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

[DaenarysDuhh]

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I'm going to be working at a Nursing Home this month (I'll be doing kitchen work) and was wondering If that would be a good "activity" to put on my Med school application?

Also, do you think I would get any patient contact? Which would help I think.

It's likely you'll have patient contact given that people at nursing homes usually have medical needs. You can't list future activities on the application, however, unless you have already started and it continues into the future. You also should only list the "total hours" that you have actually completed, not future hours.

 

[Anathema]

It's likely you'll have patient contact given that people at nursing homes usually have medical needs. You can't list future activities on the application, however, unless you have already started and it continues into the future. You also should only list the "total hours" that you have actually completed, not future hours.

They also ask for expected hours so it seems people clear up completed vs expected within the description box.

 

[BillrothI]

Hey Everybody,

Quick research question:

Part of my senior year capstone project involved writing a research paper and creating a poster to present at a conference. However, I wasn't working in a lab or doing any kind of "traditional" research; it really just involved accessing papers from PubMed, analyzing a case study, and proposing a novel therapy.

Would this still qualify as research? It is certainly something I would like to include somewhere, but I'm not really sure how to categorize it since it was required for a class.

Thanks,
Bill R.

 

[BamaNicole]

I have another research question....I was a research assistant for a two semesters for a project that was actually for the psychology department. It was not based on hard science but I feel that it may be relevant simply because it is research.


What do you guys think? Should I put it down?

 

[johnnyscans]

My town offered a junior lifeguard program that was divided into two age groups. I ran the younger age group. Leadership or comm service? This would be the only leadership on my app.

I'm a competitive powerlifter. Should I include a link to a youtube video of my most recent meet?

 

[Girly X]

Hope this wasn't discussed in another post...I have tried to keep up.

I have a major community service-non medical experience from college of which I was also a leader. I feel like I should list it as a leadership experience because it was a profound one, but if I do that then I won't actually have any of my work/activities categorized as community service/volunteering, because everything else is paid employment, shadowing, awards, leadership. I want to believe that AdComms are smart and will recognize that this was community service, but if they did a quick sort and didn't read the activity descriptions they might not notice. Basically, does it really matter either way if I list this as leadership or community service, or should I go community service to make the activities look balanced? Or go leadership because its...stronger?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Depending on your school list, its really best to have both leadership and community service entries. However, if you must choose one, I would probably go with community service.

Hey Everybody,

Quick research question:

Part of my senior year capstone project involved writing a research paper and creating a poster to present at a conference. However, I wasn't working in a lab or doing any kind of "traditional" research; it really just involved accessing papers from PubMed, analyzing a case study, and proposing a novel therapy.

Would this still qualify as research? It is certainly something I would like to include somewhere, but I'm not really sure how to categorize it since it was required for a class.

Thanks,
Bill R.

Not sure. I feel if it was required work within a class and not an independent study type of deal/something you set up outside of a class, I would not list it as Research. But others may feel otherwise. Its really up to you and if you feel comfortable listing it as research.

I have another research question....I was a research assistant for a two semesters for a project that was actually for the psychology department. It was not based on hard science but I feel that it may be relevant simply because it is research.


What do you guys think? Should I put it down?

Yes, this should be listed as research.

My town offered a junior lifeguard program that was divided into two age groups. I ran the younger age group. Leadership or comm service? This would be the only leadership on my app.

I'm a competitive powerlifter. Should I include a link to a youtube video of my most recent meet?

Community service if these were for kids much younger than you and this involved regular day to day tasks. Leadership if your responsibilities involved planning, delegating, problem solving type stuff.

You could add the YouTube link if it is a well done video. Someone may look at it out of curiosity. Not sure if it helps either way.

 

[rosaceae]

I have a quick question guys. Is it overboard for me to put the long title of the physicians I shadowed instead of just MD? E.g. one of the physicians I shadowed is an interventional cardiologist and his full title is MD FACC FSCAI. Assuming character limit is not an issue, can I put this down or is it unnecessary?

 

[rosaceae]

Also, I am planning on following your suggestions and so I will be making one "Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation" entry including all my informal and formal shadowing. You all stressed the importance of not double dipping, but my question is how will they know? I am planning on writing the hours that I spent with informal shadowing in this shadowing entry and then I am just going to subtract those hours from my other entries. Is there something I should be writing to show them that I am not double dipping?

 

[caereax]

Hey Kuntash, thank you for your kick ass work answering our questions. Here's one I am again reposting b/c I've not received an adequate answer:

Another question: I did some undergraduate research which resulted in a poster presented (not by me) 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, do you happen to know the proper way to cite a poster with multiple authors?

 

[Girly X]

I have a quick question guys. Is it overboard for me to put the long title of the physicians I shadowed instead of just MD? E.g. one of the physicians I shadowed is an interventional cardiologist and his full title is MD FACC FSCAI. Assuming character limit is not an issue, can I put this down or is it unnecessary?

Unnecessary. Just say he is an interventional cardiologist.

Also, I am planning on following your suggestions and so I will be making one "Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation" entry including all my informal and formal shadowing. You all stressed the importance of not double dipping, but my question is how will they know? I am planning on writing the hours that I spent with informal shadowing in this shadowing entry and then I am just going to subtract those hours from my other entries. Is there something I should be writing to show them that I am not double dipping?

If you are doing the right thing, don't worry so much about them thinking you are double dipping. I did some rounding with a team at the same hospital that I was volunteering for. Rounding went into shadowing hours and volunteering was well..volunteering. No one cared.

Hey Kuntash, thank you for your kick ass work answering our questions. Here's one I am again reposting b/c I've not received an adequate answer:

Another question: I did some undergraduate research which resulted in a poster presented (not by me) 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, do you happen to know the proper way to cite a poster with multiple authors?

No clue how to cite a poster with multiple authors, maybe someone else can answer that for you. And yes, you should use the Research slot for this if you feel you participated and were involved enough to have learned something about the research process. And if you feel comfortable discussing the research should it come up in an interview (it probably will).

 

[rosaceae]

Thanks!

 

[ynot89125]

I have an research scholarship award that supports my research. I currently have two items. One is for the scholarship and the other is for the actual research. What do I put for the hours part of the scholarship? My scholarship is contingent on 15 hours a week in lab but I already put those hours under my research experience. I mean I spent a couple of hours applying for the scholarship and there is a seminar that I attend every week because of the scholarship so should I include that as part of the scholarship hours?

Thanks!

 

[hvairline]

I have an research scholarship award that supports my research. I currently have two items. One is for the scholarship and the other is for the actual research. What do I put for the hours part of the scholarship? My scholarship is contingent on 15 hours a week in lab but I already put those hours under my research experience. I mean I spent a couple of hours applying for the scholarship and there is a seminar that I attend every week because of the scholarship so should I include that as part of the scholarship hours?

Thanks!

For scholarships and awards you should put 0 in the Hours Box. That said you could add the hours for the seminar you have to attend and then explain in the description. Personally I would put it under the research heading to save space and mention it in the description.

 

[DamanTHFC]

Hi guys,

I did undergrad. research for 3-4 semesters in college but i dont know what to put for total hours. I mean I did research based on the credit system; so I did research for example for 1 credit per semester. So i did research basically as needed; no time log was kept.

Also I presented this research at 3 places: 1 campus event and other 2 regional.
I have decided to still put this under the research category along with the research i did. Is this alright?

ALSO another question (sorry)...
I was a senator on the student govt association, but I am not sure what to put for hours. Any help?

THANKS A LOT!

 

[DamanTHFC]

I also have another question...

I was wondering if I should list volunteering at my local temple. The reason i ask is because this is basically a service that I do at a local Sikh temple that I normally attend. This is something that our community in general does at the temple. Here, we help out the community by providing/serving free food and also help in the cleaning of the temple.

The thing is that I do this whenever I get the chance to attend the temple on Sundays (that is when I am home away from school). There is no log that I keep track of the hours because it is something that I do whenever I get a chance and is done on an ongoing basis.

Please help thanks!

 

[Johansef]

For listing awards such as Dean's list and things of that nature, who should I list as the contact? The Dean?

 

[maybemed2013]

I heard the rule of thumb is to only list events that occurred after High School, is this true?

 

[nolee]

for publications, what should i put down as total hours? the amount of hours i spent on the project?

 

[nolee]

I heard the rule of thumb is to only list events that occurred after High School, is this true?

i've heard the same, and i'm 99% sure it's true unless you did something amazing in high school that helped lead into something you're doing now

 

[maybemed2013]

i've heard the same, and i'm 99% sure it's true unless you did something amazing in high school that helped lead into something you're doing now

I volunteered at a health clinic. That volunteering experience led me on my path to become a physician.

 

[bkin13]

I'm going to be starting a year-long Americorps VISTA position on June 18th, and I don't think that I'll be turning in my application until after that day (although hopefully very soon after). While I won't have much to say about it yet would it still be worth putting in my Work/Activities? Or is this something better suited for secondaries?

 

[onionssss]

.

 

[Redpancreas]

Is it ok to not list Deans List? I have 15 other meaningful activities and I have always been on the deans list but that can be seen on the transcript...or is there some counterintuitive pre-med principle that I am unaware of...if I do this I will lose a significant activity or my hobby.

 

[Girly X]

Hi guys,

I did undergrad. research for 3-4 semesters in college but i dont know what to put for total hours. I mean I did research based on the credit system; so I did research for example for 1 credit per semester. So i did research basically as needed; no time log was kept.

Also I presented this research at 3 places: 1 campus event and other 2 regional.
I have decided to still put this under the research category along with the research i did. Is this alright?

ALSO another question (sorry)...
I was a senator on the student govt association, but I am not sure what to put for hours. Any help?

THANKS A LOT!

Sure, you can list presentations with the research it was for.

How much time did you spend attending meetings and doing student govt stuff? You will have to come up with that number.

 

[Girly X]

I also have another question...

I was wondering if I should list volunteering at my local temple. The reason i ask is because this is basically a service that I do at a local Sikh temple that I normally attend. This is something that our community in general does at the temple. Here, we help out the community by providing/serving free food and also help in the cleaning of the temple.

The thing is that I do this whenever I get the chance to attend the temple on Sundays (that is when I am home away from school). There is no log that I keep track of the hours because it is something that I do whenever I get a chance and is done on an ongoing basis.

Please help thanks!

Again, you will have to use your best judgment to come up with a number.

 

[Girly X]

For listing awards such as Dean's list and things of that nature, who should I list as the contact? The Dean?

You can list the Registrar's name and number. Should a school decide to call and verify, the registrar's office can easily pull this up.

 

[Girly X]

Hey guys just a quick question.

I've been president of an organization for two years with a significant amount to write about for those two years. I've also tutored for and been an executive in this same organization, two positions that were significantly different from what I did as president.

I know multiple positions are better placed together, but in this case do you think it'd be alright if I made one description for my role as president and then another one describing the tutoring/executive experience? (I've also volunteered internationally with this same organization which I already made a separate description for. So I'd have 3 different things for this organization alone...haha)

Thanks 😳

No. 1-2 entries should be enough if it was all under one organization.

 

[Girly X]

I heard the rule of thumb is to only list events that occurred after High School, is this true?

This is true. Only describe high school activities if they were continued into undergrad.

 

[Girly X]

for publications, what should i put down as total hours? the amount of hours i spent on the project?

If the project work is already included in your research entry hours, then for the publication only list hours spent writing the drafts and final product.

 

[Girly X]

I'm going to be starting a year-long Americorps VISTA position on June 18th, and I don't think that I'll be turning in my application until after that day (although hopefully very soon after). While I won't have much to say about it yet would it still be worth putting in my Work/Activities? Or is this something better suited for secondaries?

Either is fine.

If you list it on the primary, you can describe your activities so far and explain the other things you will be involved in. Problem is of course you cannot do too much reflection and cannot list it as a most meaningful since you would not have not had much time with it at submission. If you use it in a secondary, you may have more meat to add to the bones.

Or you could also do both. Use the bones in the primary, expand on it in the secondary saying you have learned more and can now reflect in ways A, B, C.

 

[DamanTHFC]

Sure, you can list presentations with the research it was for.

How much time did you spend attending meetings and doing student govt stuff? You will have to come up with that number.

Thanks but you forgot to answer 1 question:

I did my undergrad research based on credits ... so i did research for 1 credit each semester for 3 semesters.

I dont really know what to put for hours, as i did research as needed ...

therefore, i wanted to know if i should use my credits to get the number of hours.

Such as 1 credit equates roughly to 1 hour per week ...
should i just multiply my credits per my semesters ....
which would equal 1credits x (15 weeks + 15 weeks + 15 weeks) = 45 hours

Does this seem right; is this an accepatble way to find hours ... any help or suggestions???

 

[Pandaeac]

I'm putting one activity as all academic honors (e.g. deans list, merit scholarships)--who should I list as the contact person? Is it OK to list myself in this case?

 

[het het]

Are we supposed to put total hours as 999 for Interest/hobbies/activities? I am confused because I chose things like writing which I have been doing for a lifetime?

Also, are for employment and volunteering involvements that are currently ongoing do we indicate Aug 2014?

 

[Girly X]

I have a similar question about this as well. I am currently at a summer research internship, and by the time of submission of my application will have been at this job for nearly a month. Would it be wrong to put this internship in my work and activities even though I have not completed it yet? And if I do put it in, what should I list under hours? How much I have currently done or how much I expect to have done?

It is ok to add anything as long as you have already started it. Just indicate the dates and use total expected hours (including future hours). You can briefly mention in the description that X of the hours are yet to be completed this summer. But then again this may be pretty obvious already if your dates say June 2013-August 2013.

 

[Girly X]

Is it ok to not list Deans List? I have 15 other meaningful activities and I have always been on the deans list but that can be seen on the transcript...or is there some counterintuitive pre-med principle that I am unaware of...if I do this I will lose a significant activity or my hobby.

If you already have 15 ECs then I assume at least one of those are for Awards/Honors? Can you add this in there?

Problem with not listing it is that schools will not see your transcripts (until you are matriculating). If you have other more impressive Awards and Honors and have no space to add this, then yes leave it off. Just know that many accepted applicants will have an Awards/Honors category.

 

[Girly X]

Thanks but you forgot to answer 1 question:

I did my undergrad research based on credits ... so i did research for 1 credit each semester for 3 semesters.

I dont really know what to put for hours, as i did research as needed ...

therefore, i wanted to know if i should use my credits to get the number of hours.

Such as 1 credit equates roughly to 1 hour per week ...
should i just multiply my credits per my semesters ....
which would equal 1credits x (15 weeks + 15 weeks + 15 weeks) = 45 hours

Does this seem right; is this an accepatble way to find hours ... any help or suggestions???

This makes sense if on average you only spent an hour each week doing research over those 45 weeks. Only you can answer that question.

 

[Girly X]

I'm putting one activity as all academic honors (e.g. deans list, merit scholarships)--who should I list as the contact person? Is it OK to list myself in this case?

No. The registrar is the contact. So they can verify this info if needed.

 

[Pandaeac]

No. The registrar is the contact. So they can verify this info if needed.

Gotcha, thanks! Do I just put "registrar," or like their actual name?

 

[Girly X]

Are we supposed to put total hours as 999 for Interest/hobbies/activities? I am confused because I chose things like writing which I have been doing for a lifetime?

Also, are for employment and volunteering involvements that are currently ongoing do we indicate Aug 2014?

I guess you can put down the largest number of hours possible then explain that this has been a lifetime activity.

When do you plan on ending? The week before school starts? i would use June or July 2014, but really, it doesn't matter.

 

[Girly X]

Gotcha, thanks! Do I just put "registrar," or like their actual name?

Actual name.

 

[nolee]

I just wanted to get your opinion, because I've heard different answers:

If I'm going to work on something until August 2014, for the total hours part, would I include the hours I've already spent + the hours I will hypothetically spend on the project from now until next year?

Thank you all so much, and especially kuntash, who has done an amazing job with fielding all our issues.

 

[TheShaker]

So I started independently tutoring a few weeks ago. I only have like 5 hours logged. Will this seem like fluff?

 

[Girly X]

I just wanted to get your opinion, because I've heard different answers:

If I'm going to work on something until August 2014, for the total hours part, would I include the hours I've already spent + the hours I will hypothetically spend on the project from now until next year?

Thank you all so much, and especially kuntash, who has done an amazing job with fielding all our issues.

Yes, total hours would be what you already have plus what you anticipate till the end date you listed on the app. Just be careful with these types of projections. In case you find that you must end something in a couple of months (for whatevet reason) but have said on your app that you will be doing it all year long. Could be awkward if you get the "So how is your activity X going?" question at an interview.

 

[Girly X]

So I started independently tutoring a few weeks ago. I only have like 5 hours logged. Will this seem like fluff?

This year's app (as far as I can understand) allows you to project expected total hours if you have already started an activity. So you can put 5 + X hours as your total with X being whatever hours you still plan on doing. Then you can frame your description to explain what you hope to learn from this activity.

But see my last response for the small potential problem with projecting and listing future hours on your app. Though it is just fine if you are sure.

 

[TheShaker]

This year's app (as far as I can understand) allows you to project expected total hours if you have already started an activity. So you can put 5 + X hours as your total with X being whatever hours you still plan on doing. Then you can frame your description to explain what you hope to learn from this activity.

But see my last response for the small potential problem with projecting and listing future hours on your app. Though it is just fine if you are sure.

Oh wow, I didn't know that as I haven't looked at the application yet. Is it required to report? I'm actually not sure if I will do it in the future as its somewhat sporadic in terms of how much business you get. I understand from your last post that I should not be making any false promises. Do you have any suggestions on how I should approach this?

 

[Girly X]

Oh wow, I didn't know that as I haven't looked at the application yet. Is it required to report? I'm actually not sure if I will do it in the future as its somewhat sporadic in terms of how much business you get. I understand from your last post that I should not be making any false promises. Do you have any suggestions on how I should approach this?

Not sure if you are required to report expected hours. I guess it depends on the end date you use. I would read the AMCAS instruction guide for guidance on this. Especially if you've only done 5 hours so far and are unsure how business will go. Personally, I would not use it as one of my ECs unless I had logged way more hours doing it already. You'll have to make that call.

 

[TheShaker]

Not sure if you are required to report expected hours. I guess it depends on the end date you use. I would read the AMCAS instruction guide for guidance on this. Especially if you've only done 5 hours so far and are unsure how business will go. Personally, I would not use it as one of my ECs unless I had logged way more hours doing it already. You'll have to make that call.

Eh, I think I'll just leave it out. It borders on fluff anyway. Thanks a lot for your help! 🙂

 

[novafan3000]

Hey Guys,

Just need some help with classification on a certain activity:

So although I spent a lot of time shadowing physicians, I also did more than just shadow. For example, I helped medical assistants with check in/out, prep'd urine cultures, sterilized tools etc.. where would I put this? My initial intention was to shadow I get but the doc was super awesome and allowed me to be hands on with the patients and the rest of his staff. I also got paid for some of the work I did (subcontractor 1099 type thing no w-2 provided). Should I still put it under shadowing even though it was way more? I just dont want to leave the shadowing tab blank you know? I have another doc that I did mainly shadowing and filing work with so I guess I could put that exp there, but shadowing was technically part of the experience.

Thanks. Good luck this cycle everyone!

 

[Girly X]

Hey Guys,

Just need some help with classification on a certain activity:

So although I spent a lot of time shadowing physicians, I also did more than just shadow. For example, I helped medical assistants with check in/out, prep'd urine cultures, sterilized tools etc.. where would I put this? My initial intention was to shadow I get but the doc was super awesome and allowed me to be hands on with the patients and the rest of his staff. I also got paid for some of the work I did (subcontractor 1099 type thing no w-2 provided). Should I still put it under shadowing even though it was way more? I just dont want to leave the shadowing tab blank you know? I have another doc that I did mainly shadowing and filing work with so I guess I could put that exp there, but shadowing was technically part of the experience.
Thanks. Good luck this cycle everyone!

How much time did you spend doing the hands on stuff? If it was a significant number of hours (your call on what's significant, but I say 80+ hours), then you could put that under the Paid Medical/Clinical category. And then separate out the shadowing only hours (if that was 40+hours) and create a shadowing entry.

 

[MDPhDGuy]

What do I list as 'publication date' for publications that have only been submitted or are in preparation?