the option: Research

Do all three meaningful experiences have to be during undergrad? I was part of the Air Cadet program in high school and most people "retire" after Grade 12, which is what I did. My experience as part of the program was very meaningful to me though and I really learned a lot and developed skills that I think are transferable to being a physician. Would it be a good idea to include this as one of my meaningful experiences?

Definitely. As long as it's meaningful to you and you can talk significantly about it. I think it would make you really interesting.

 

[polyatomic]

Thanks for all the people answering on this page! I've had a lot of my questions answered already but I still have a few after reading through...

Mostly I'm trying to figure out how to narrow down my activities to 15, so I have some options for grouping. In two orgs that I was very involved in as an undergrad, I had a few different positions.
In one, I was a volunteer tutor, but then also held different positions on the exec board (eventually the leader). I was thinking of doing one entry for teaching (or community service?) and the other for leadership and just talking about all the positions.

The other group I was very involved in, I was a counselor for and I also later trained new counselors. I was thinking of splitting this into a community service for my own training and counseling time and then teaching or leadership for my time as a trainer.

I was had two positions at a job and thought I might split these -- I was a receptionist and then a medical assistant at the same place. I believe these would both be paid clinical employment though, so maybe I should just keep them together.

With all these splits, I was thinking about grouping other clubs I was involved with as an undergrad into a single 'short-term community service projects' heading (all around 20 hours each).

I also presented a poster, but it was more of just a poster day thing than a conference, so I was going to add it onto my research heading. But, I was also wondering if I should make a posters entry and add in posters by other people in my lab that I am an author on. Should I even have those??

I would be grateful for any input about how to best group/label my activities! Thanks!! 🙂

For splitting your activities into different positions:
I'd suggest not to do that. Worst thing is you'll completely confuse your reader. I don't see any reason why these need to be split up. If you write succinctly, you should be able to fit the NECESSARY information in.

For grouping activities:
I agree - grouping a lot of short activities would probably be best. The heading sounds great.

For posters:
List everything with your name on it. You contributed work, so show that.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

How are people deciding which publications and presentations/posters to include in their AMCAS? I have 3-4+ published abstracts. I am 1st author on 3 of them.

I also have like 10+ posters and presentations since late undergrad in 2006.

I was going to use two of my 15 slots for this but the citations will not fit in the 700 character limit.

In addition, does anyone know if AACOMAS has a work/activities limit like AMCAS?

Thank you for all your help!!!

 

[thebluthfamily]

Definitely. As long as it's meaningful to you and you can talk significantly about it. I think it would make you really interesting.

Thanks for the reply 🙂

In terms of research, do you guys think it's better to list them separately or to include them all as one? Research appears to be an important factor in the decision-making process so right now I have them listed as separate activities.

 

[polyatomic]

How are people deciding which publications and presentations/posters to include in their AMCAS? I have 3-4+ published abstracts. I am 1st author on 3 of them.

I also have like 10+ posters and presentations since late undergrad in 2006.

I was going to use two of my 15 slots for this but the citations will not fit in the 700 character limit.

In addition, does anyone know if AACOMAS has a work/activities limit like AMCAS?

Thank you for all your help!!!

If I were you, I would do something like that of professor web sites.

For instance say..."over the last # years i've presented # posters at # conferences and published # abstracts. Here is a list of selected publications/presentations:"

And cite like 3-4 of them. I'm sure that would be better appreciated than a long list of citations.

Thanks for the reply 🙂

In terms of research, do you guys think it's better to list them separately or to include them all as one? Research appears to be an important factor in the decision-making process so right now I have them listed as separate activities.

I have 3 research experiences (1-2 years each) myself and I listed them all separately, mainly because I had a good amount to say about each one. If you don't have much to say or the research experiences are linked somehow, then I would group them. Otherwise keep them separate.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

If I were you, I would do something like that of professor web sites.

For instance say..."over the last # years i've presented # posters at # conferences and published # abstracts. Here is a list of selected publications/presentations:"

And cite like 3-4 of them. I'm sure that would be better appreciated than a long list of citations.

Awesome idea... what website did you get this idea from?

 

[polyatomic]

Awesome idea... what website did you get this idea from?

Well, I just usually see that kind of format when I look at my prof profiles.

Example: http://www.conncoll.edu/directories/faculty-profiles/tanya-schneider/
at the bottom you see "recent publications"

 

[thebluthfamily]

I have 3 research experiences (1-2 years each) myself and I listed them all separately, mainly because I had a good amount to say about each one. If you don't have much to say or the research experiences are linked somehow, then I would group them. Otherwise keep them separate.

That's what I'm doing now. I've separated my research based on the fields, so I have one in cell bio, one in biochem and two in neuro (which I put together).

 

[sbhav]

I'm starting a summer research program in June at UASOM, but unfortunately I won't be able to talk about what I've accomplished since I plan on submitting AMCAS June 4th. Can I just talked about what I will be doing? (Parkinson's research with paper and poster presentation at the end of July)

 

[lobo.solo]

So, I am filling up the work and activities section and for one of my most meaningful experiences I was thinking that for the experience description I would write an overview of the job description and on the extra space, I would write about my subjective experience. Is this a good idea?

 

[Nanoo]

What a useful thread 😀

I've been living abroad for almost a year now and the things that I have gained such as developing the capacity for change, appreciation for diversity, and fluency in a new language are things I want to talk about in my app. It doesn't necessarily tie in so well with 'why I want to be a doctor' so thus far I haven't touched on it extensively in my personal statement, but it is a significant 'life experience' so I want to include it somewhere before secondaries. Would it be possible to turn this into an activity?

There are things I have done out here ie teaching english, volunteering with children, etc that I was already thinking about making separate activities for, but I wanted to specifically talk about the things I learned in everyday life/out on the streets. Does it sound silly to make 'living abroad' an activity similar to how someone might put 'traveling' as a hobby?

 

[jaksmith]

Any advice on what to do for a current/future job?

I will be starting a full time job on June 3rd that I will be working at for an entire year. I'm planning on submitting within the first week. It will include research and clinical experience at a big time medical device company. Should I jst write about it on secondaries?

 

[MedGrl@2022]

Anyone having any formatting issues? I am copying and pasting from Notepad... when I got to view the text boxes they come out as one big paragraph... I am trying to make lists with bullets. Will we be able to print out our application to view it before we submit it? Where can I do this?

Thank you!

 

[hvairline]

Anyone having any formatting issues? I am copying and pasting from Notepad... when I got to view the text boxes they come out as one big paragraph... I am trying to make lists with bullets. Will we be able to print out our application to view it before we submit it? Where can I do this?

Thank you!

Main menu> Right TaskBar> Print Application (PDF or HTML)

For the bullet points, I used the - since normal bullet points would not appear in AMCAS

 

[MedGrl@2022]

Main menu> Right TaskBar> Print Application (PDF or HTML)

For the bullet points, I used the - since normal bullet points would not appear in AMCAS

Thank you so much '*' works too. 🙂

 

[Captain Sisko]

Anyone having any formatting issues? I am copying and pasting from Notepad... when I got to view the text boxes they come out as one big paragraph... I am trying to make lists with bullets. Will we be able to print out our application to view it before we submit it? Where can I do this?

Thank you!

Will the print as pdf option show how it will appear to schools? I've copied and pasted from word and it's come in normal. Should I be afraid it will show up differently since I didn't use text pad?

 

[Girly X]

I'm starting a summer research program in June at UASOM, but unfortunately I won't be able to talk about what I've accomplished since I plan on submitting AMCAS June 4th. Can I just talked about what I will be doing? (Parkinson's research with paper and poster presentation at the end of July)

AMCAS does not allow for future start dates. Just talk about this in your secondaries or plan to use this in an update letter later.

 

[Girly X]

So, I am filling up the work and activities section and for one of my most meaningful experiences I was thinking that for the experience description I would write an overview of the job description and on the extra space, I would write about my subjective experience. Is this a good idea?

Great idea. Use the extra section to describe how and why it was meaningful.

 

[Girly X]

What a useful thread 😀

I've been living abroad for almost a year now and the things that I have gained such as developing the capacity for change, appreciation for diversity, and fluency in a new language are things I want to talk about in my app. It doesn't necessarily tie in so well with 'why I want to be a doctor' so thus far I haven't touched on it extensively in my personal statement, but it is a significant 'life experience' so I want to include it somewhere before secondaries. Would it be possible to turn this into an activity?

There are things I have done out here ie teaching english, volunteering with children, etc that I was already thinking about making separate activities for, but I wanted to specifically talk about the things I learned in everyday life/out on the streets. Does it sound silly to make 'living abroad' an activity similar to how someone might put 'traveling' as a hobby?

I think this is excellent secondary response material. You will have numerous short essays to complete on diversity, challenging experiences, living/working with people who may be different from you. Don't try to force these reflections into your primary as you will be able to thoroughly address them in secondary essays.

 

[Girly X]

Any advice on what to do for a current/future job?

I will be starting a full time job on June 3rd that I will be working at for an entire year. I'm planning on submitting within the first week. It will include research and clinical experience at a big time medical device company. Should I jst write about it on secondaries?

If you would have already started the job by submission, you can include it. However, you will only be able to describe duties. You can certainly reflect/expand on it in secondaries.

Edit: on my phone, hence inability to use multiquote. Sorry 🙁

 

[AquiVoy13]

1. I would list it since you've started training. By the time you submit you should be done with training and on to work right?

2. Sure, no problem grouping them with all your other shadowing

Hey thanks for the response! One more question though, what if I won't actually start working until July but want to submit in early June? still list it? Thanks!

 

[AquiVoy13]

Hey guys, quick question:

Is it crucial to continue clinical activities (hospital volunteering) during a gap year? I'd like to try out some new types of volunteering, but was told it would look bad to not do something in a clinical setting. What do you guys think? I'll have to fit volunteering in around work, so I may not have time to do both clinical and non-clinical..

 

[Girly X]

Hey guys, quick question:

Is it crucial to continue clinical activities (hospital volunteering) during a gap year? I'd like to try out some new types of volunteering, but was told it would look bad to not do something in a clinical setting. What do you guys think? I'll have to fit volunteering in around work, so I may not have time to do both clinical and non-clinical..

This is a tricky one. I would say continue your hospital volunteering especially if you are light on hours. If you already have tons of hours, then definitely move onto something new.

You could also continue the hospital volunteering for the first half of the cycle then do the new activity in the second half (say after Oct).

 

[AquiVoy13]

This is a tricky one. I would say continue your hospital volunteering especially if you are light on hours. If you already have tons of hours, then definitely move onto something new.

You could also continue the hospital volunteering for the first half of the cycle then do the new activity in the second half (say after Oct).

Hmm yeah I may do some more hospital volunteering for a semester just to make sure I have enough hours. I really do enjoy it, but also see this year off as a time to explore new things. Anyways, thanks for the quick response 🙂

 

[pepes1lv1a]

Sorry to repost but I am really stuck on listing hours for physician shadowing. Is this ok?

Physician Shadowing
time frame 1: August 12-August 12 (8 hours)
time frame 2: August 12-June 13 (100 hours)

Description:
Formal Shadowing
description

Informal Shadowing
description of the informal shadowing I was able to do as a volunteer and as an ER tech; specialists and ER docs are always great about letting me stand in on their procedures in the ER. the attendings are also always happy to discuss imaging/EKGs/answer any questions I have about their clinical decision-making

Basically, since August I've been working at the same hospital, and I've always been really proactive about asking docs to stand in on stuff as a student: central line insertions, intubations, cardioversions, ortho reductions, ultrasound (for any of several reasons), etc etc. I know you're not supposed to double-dip, so I subtracted 50 each from my rounded-off volunteering and employment hours, which are both listed under separate categories. Is that kosher...?



If not, I suppose I could always wait to submit until mid-June, by which time I should have at least two more formal shadowing experiences (with 2 different surgeons), but with the amount of clinical time I have through my job it seems asinine to have to delay submitting until I stand in on a surgery or two.

 

[Girly X]

Sorry to repost but I am really stuck on listing hours for physician shadowing. Is this ok?

Physician Shadowing
time frame 1: August 12-August 12 (8 hours)
time frame 2: August 12-June 13 (100 hours)

Description:
Formal Shadowing
description

Informal Shadowing
description of the informal shadowing I was able to do as a volunteer and as an ER tech; specialists and ER docs are always great about letting me stand in on their procedures in the ER. the attendings are also always happy to discuss imaging/EKGs/answer any questions I have about their clinical decision-making

Basically, since August I've been working at the same hospital, and I've always been really proactive about asking docs to stand in on stuff as a student: central line insertions, intubations, cardioversions, ortho reductions, ultrasound (for any of several reasons), etc etc. I know you're not supposed to double-dip, so I subtracted 50 each from my rounded-off volunteering and employment hours, which are both listed under separate categories. Is that kosher...?



If not, I suppose I could always wait to submit until mid-June, by which time I should have at least two more formal shadowing experiences (with 2 different surgeons), but with the amount of clinical time I have through my job it seems asinine to have to delay submitting until I stand in on a surgery or two.

Do not double dip. And definitely do not wait to submit because you want to add a few more shadowing hours.

Usually, as long as you have at least 50 shadowing hours and can write and talk well about what you learned there, you will be fine. Especially since you also have a clinical job.

 

[October88]

I would like to use one experience for awards/scholarships and list all the significant ones, but they are not related. How do I put 1 contact for all the different awards? Can I put "see description" in the contact boxes and mention a contact for each award?

You will not have room for that. I did kinda the same thing. I received over 10 scholarships for undergrad and picked the one that was.most meaningful to me. Listed the contact person for this. Then in the description I mentioned that I had also received 10 other awards somewhere.

 

[pepes1lv1a]

Do not double dip. And definitely do not wait to submit because you want to add a few more shadowing hours.

Usually, as long as you have at least 50 shadowing hours and can write and talk well about what you learned there, you will be fine. Especially since you also have a clinical job.

Without the "informal shadowing", I will only have 8 hours (I shadow june 4th and 8th). Technically it's not double dipping if I subtract the hours, but I suppose it's still drawing credit for different categories from the same source.

So, are you saying I should list only the 8 formal hours under physician shadowing? Should I leave the informal shadowing description as well or strike it all?

With all the time I've spent watching doctors do their thing, it seems like it would be reasonable to give myself some credit for clinical observation. Maybe I need to rename it from "Physician Shadowing" to "Clinical Observation & Shadowing" or something

 

[climbhigh22]

I have done 14 activities, and have one space left. I still have hobbies, some pretty weak club involvement, and 2 "weak" employment.

I am inclined to do the employment because one is a leadership role, but feel like it would be silly not to include any of my interests or hobbies. I feel like the adcom's would like to see what I am interested in.

Also do you think I could sneak in a chemistry club leadership position in with the description of teaching assistant? I used the description to describe my involvement with the department - lab instructor, tutor, ect.

Unfortunately I do not think I can group any of the 14 things together

 

[Donald Kimball]

I have done 14 activities, and have one space left. I still have hobbies, some pretty weak club involvement, and 2 "weak" employment.

I am inclined to do the employment because one is a leadership role, but feel like it would be silly not to include any of my interests or hobbies. I feel like the adcom's would like to see what I am interested in.

Also do you think I could sneak in a chemistry club leadership position in with the description of teaching assistant? I used the description to describe my involvement with the department - lab instructor, tutor, ect.

Unfortunately I do not think I can group any of the 14 things together

Fill the last slot with the experience you would feel most comfortable talking about.

Personally, I'd go with my hobbies because I've been doing them longer, enjoy them much more, and they've made a more significant impact on my life than some of my own "weak" employment experiences.

I don't see anything wrong with mentioning a leadership position in your TA description, especially if you already link it to the chemistry department as a whole.

 

[Ateosp]

Quick question regarding poster/presentations and publishing. A while back i attended a conference and did a poster presentation and then published in the proceedings for the conference. I'm considering lumping these two together under the "presentation/poster" heading.

I'm not scrambling for room on my experience section, however i think that it is kind of tacky to cite a single publication as its own experience. Any advice? Thanks in advance!

 

[Girly X]

Without the "informal shadowing", I will only have 8 hours (I shadow june 4th and 8th). Technically it's not double dipping if I subtract the hours, but I suppose it's still drawing credit for different categories from the same source.

So, are you saying I should list only the 8 formal hours under physician shadowing? Should I leave the informal shadowing description as well or strike it all?

With all the time I've spent watching doctors do their thing, it seems like it would be reasonable to give myself some credit for clinical observation. Maybe I need to rename it from "Physician Shadowing" to "Clinical Observation & Shadowing" or something

I guess I was confused by the dates you listed. To clarify, during your normal clinical work hours you get opportunities to shadow physicians? In that case, estimate how much time you use for shadowing and deduct it from your work hours. So you would decrease your work hours and move those hours to go under the Physician Shadowing box. Same source/location/hospital for work vs shadowing should be fine.

 

[Girly X]

Quick question regarding poster/presentations and publishing. A while back i attended a conference and did a poster presentation and then published in the proceedings for the conference. I'm considering lumping these two together under the "presentation/poster" heading.

I'm not scrambling for room on my experience section, however i think that it is kind of tacky to cite a single publication as its own experience. Any advice? Thanks in advance!

Yup. Put these two together. Unless you have other publications or posters then you could have 1 box for all pubs/posters and 1 box for all presentations/conferences (if there were others).

 

[AxiomaticTruth]

Hi! Should I put high school research/lab tech experience on AMCAS? Basically I was a lab tech working in Massachusetts General Hospital during the summer right before senior year through connections for a neurobiochemistry lab on neurodegenerative diseases, which interested me in biochemistry and made me select biochem as my major today. I obviously didn't publish anything then, but my responsibilities were generally lab tech stuff (SDS-PAGE, western/immunoblotting, cell cultivating, etc). This was full time over the summer; I did not get paid (internship). Should I include that in AMCAS? I got space for it, and it is pretty significant in making me interested in science and medicine in general. Though I do know that short-term stuff from high school are generaly not looked well upon by you guys so....

 

[Girly X]

I have done 14 activities, and have one space left. I still have hobbies, some pretty weak club involvement, and 2 "weak" employment.

I am inclined to do the employment because one is a leadership role, but feel like it would be silly not to include any of my interests or hobbies. I feel like the adcom's would like to see what I am interested in.

Also do you think I could sneak in a chemistry club leadership position in with the description of teaching assistant? I used the description to describe my involvement with the department - lab instructor, tutor, ect.

Unfortunately I do not think I can group any of the 14 things together

IMO if you do not already have a Leadership heading, I would do one. Emphasize your leadership role with the employment, and the chem club leadership position. You will find ways to work your hobbies and interests into secondary essays.

BUT my opinion may change depending on what those are, if you want to share. They may do more for your app. Without knowing, I say go with Leadership.

 

[PreMedRookie]

If I put the end date as Aug 2013 should I put the number of hours I will have by then? Or the number of hours I have now?

The manual says "Enter the total number of hours that you completed (or expect to complete) related to this experience during the date range that you indicated"

Which seems like I should put the number of hours I will have in August but I always heard that it is a huge no-no to put future items down. Any suggestions?

 

[hvairline]

If I put the end date as Aug 2013 should I put the number of hours I will have by then? Or the number of hours I have now?

The manual says "Enter the total number of hours that you completed (or expect to complete) related to this experience during the date range that you indicated"

Which seems like I should put the number of hours I will have in August but I always heard that it is a huge no-no to put future items down. Any suggestions?

When it came to activities where hours may be important for an adcomm (i.e. NOT simple extracurricular stuff like clubs etc..), I just put the total number of hours in the box (Expected+ Completed) and then at the end of the description :

Total Hours Completed : 999

So then its clear how many hours i have completed thus far. Hope that helps!

 

[MedGrl@2022]

If I put the end date as Aug 2013 should I put the number of hours I will have by then? Or the number of hours I have now?

The manual says "Enter the total number of hours that you completed (or expect to complete) related to this experience during the date range that you indicated"

Which seems like I should put the number of hours I will have in August but I always heard that it is a huge no-no to put future items down. Any suggestions?

Do what the directions say that is what I did.

 

[Girly X]

Hi! Should I put high school research/lab tech experience on AMCAS? Basically I was a lab tech working in Massachusetts General Hospital during the summer right before senior year through connections for a neurobiochemistry lab on neurodegenerative diseases, which interested me in biochemistry and made me select biochem as my major today. I obviously didn't publish anything then, but my responsibilities were generally lab tech stuff (SDS-PAGE, western/immunoblotting, cell cultivating, etc). This was full time over the summer; I did not get paid (internship). Should I include that in AMCAS? I got space for it, and it is pretty significant in making me interested in science and medicine in general. Though I do know that short-term stuff from high school are generaly not looked well upon by you guys so....

The general thinking is to not put any pre-undergrad activities on AMCAS unless that activity was continued into undergrad. Have you had any other more recent research experiences? Any type of Independent Study? Then add this pre-undergrad experience to your "Research" heading along with anything else.

If this was your only research experience, I would say leave it off your primary and be sure to bring it up in your secondaries.

 

[JackyLin]

Hey guys, so a few things I'd like to get your opinion on.

For volunteer, there is one that I did in a hospital, but most duties do not involve as much exposure as my other experience. I've served in emergency waiting area, surgical waiting area, which the main responsibilities revolves around families with occasional patient transport and specimen delivery. Like LizzyM's quote says" if you can smell the patient, its a clinical experience", so I was wondering should this still be listed as medical?

Another thing is about which item to list as most significant. I have research and a recent org I founded as two of the selections (though the org hasn't been established long, I have put in large sum of hours planning, coordinating, pitching to local clinics, etc. This is pretty much a culmination of my experience from other clinical experiences that made me want to make some changes to the environment, which is why I believe it's significant to me. Agree?) I wonder if I should put my clinical exposure or shadow as my third significant experience. At the clinical exposure, I learned alot about the system and its flaws, and had much exposure to bedside matter and basic patient care, but nothing truly technical. It also made me realize what I want to do is more than just basic caretaking, but would that be significant to say an experience made me realize I dont want to do it? As for shadowing, I get more exposure to learning about the diagnostic process and various dilemmas physicians go through in difficult scenarios, and I definitely like the experience more, but I heard some consider shadowing shouldn't be significant since you are only watching and not doing?

Last is about listing the duration for my shadow. I had intermitten sessions where I shadow different physician for a month, then perhaps few months break, then another month with a different physician, and now due to policy change I'm getting scheduled to shadow 7 physicians each for a week intensively. How should I list it? As a cumulative item or repeated events?

Also, for TA session, I have taught a quarter in spring, and will be teaching in the upcoming summer. The repeated session won't let me list an event that starts later than the list date. Should I forgo listing the second session altogether?

events that I have:
TA
research
clinical exposure
hospital volunteer
shadow
journal club review board
student affairs VP

Thanks in advance!

 

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Hi everyone!

I have read through every post on here so I know this has been talked about before, but I'd love to get a little bit more clarification. It is regarding Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation.

I did a lot (100+ hrs) of informal shadowing while volunteering in medical clinics abroad and in local hospitals. For my formal shadowing, I have only 14-20 hrs total from 3 different physicians. Because my time with formal shadowing is short, I figured I could clump all of my shadowing together under one activity slot. My problem is I have absolutely NO room to put information for all of the contacts or to describe what I saw (cataract surgeries, vaginal and c-section delivers, multiple tropical diseases, etc.). I don't want to cut out vital information though because I feel that may look quite suspicious. Should I do something like this (below) and just subtract hours from my other activity slots so as not to double-dip?

"Internists, OB/GYNs, Pediatricians, Ophthalmologist, and ER physicians through X organization (in Panama, Honduras, and Ghana) - xx hrs
Contact: NAME, MD (xxx-xxx-xxxx)

Radiologists, OB/GYNs, General surgeons, and ER physicians through the Y Internship - xx hrs
Contact: NAME (xxx-xxx-xxxx)

NAME, MD (Ophthalmologist) - 4 hrs
xxx-xxx-xxxx

NAME, MD (Internal Medicine - Infectious Disease) - 6 hrs
xxx-xxx-xxxx

NAME, MD (Interventional Cardiologist) - x hrs
xxx-xxx-xxxx"

Or do you suggest I include the informal shadowing in my descriptions of those activities (have space since they were my most meaningful) and then have another activity for just my formal shadowing? I could say something along the lines of "in addition to my informal shadowing through x and y organization, I shadowed other specialties independently.. then list them?" I hate having an activity with so few hours. All of my othr activities are 100+

I'd really appreciate some advice!!