*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Work/Activities Tips Thread 2018-2019*~*~*~*

[Catalystik]

Replicated regarding late-begun ECs:

I am an engineering major that began considering medicine the summer before my senior year. However, due to a Division I athletic commitment in the fall, I wasn't able to begin gaining clinical experience until after the semester. I shadowed two physicians last December (ED and OB/GYN), and began clinical volunteering in January with direct patient contact (~150 hours at time of application). I will be continuing this until matriculation, and also began working as a scribe in April. Will this experience seem "impulsive" and how will it affect my chances given competitive statistics and ECs (~70 LizzyM)?

So prior to seven months ago, you had zero healthcare experiences, even in HS? Why did you decide to pursue medicine?

There are a number of veterinarians in my family, so I worked as an emergency veterinary assistant for a year and a half upon entering college. However, I felt that I wanted to more directly impact the lives of humans. My school is big on engineering, so I explored that, and confirmed that I enjoy working with people to address problems, but missed the medical environment. Thus, I realized pursuing a career as a physician may provide the combination of qualities I had only found partly elsewhere. And, based on my shadowing/volunteering/scribing, it has. There is nothing else I could see myself doing in the future, which I certainly could not say of any of my past work experiences.

So, I had extensive clinical experience in a veterinary setting, but not in a traditional pre-med environment until 7 months ago. My path was circuitous, but it has made me confident in my decision to become a physician.

With luck Adcomms will look at your interests in animal and human medicine as a continuum and be willing to overlook the relative brevity of your experience with homo sapiens. Strong stats and in-depth other experiences might assist that. Since this outcome isn't certain, it will be important for you to send fall and spring updates about your ongoing clinical activities during this cycle (where allowed). And as all applicants ought, keep beefing up your ECs until you have an acceptance in hand, in case you need to reapply.

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[Catalystik]

Replicated. Value of types of volunteer activities:

I will not be applying until 2021 but I wanted to make sure that I am on the right track and also what else I should be doing in terms of volunteering/shadowing/clinical experience and just activities and things of that nature.

Here is what I have so far-
1. Around 15 hours of volunteering at nursing homes-(I play music at nursing homes for an hour each week and about once a month I perform magic shows for them. I will more than likely have over 100 hours of doing this by the time I apply)
2. I teach classes at my church every week and I am a licensed minister -(I'm not sure if this counts for anything)
3. I am president of the student nurses association at my school. -(I am currently a RN student in a 2 year program but as soon as I graduate I will transfer and get a BA in biology. As president I've helped organize different things like blood pressure screenings, Christmas caroling at nursing homes, toy drives, etc.)
4. 35 hours of volunteering at a children's theater summer camp and also having roles in plays and musicals in college
5. 40 hours of shadowing different specialties-(Cards, FM, ENT, Ophtho, Derm)
6. Once I become a RN (after this year) I'll have many hours of clinical experience working part time.
7. I haven't done this yet but I am in the process of trying to organize a blood drive at my college.

So that is what I have done so far. What else do you recommend that I should be doing? Or is there anything that I am doing now that is not really necessary? I am just kind of confused about what medical schools require for volunteering and shadowing and I just want to make sure that I am not missing anything.

You already are involved in a number of volunteer efforts, but you'll get more traction with face-to-face, off campus community service that helps those in need. Soup kitchens are one option, other examples being: Meals on Wheels, homeless or women's shelter, food pantry, after school tutoring of inner city kids or ESL for adults, Big Brother/Big Sister, Special Olympics or coaching athletic programs for the physically disabled, providing enrichment classes in a poor school (eg, science demonstrations or health topics), or Habitat for Humanity.

Being a licensed minister counts for nothing if you don't use it.

Be sure you are shadowing physicians too (not just RNs, PAs, Nurse Practitioners, or techs). About 50 hours of physician observation is the average listed. Some of this should be office-based so you get a view of longitudinal care.

 

[Catalystik]

Replicated. Paid positions can "count" as community service:

It's all said and done now since I submitted my primary last month, but as I work on my secondaries, I'm applying to a few programs that will have tracks/programs for the underserved. I only have 200 hrs of non-clinical volunteering for the underserved, but I've clocked 200-300 more hours in a leadership position as a campus mentor for low-income students, working with administration to make financial initiatives for low-income students easier to understand and more transparent. Furthermore, one of my "most meaningful activities" was teaching/counseling in a pipeline program for URM/low-income HS students who are interested in medicine, through which I went above and beyond what I was asked and restructured the curriculum and added new peer support initiatives (which I believe was reflected in the LOR I received). The problem is that, while the position was unpaid, my college paid me a small stipend ($1500) specifically for students on financial aid who have unpaid full-time summer internships, so I put it down as a paid position.

1) Furthermore, I'm unsure if AmeriCorps counts as commitment to the underserved, as I am technically being paid for that too (though it will not be very much at all). Will AdComs view my work towards the underserved in a different light for these reasons?

To be clear, I did not qualify for the AAMC fee assistance program, but qualified for a full need-based scholarship at my undergraduate college, and really needed to work throughout college as part of my package, so it was hard for me to take unpaid positions or reject stipends I was offered.
2) I guess I mean to ask: can I write about these experiences as part of my commitment to the underserved, or is it dishonest? I don't want to sound aloof by writing about them and trying to pass these off as these as acts of service if they aren't considered as such by admissions committees.

1) Americorps is technically not paid employment, as one receives a stipend from which taxes/medicare aren't deducted. Whether you listed it as Community Service or Employment makes no difference as adcomms widely consider it to be a community service. More info: What Is a Stipend?

2) Yes, you can reasonably cite these experiences as a demonstration of your commitment to the underserved.

 

[Catalystik]

Replicating Med Ed's opinions about the Activities section:

In reviewing an AMCAS application I actually spend the most time on the experiences (employment/activities) section. My rationale is that your metrics are easy to interpret and your butler may have written your personal statement, but the experiences you list shows me two important things: (1) what you have chosen to do with your available time, and (2) what you consider worth sharing.

Here's a little exercise. Lay out your proposed experience list in order of descending hours, the look at the list and try to see what it says about you. For example, if your list looks something like this (which is only a slight exaggeration):

1. Hobbies - Skiing/snowboarding, 9000 hours
2. Hobbies - Windsurfing, 7000 hours
3. Hobbies - Cycling (road and mountain), 5000 hours
4. Hobbies - Rock climbing, 2000 hours
5. Research, 100 hours
6. Shadowing, 20 hours
7. Habitat for Humanity, 8 hours

...it tells me that you are a very active, outdoorsy kind of person. Great. Good for you. It also tells me that you are more concerned with enjoying yourself than getting into medical school. Not so great. Bad for you.

A couple more easy rules to follow:

(1) If you have five or fewer entries don't apply. If you have 12 or more check for excessive filler.

(2) Don't list anything from high school or earlier. I don't care if you played for the state championship football team. I don't care if you had great accomplishments as a boy scout. I don't care if you were valedictorian of your high school. Pretend your life started on the first day of college.

(3) Don't include anything that is considered a normal part of existence for decent human beings. I have seen people list the deaths of relatives/friends in this section. If that event impacted your journey to medicine do yourself a favor and put it in the personal statement. I have seen people list being a husband/wife/father/mother/sister/brother/son/daughter/best friend in their experiences section. I can feel the earnestness oozing through the computer screen when I read these, but it doesn't make you look appealing. At best, it makes you look like a newborn fawn that just hobbled into traffic.

(4) In writing the entries I know there is an endless debate over being explanatory versus being brief, so you need to walk the line and be concise. That means you explain wherever necessary, and don't explain where it is unnecessary. Use enough words to get the point across and then stop. Tell what you learned only if you have something worthwhile to tell.

A good example is a poster presentation. Most everyone in medicine is familiar with posters. We know the drill. It is perfectly fine to simply list that you presented Poster X at Conference Y on date Z. You don't need to wax poetic about how crafting this poster taught you the value of teamwork and the true meaning of Christmas.

Now, if you have done something that is likely unfamiliar to the audience, like worked as a counselor at a camp that serves a specialized population, that deserves some verbiage.

 

[subdermallight]

So I’m running out of space on my activities and I need to choose between two (not a repeat category either). Anyone want to help me out?


Choice 1: Hobbies

-Piano for 20 years but with minimal formal lessons.
-Play at least 30min a day to de-stress.
-Practiced one single very difficult/fast song (Third Movement of Moonlight Sonata) for 3 years and can play half of it pretty well.

Photography
-Paid event photography
-Paid engagement photos
-Nature and basic Astrophotography

Mindfulness Meditiation
-trained in 8wk course
-practice time to time

Choice 2: Honors and Awards

-Manga cum laude
-submitted internal grant proposal to undergraduate research office and was awarded it (less than $3,000)
-Award for excellent poster at research poster session at my university
-received multiple competitive Hispanic Foundation scholarships paying for 3 years at undergrad
-1st place team on debate/ethics competition for one annual competition
-Scholarship from university for full ride

 

[Catalystik]

So I’m running out of space on my activities and I need to choose between two (not a repeat category either). Anyone want to help me out?


Choice 1: Hobbies

-Piano for 20 years but with minimal formal lessons.
-Play at least 30min a day to de-stress.
-Practiced one single very difficult/fast song (Third Movement of Moonlight Sonata) for 3 years and can play half of it pretty well.

Photography
-Paid event photography
-Paid engagement photos
-Nature and basic Astrophotography


Choice 2: Honors and Awards

-Magna cum laude
-submitted internal grant proposal to undergraduate research office and was awarded it (less than $3,000)
-Award for excellent poster at research poster session at my university
-received multiple competitive Hispanic Foundation scholarships paying for 3 years at undergrad
-1st place team on debate/ethics competition for one annual competition
-Scholarship from university for full ride

I'd pick choice #1.

As to #2,
-your high GPA is already evident from your GPA.
-squeeze the grant you wrote into the Research space somehow. No need to mention the amount.
-mention the excellence award after the poster citation.
-There's another place on the application where you break down the % of college paid for by scholarships.
-Debate/ethics competition win could be mentioned in a Secondary essay.

JMO. There are also Secondary essay prompts that ask about hobbies and de-stressing if you feel strongly about keeping the Awards/Honors entry.

When discussing photography, emphasize the nature and astro-photography, as that's more unique.

 

[subdermallight]

I'd pick choice #1.

As to #2,
-your high GPA is already evident from your GPA.
-squeeze the grant you wrote into the Research space somehow. No need to mention the amount.
-mention the excellence award after the poster citation.
-There's another place on the application where you break down the % of college paid for by scholarships.
-Debate/ethics competition win could be mentioned in a Secondary essay.

JMO. There are also Secondary essay prompts that ask about hobbies and de-stressing if you feel strongly about keeping the Awards/Honors entry.

When discussing photography, emphasize the nature and astro-photography, as that's more unique.

Awesome. Thank you, what would I do without you Catalystik

 

[micronomics]

Can you describe where you're running into a problem?

When I submit my entry with the 2 experiences a message pops up saying "You have entered 2 experiences, you must determine which one is more meaningful"

 

[manohman]

I had a question about how amcas views gap year jobs.

A year and a half ago I transitioned to working full time as a private tutor (self employed).

Do adcoms see this as a negative or red flag in the applicartion?.

I didn't really explain myself in my application or secondaries and im wondering if i should have (i needed the flexibility because of other things going on and it paid better than working anywhere else which i also needed for the app cycle).

 

[Catalystik]

When I submit my entry with the 2 experiences a message pops up saying "You have entered 2 experiences, you must determine which one is more meaningful"

You are required to designate at least one MM entry. There is a checkbox under the narrative section so you can do this. Even if neither one of the two entries is what you planned for MM, you'll have to temporarily check one of the boxes. You can uncheck it later. Just don't fill in the extra narrative box that pops up, because unchecking the box removes the extra box and anything you typed in it.

 

[Catalystik]

I had a question about how amcas views gap year jobs.

A year and a half ago I transitioned to working full time as a private tutor (self employed).

Do adcoms see this as a negative or red flag in the applicartion?.

I didn't really explain myself in my application or secondaries and im wondering if i should have (i needed the flexibility because of other things going on and it paid better than working anywhere else which i also needed for the app cycle).

Why would it be a negative? I can foresee some potential pitfalls if you claim to work 40 hours per week as a tutor. You ideally needed an objective Contact who can confirm your hours and maybe no one person besides you can do that, unless a faculty member is aware of the endeavor or there's someone who refers clients to you. You might claim to have started a business, which is laudable, but some adcomm might ask about whether you're paying taxes properly on your earnings or otherwise get into a business-related conversation with you. Is there anything else that concerns you?

 

[manohman]

Question Answered! (bit personal)

 

[Catalystik]

I said i worked 25-30 or so which was the average when i was working full time.

1) The contact i put was a coworker from when i tutored part time and also worked full time. He would definitely attest to the hours i spent as a tutor in part time before i transitioned and during full time because we kept in contact. my other option was a single studnet cause i could only list one person which seemed iffy too


i used the skills i learned part time to take it full tim. Like how to build up a client base. it did take a little longer to build up because i needed twice as many students, but i used the same tactics (build a small base then spread by word of mouth, parents usually ask about their friend’s kids and if i can teach them, and online matching sites. some flyers but mostly the first two.

2) i filed my taxes as self employed as a 1040 schedule C. You make more money independently than with a company because they usually take 30-60% in some cases.

My reasons for moving to full time tutoring was I knew I was getting a surgery or two soon and i needed the flexibility and pay.

in my app i just said i tutored high school and college students and what subjects. And iv submitted most of the secondaries i got so far without clarifying.

3) Is it worth updating since i didnt include any of this? / is it still an issue? Or should I have included a different reference?

I think i was worried because a friend said i would be fine especiay if i explained why i took the job and everything (needed pay, flexible hours since i was getting surgery). And i never did in my app besides saying the kinds of students i tutored

1) Perfect.

2) I'm proud of you. Adcomms aren't the IRS police, but you'll be well thought of for not getting cash "under the table" so to speak.

3) Your reason doesn't matter. The Contact is fine. If someone is curious, saying, " I had much higher income than if I worked for someone else," is sufficient reason. You have nothing to worry about.

 

[Catalystik]

I submitted my AMCAS in May and I predicted that I will have worked 200 hours as a volunteer EMT by the end of August. However, August is approaching and I've only really worked about 50 hours because the ambulance company was very disappointing and didn't really do much so I didn't sign up for as many shifts as I thought I would. Now I'm really stressed because my AMCAS now has an error that I can't change....I don't want to seem like I'm lying! What do I do??? I guess if I count travel time and the time it took to apply and train, then it counts closer to 100 hours. But if people call the contact person I listed and ask how long I've worked there, the contact will definitely say around 50 hours. What should I do to fix this?

How many other active clinical experience hours do you have in another position? Do you have a way of getting another 150 clinical hours by the end of this summer, or at least by the end of fall term? Did you separate out current hours and future hours when you listed the activity?

 

[manohman]

1) Perfect.

2) I'm proud of you. Adcomms aren't the IRS police, but you'll be well thought of for not getting cash "under the table" so to speak.

3) Your reason doesn't matter. The Contact is fine. If someone is curious, saying, " I had much higher income than if I worked for someone else," is sufficient reason. You have nothing to worry about.

Okay cool! Thank you! Yeah and I can even give numbers (20-25 dollars vs 40-45 Dollars!) Just need to build up a client base but it's totally worth it, especaily if they come to you at the library (which is key so you can fit in more students and arent as exhausted).

Regarding the taxes, I just kept remembering how people say "Don't mess with the IRS. They caught Al Capone!". That and it was such a pain doing it the first time, I didn't want to do it again. And even after it got easier, still not worth the trouble. Plus the money was good enough!

cheers!

 

[mariposas905]

So I found out that a few of my volunteer/work contact designations changed after I put them on AMCAS and sent it in. For my employment activity, I put down my boss as the medical director of a hospital, but turns out that she will not be the medical director anymore after this month. I also put down a volunteer coordinator name for a contact, but looks like she retired last week and a new lady is now the volunteer coordinator of that organization. I can't change the contact now since I sent in my app. I also can't change the medical director designation.

What should I do? Am I supposed to update schools for this or leave it as is?

 

[Catalystik]

So I found out that a few of my volunteer/work contact designations changed after I put them on AMCAS and sent it in. For my employment activity, I put down my boss as the medical director of a hospital, but turns out that she will not be the medical director anymore after this month. I also put down a volunteer coordinator name for a contact, but looks like she retired last week and a new lady is now the volunteer coordinator of that organization. I can't change the contact now since I sent in my app. I also can't change the medical director designation.

What should I do? Am I supposed to update schools for this or leave it as is?

It was correct when submitted, and that was your obligation. If a Contact or department which can attest to your involvement can't be located through indirect means (and med admissions staffers are adept at locating folks), you will be contacted and asked for updated information.

Or, you could correct the contact info in a fall update letter, if you have it. No rush to do so now.

 

[mariposas905]

Thanks! Also, is it okay if we approximate hours in our W/A? For example, I worked on a month long research project, and put down 100 hours. That's an approximate number though (I never actually calculated every single hour to the dot). It could have been 90 or 110...

 

[Catalystik]

Thanks! Also, is it okay if we approximate hours in our W/A? For example, I worked on a month long research project, and put down 100 hours. That's an approximate number though (I never actually calculated every single hour to the dot). It could have been 90 or 110...

Yes, that's close enough.

 

[micronomics]

You are required to designate at least one MM entry. There is a checkbox under the narrative section so you can do this. Even if neither one of the two entries is what you planned for MM, you'll have to temporarily check one of the boxes. You can uncheck it later. Just don't fill in the extra narrative box that pops up, because unchecking the box removes the extra box and anything you typed in it.

I tried designating both "No" and "Yes", but I still receive the message. I did find a solution though: I saved the entry with just 1 experience and then went back and edited the entry with my 2nd experience. Hope someone else finds this solution useful and thank you so much Catalystik - you are a lifesaver!

 

[Catalystik]

I tried designating both "No" and "Yes", but I still receive the message. I did find a solution though: I saved the entry with just 1 experience and then went back and edited the entry with my 2nd experience. Hope someone else finds this solution useful and thank you so much Catalystik - you are a lifesaver!

Thanks for reporting back!

 

[micronomics]

What's the consensus on American vs British/Canadian spelling? Eg, favourite vs favorite, etc.

 

[Catalystik]

What's the consensus on American vs British/Canadian spelling? Eg, favourite vs favorite, etc.

If you are Canadian, applying to US schools, we know your word processor usage is based on a different standard than ours, so it's fine to spell in the way to which you're accustomed.

 

[Grumpz]

Hi SDN fam. Just had a quick question I was hoping someone might help me with. I’ve been given a scholarship last year from my uni to conduct a scoping literature review. It has recently been accepted for publication in an international wounds journal. Subsequently, I was invited to give a mini presentation at an upcoming conference. I would have to fund the trip myself which comes to approximately $3000 (including flights, registration, accomodation, etc.).
Is it worth attending a conference to participate in a presentation for AMCAS application purposes? Or is the publication enough on its own? Just debating if I should take a loan out to attend the conference if it will improve my application at all.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[realitysickness]

Hello, I have 4 questions:

1. I volunteered in a Refugee/TB clinic at my Public Heath Dept, and I had non-clinical (Quality improvement, data analysis, preparing sputum/stool kits) and clinical volunteer hours (receptionist, patient escort, some community liaison work). I volunteered more nonclinical hours than clinical. Is there a way to take credit for both nonclinical and clinical hours without listing the activity twice? My supervisor was the same in both capacities so the contact field would be identical.

2. Just checking but paid summer internships can also be classified as employment in AMCAS, correct?

3. I have limited space for my ECs, and so I was wondering is there a way to group my clinical volunteering with terminally ill patients together? I volunteered as a terminal cancer support group facilitator and a hospice volunteer. The organizations and contacts are entirely different as well as the timeframe I did these activities. Or do you think I should report only 1 activity for clarity and ease of verification?

- Terminal Cancer Support Group facilitator (50 hours over 10 months) at local hospital
- Hospice volunteer (25 hours over 5 months) at hospice agency

4. I did 150 hours of shadowing through a health care ethics internship (that I received academic credit for on my transcript) about 3 years ago. I don't remember the full names and titles of the physicians I shadowed besides one. Is it okay to not list that information if I don't have it? This is my only shadowing entry on my application. I will be listing the director of the internship program as my contact. I also shadowed multiple types of health professionals in this internship (RNs, MDs, social workers, chaplain) - should I separate the physician shadowing and it's associated hours from the others in the description? Do I need to specify primary care/family medicine hours in the description (even though again I don't have the names of the doctors)?

Thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

I’ve been given a scholarship last year from my uni to conduct a scoping literature review. It has recently been accepted for publication in an international wounds journal. Subsequently, I was invited to give a mini presentation at an upcoming conference. I would have to fund the trip myself which comes to approximately $3000 (including flights, registration, accomodation, etc.).

Is it worth attending a conference to participate in a presentation for AMCAS application purposes? Or is the publication enough on its own? Just debating if I should take a loan out to attend the conference if it will improve my application at all.

A publication far exceeds a presentation at a big conference in prestige. I wouldn't spend $3000 out of my own pocket or take out a loan for the latter purpose at your educational level. But you might petition the school, department, and/or sponsoring PI to provide travel expenses from their multi-use slush fund often available for such purposes.

 

[Catalystik]

1. I volunteered in a Refugee/TB clinic at my Public Heath Dept, and I had non-clinical (Quality improvement, data analysis, preparing sputum/stool kits) and clinical volunteer hours (receptionist, patient escort, some community liaison work). I volunteered more nonclinical hours than clinical. Is there a way to take credit for both nonclinical and clinical hours without listing the activity twice? My supervisor was the same in both capacities so the contact field would be identical.

2. Just checking but paid summer internships can also be classified as employment in AMCAS, correct?

3. I have limited space for my ECs, and so I was wondering is there a way to group my clinical volunteering with terminally ill patients together? I volunteered as a terminal cancer support group facilitator and a hospice volunteer. The organizations and contacts are entirely different as well as the timeframe I did these activities. Or do you think I should report only 1 activity for clarity and ease of verification?

- Terminal Cancer Support Group facilitator (50 hours over 10 months) at local hospital
- Hospice volunteer (25 hours over 5 months) at hospice agency

4. I did 150 hours of shadowing through a health care ethics internship (that I received academic credit for on my transcript) about 3 years ago. I don't remember the full names and titles of the physicians I shadowed besides one.
a) Is it okay to not list that information if I don't have it? This is my only shadowing entry on my application. I will be listing the director of the internship program as my contact.
b) I also shadowed multiple types of health professionals in this internship (RNs, MDs, social workers, chaplain) - should I separate the physician shadowing and it's associated hours from the others in the description?
c) Do I need to specify primary care/family medicine hours in the description (even though again I don't have the names of the doctors)?

1) Can you group part of it with another activity in the same category? Are you lacking in one of the two areas, so that it's more important for you to emphasize the clinical vs the nonclinical component?

2) Yes. Or you can use the Other category.

3) You should group them, but you'll have to provide the Contact info, organization, dates etc for the second one listed in the narrative space, giving you less room for description.

4a) Yes. Refer to the docs in aggregate as "staff physicians".
b) Yes, separate out the physician shadowing and its associated hours and list those hours in the header's Total Hours space. Add an addendum that you "also shadowed RNs, social workers, & a chaplain for xx additional hours, not included above."
c) You should be as specific as you can about the specialties you shadowed, especially primary care (Internal Med, Peds, Family Med, OBGYN,& Psych). Mention subspecialties separately, and if possible try to give a percent of the total time spent with each of the two groups.

 

[realitysickness]

1) Can you group part of it with another activity in the same category? Are you lacking in one of the two areas, so that it's more important for you to emphasize the clinical vs the nonclinical component?

2) Yes. Or you can use the Other category.

3) You should group them, but you'll have to provide the Contact info, organization, dates etc for the second one listed in the narrative space, giving you less room for description.

4a) Yes. Refer to the docs in aggregate as "staff physicians".
b) Yes, separate out the physician shadowing and its associated hours and list those hours in the header's Total Hours space. Add an addendum that you "also shadowed RNs, social workers, & a chaplain for xx additional hours, not included above."
c) You should be as specific as you can about the specialties you shadowed, especially primary care (Internal Med, Peds, Family Med, OBGYN,& Psych). Mention subspecialties separately, and if possible try to give a percent of the total time spent with each of the two groups.

You are amazing Catalystik! Thank you once again for your guidance.

 

[Catalystik]

You are amazing Catalystik! Thank you once again for your guidance.

No problem.

 

[Grumpz]

A publication far exceeds a presentation at a big conference in prestige. I wouldn't spend $3000 out of my own pocket or take out a loan for the latter purpose at your educational level. But you might petition the school, department, and/or sponsoring PI to provide travel expenses from their multi-use slush fund often available for such purposes.

Thanks heaps for your input and advice! I’m a broke undergrad, so if I can skip it I will. Just wasn’t sure as I had some lecturers pushing me to do it.

 

[JoyLioness]

I'm currently running into the problem of exceeding the 15 entry limit and wanted to post in here to get advice on what I should cut out/combine. Without getting into too much detail this is a list of my activities, I've bolded the ones I'm the least sure about:
1. Co-Author of a manuscript- accepted for publication in a national journal
2. Research Assistant
3. A scholarship that supported my research experience- I wanted to separate this out because it involved writing a grant proposal and finding a lab to sponsor me/ endorse my research
4. Clinical Volunteering
5. Shadowing multiple physicians
6. a university specific honor society
7. Phi Beta Kappa
8. VP of my sorority
9. internship with a campus org- planned to put under leadership
10. another internship (different responsibilities and different organization)
11. chair position for my sorority
12. another chair position for my sorority- very different position and different time period, I'm debating if it could make sense to combine these or if I should just pick the one I think is most important
13. dance team- planned to put as Extracurricular
14. Dance instructor- this one is seasonal so I would do as repeated activity and it was paid employment
15. Study Abroad- I originally didn't plan on putting this in the activities section but after reading posts here it seems like maybe I should be doing a "Study Abroad/International" entry. Traveling has become a big part of my life and after studying abroad I have done 3 more international trips in college, one of which was living in Europe for 3 months. I don't have anything under Hobbies or Other, so I thought maybe this is something worth putting in Other?
16. I made Deans List multiple times in college, but originally had no intention of including this. Not sure if it's something worth adding with all of the semesters listed in the description? I figured this probably doesn't add to my app more than any of the other entries but at the same time it wouldn't be indicated elsewhere for AdCom to see.
17. A presentation I did for a course- throughout the semester I worked on an independent research project that I then presented as part of my final grade as a 25 min presentation. Not sure if this can be included as a "Presentation/poster"? The subject is clinically relevant/ medicine related and also relates to what I want to focus on as a physician/ goals I have as a physician.
18. Artistic Endeavors- I have different artistic endeavors I could include but originally had no intention too. I preformed in multiple university productions, created and performed my own choreography projects, and worked on the crew for university productions. I'm not sure if my dance team entry encompasses my interest in the arts enough/ if I should be doing this to emphasize that dance/art is a big part of my life. I do also discuss dance in my personal statement.
19. Hobbies- on a similar note, I'm not sure if I should be including hobbies? Dance could certainly be listed as one, but I also play piano, paint, draw, and write. I do want AdCom to see my creative side, but I don't want this to become an art application or to come off as trying to fill space.
20. Sorority (philanthropy)- I really wanted to include the philanthropy work I did with my sorority somewhere. I don't think this can really be put with my VP entry or the chair position entries, but also don't want to have so many entries all for my sorority. I was heavily involved in our community service and fundraising efforts, so I want to mention it somehow and put it under "Community Service- nonmedical".

I'm sorry this is such a long post. Thank you so much for any advice/help you may have!

 

[Catalystik]

I'm currently running into the problem of exceeding the 15 entry limit and wanted to post in here to get advice on what I should cut out/combine. Without getting into too much detail this is a list of my activities, I've bolded the ones I'm the least sure about:
1. Co-Author of a manuscript- accepted for publication in a national journal
2. Research Assistant
3. A scholarship that supported my research experience- I wanted to separate this out because it involved writing a grant proposal and finding a lab to sponsor me/ endorse my research
4. Clinical Volunteering
5. Shadowing multiple physicians
6. a university specific honor society
7. Phi Beta Kappa
8. VP of my sorority
9. internship with a campus org- planned to put under leadership
10. another internship (different responsibilities and different organization)
11. chair position for my sorority
12. another chair position for my sorority- very different position and different time period, I'm debating if it could make sense to combine these or if I should just pick the one I think is most important
13. dance team- planned to put as Extracurricular
14. Dance instructor- this one is seasonal so I would do as repeated activity and it was paid employment
15. Study Abroad- I originally didn't plan on putting this in the activities section but after reading posts here it seems like maybe I should be doing a "Study Abroad/International" entry. Traveling has become a big part of my life and after studying abroad I have done 3 more international trips in college, one of which was living in Europe for 3 months. I don't have anything under Hobbies or Other, so I thought maybe this is something worth putting in Other?
16. I made Deans List multiple times in college, but originally had no intention of including this. Not sure if it's something worth adding with all of the semesters listed in the description? I figured this probably doesn't add to my app more than any of the other entries but at the same time it wouldn't be indicated elsewhere for AdCom to see.
17. A presentation I did for a course- throughout the semester I worked on an independent research project that I then presented as part of my final grade as a 25 min presentation. Not sure if this can be included as a "Presentation/poster"? The subject is clinically relevant/ medicine related and also relates to what I want to focus on as a physician/ goals I have as a physician.
18. Artistic Endeavors- I have different artistic endeavors I could include but originally had no intention too. I preformed in multiple university productions, created and performed my own choreography projects, and worked on the crew for university productions. I'm not sure if my dance team entry encompasses my interest in the arts enough/ if I should be doing this to emphasize that dance/art is a big part of my life. I do also discuss dance in my personal statement.
19. Hobbies- on a similar note, I'm not sure if I should be including hobbies? Dance could certainly be listed as one, but I also play piano, paint, draw, and write. I do want AdCom to see my creative side, but I don't want this to become an art application or to come off as trying to fill space.
20. Sorority (philanthropy)- I really wanted to include the philanthropy work I did with my sorority somewhere. I don't think this can really be put with my VP entry or the chair position entries, but also don't want to have so many entries all for my sorority. I was heavily involved in our community service and fundraising efforts, so I want to mention it somehow and put it under "Community Service- nonmedical".

Suggestions:
#3,6,7,16 can all go in one Honors/Awards space. Omitting #16 completely would be fine, as your transcript speaks for itself. Or, #3 can be added to your affiliated Research slot.

Put #11,12 together.

#13, 14 could go together under Artistic Endeavors. Along with #18 for that matter.

#15 Other is suitable.

#17 If this poster was not based on original hypothesis-based research, I would find another tag to designate it with, like Other, since it was a curricular requirement. Otherwise, Posters/Presentations is fine to use.

#19 Considering you have strong Arts involvement with dance you could omit this and save it for Secondaries.

 

[JoyLioness]

Suggestions:
#3,6,7,16 can all go in one Honors/Awards space. Omitting #16 completely would be fine, as your transcript speaks for itself. Or, #3 can be added to your affiliated Research slot.

Put #11,12 together.

#13, 14 could go together under Artistic Endeavors. Along with #18 for that matter.

#15 Other is suitable.

#17 If this poster was not based on original hypothesis-based research, I would find another tag to designate it with, like Other, since it was a curricular requirement. Otherwise, Posters/Presentations is fine to use.

#19 Considering you have strong Arts involvement with dance you could omit this and save it for Secondaries.

Thank you so much for your reply Catalystik! The presentation was based on a current issue in healthcare accessibility and then I created an original hypothesis on how I would address it, and presented my proposal with background research and policies to back it up. Would this be considered original hypothesis-based research? I'll definitely combine #6 #7 and #16 if I include it, and try to combine #11 and #12 as well. Do you think studying abroad and my international travels is worth including in my application? I did also run a travel blog and have a travel-specific social media account as well that I could mention.

 

[JoyLioness]

Suggestions:
#3,6,7,16 can all go in one Honors/Awards space. Omitting #16 completely would be fine, as your transcript speaks for itself. Or, #3 can be added to your affiliated Research slot.

Put #11,12 together.

#13, 14 could go together under Artistic Endeavors. Along with #18 for that matter.

#15 Other is suitable.

#17 If this poster was not based on original hypothesis-based research, I would find another tag to designate it with, like Other, since it was a curricular requirement. Otherwise, Posters/Presentations is fine to use.

#19 Considering you have strong Arts involvement with dance you could omit this and save it for Secondaries.

As a follow up question, when I combine my two sorority chair positions should I use the repeat function? My contact person and organization are the same for both, but the description and my responsibilities will be different. Should I just try to indicate in the description that the first time period is associated with one position and the second time period is with the other? I'm worried about running out of characters.

 

[Catalystik]

1) The presentation was based on a current issue in healthcare accessibility and then I created an original hypothesis on how I would address it, and presented my proposal with background research and policies to back it up. Would this be considered original hypothesis-based research?

I'll definitely combine #6 #7 and #16 if I include it, and try to combine #11 and #12 as well.

2) Do you think studying abroad and my international travels is worth including in my application? I did also run a travel blog and have a travel-specific social media account as well that I could mention.

1) No. Use the Other tag for this entry.

2) It is worth including, but if space is still tight after instituting all the suggestions you can bear to, all your travel related interests could be saved for Secondaries.

 

[Catalystik]

As a follow up question, when I combine my two sorority chair positions should I use the repeat function? My contact person and organization are the same for both, but the description and my responsibilities will be different.

2) Should I just try to indicate in the description that the first time period is associated with one position and the second time period is with the other? I'm worried about running out of characters.

If you name the space something like, Sorority Leadership Roles and they don't overlap in time, you may use the Repeated function, then refer to the timespans (1&2) in your narrative rather than using characters to type out the date ranges.

2) Yes.

 

[WorkoutLovers]

So I just finished my first year at uni and I managed to get a summer job. But I only started working recently (i only worked this Monday for 4hrs). I’m pretty sure the schedule will remain like that. The hours suck but that’s what I get for working retail.. I intend to quit before uni starts again. I was wondering if it was okay if I still put this job on my resume as well as the aamcas (work and activities section). Would it be alright to put a job that I worked for 8 weeks, 4 hours a week on the resume? The reason I ask this is because I only have one job experience, and I feel having two (even though it’s retail) would help somewhat when I look for jobs during the school year. I’m especially interested in research positions, but even other retail positions will work for me. I would stay with this job as the people are really nice and awesome, but i doubt the hours will get better. So I intended to put June-August on the resume (I did do a couple of orientation and training shifts in June and earlier this month).

Apologies in advance if this question sounds stupid .. just being overly anxious and stressed about the process.

Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

So I just finished my first year at uni and I managed to get a summer job. But I only started working recently (i only worked this Monday for 4hrs). I’m pretty sure the schedule will remain like that. The hours suck but that’s what I get for working retail.. I intend to quit before uni starts again. I was wondering if it was okay if I still put this job on my resume as well as the aamcas (work and activities section). Would it be alright to put a job that I worked for 8 weeks, 4 hours a week on the resume? The reason I ask this is because I only have one job experience, and I feel having two (even though it’s retail) would help somewhat when I look for jobs during the school year. I’m especially interested in research positions, but even other retail positions will work for me. I would stay with this job as the people are really nice and awesome, but i doubt the hours will get better. So I intended to put June-August on the resume (I did do a couple of orientation and training shifts in June and earlier this month).

For the AMCAS application, it is common to group multiple short-term or seasonal jobs in one space and to total all the hours to give the space more impact. Adcomms particularly like to know about jobs that require people skills, which retail work often does, or responsibility, handling money, etc. They also like to know what you do to stay busy in the summer. So don't feel it isn't worth listing just because the timespan was only 2-3 months.

For the same reasons, it's a good idea to include those jobs on a resume.

 

[alyxxs]

1) I am adding an academic achievement award that I received four years in a row to my w/a section but I'm not sure who to add for contact. Maybe my adviser? Any suggestions? Also would I be able to group a Dean's List award under the same listing?
What should I put for hours seeing as its an award?

2) I have two shadowing experiences that I am grouping under one listing do I use the contact info of the longer shadowing experience and distinguish that it was two experiences in the description?I was thinking of making them two separate listings but wasn't sure. Also, for contact title, do I put "Dr."?

3) Is it okay if I switch up the formatting between listings? For example my shadowing experiences in bullet points while my other experiences are written as paragraphs.

 

[WorkoutLovers]

For the AMCAS application, it is common to group multiple short-term or seasonal jobs in one space and to total all the hours to give the space more impact. Adcomms particularly like to know about jobs that require people skills, which retail work often does, or responsibility, handling money, etc. They also like to know what you do to stay busy in the summer. So don't feel it isn't worth listing just because the timespan was only 2-3 months.

For the same reasons, it's a good idea to include those jobs on a resume.

Thanks! I was just double checking to make sure it didn’t come off as a filler activity.

 

[Catalystik]

1) I am adding an academic achievement award that I received four years in a row to my w/a section but I'm not sure who to add for contact. Maybe my adviser? Any suggestions? Also would I be able to group a Dean's List award under the same listing?
What should I put for hours seeing as its an award?

2) I have two shadowing experiences that I am grouping under one listing do I use the contact info of the longer shadowing experience and distinguish that it was two experiences in the description?I was thinking of making them two separate listings but wasn't sure. Also, for contact title, do I put "Dr."?

3) Is it okay if I switch up the formatting between listings? For example my shadowing experiences in bullet points while my other experiences are written as paragraphs.

1) It's fine to add Deans List to the space. Use the College Registrar, who can attest to both.

2) Yes, group them. Put the contact info for the second experience in the narrative with its dates and subtotal of hours.

When you fill in the contact's title, it appears after their name, so put MD, Gastroenterologist, for example. A comma will be inserted between the last name and the title automatically. So it will look like Joe Lee, MD, Gastroenterologist. (Or you can just use the MD and put the specialty in the explanation, if you want it to match what you say about the second doc). See item 10 in post #2 of this thread for an example.

3) Yes, switching up the formatting of each space is fine.

 

[Catalystik]

Thanks! I was just double checking to make sure it didn’t come off as a filler activity.

Nope, you're good.

 

[alyxxs]

1) It's fine to sadd Deans List to the space. Use the College Registrar, who can attest to both.

2) Yes, group them. Put the contact info for the second experience in the narrative with its dates and subtotal of hours.

When you fill in the contact's title, it appears after their name, so put MD, Gastroenterologist, for example. A comma will be inserted between the last name and the title automatically. So it will look like Joe Lee, MD, Gastroenterologist. (Or you can just use the MD and put the specialty in the explanation, if you want it to match what you say about the second doc). See item 10 in post #2 of this thread for an example.

3) Yes, switching up the formatting of each space is fine.

Thank you!
Also, I did some personal training that I wanted to include .. Should I list this as an extracurricular activity? As for contact info, I had no supervisor so who should I put?


Do I put 0 hours for any awards such as Dean's List?

 

[realitysickness]

Another question regarding awards/recognition:

I am grouping all my awards together. Some of the items listed include the typical merit college scholarships, but others include research grant scholarships I was awarded by my institution as an undergrad. Last award is a conference poster award. I am wondering what contact I should put down for the grouped awards - since the Registrar won't be able to attest to my research grant scholarships or conference poster award.

Thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

1) I did some personal training that I wanted to include .. Should I list this as an extracurricular activity? As for contact info, I had no supervisor so who should I put?

2) Do I put 0 hours for any awards such as Dean's List?

1) Use Hobbies. It doesn't require a Contact.

2) For Deans List alone, yes, zero hours is fine. If others are in the same space, you can include the time spent at an awards ceremony, if any.

 

[Catalystik]

I am grouping all my awards together. Some of the items listed include the typical merit college scholarships, but others include research grant scholarships I was awarded by my institution as an undergrad. Last award is a conference poster award. I am wondering what contact I should put down for the grouped awards - since the Registrar won't be able to attest to my research grant scholarships or conference poster award.

The Registrar usually does know about all scholarships applied to your account, unless the cash was handed to you. You might call the office and ask, but if not:

Enter all the academic awards and merit scholarships at the top of the space, then have a second category below that, supertitled:

"Also, Research-Related Recognitions (Contact [PI's name, title, and email)]
[XXX] conference poster award on [subject] date. (Note that this could be added to the affiliated Research space, instead, to keep it in context)
[name of grant, if any] research grant scholarships, (inclusive dates, or general description like So, Jr, and Sr year)" You can name the amount if it was substantial.

 

[goldchallenge]

I have work experience in drug regulatory affairs. It does not involve regular contact with patients, but it does involve evaluating patient case reports, applying clinical knowledge, and making regulatory decisions that impact public health. Would this work experience be considered medical/clinical, or no?

 

[Catalystik]

I have work experience in drug regulatory affairs. It does not involve regular contact with patients, but it does involve evaluating patient case reports, applying clinical knowledge, and making regulatory decisions that impact public health. Would this work experience be considered medical/clinical, or no?

No, it's not Employment-Medical/Clinical for med school application purposes, but it would be a very valuable, unique background to have on your application.

 

[goldchallenge]

No, it's not Employment-Medical/Clinical for med school application purposes, but it would be a very valuable, unique background to have on your application.

Thank you for confirming.

 

[goldchallenge]

I'm trying to organize all of my major presentations, and I am thinking of grouping them all together, somewhat similar to how I have them on my CV. I'm struggling with coming up with a title for this activity ("Selected Presentations"?), and whether or not this is the right approach. The presentations span over my entire post-graduate career (except for one poster presentation when I was still a student that I would like to include if I have space), roughly 5-7 years, and include affiliations with 4 different organizations (i.e. presentations done as part of residency at university X, presentations done as part of employment at institution Y, etc.). Could you please advise if this is a good way to do this, or if I should break these up in a different way? I have the other 14 slots taken already, but I could try to include the presentations on the description of my work experience, e.g. one of my slots is my PGY1 pharmacy residency experience, and I could include these presentations in the description of my residency experience (although I am a little tight on description space, and want to focus more on the clinical experience I had during my residency).

Also, 3 of the presentations ended up becoming publications in peer-reviewed journals, and I plan on listing them in my publications slot - I figure it is worth mentioning that I both published a manuscript and presented my research at national conferences, and that it wouldn't be considered inappropriate duplication? Although I might take them out anyway because I am running low on space. I also don't have just one contact person that can confirm all of the presentations I list.

Here is a "de-identified" list of my presentations (I'll obviously have to abbreviate a bunch of this, or take some presentations out, because as is they are >1500 characters).

Presentations affiliated with [current employment]
“[Presentation on public health leadership stuff]” National presentation at [organization X annual national conference]. 201X
“[Presentation on careers in public health].” Local panel speaker at the [university]. 201X.
“[Poster presentation on public health work-related research].” Poster Presentation at the [organization Y annual national conference]. 201X.
“[Presentation on public health practice stuff].” National continuing education (CME/CPE/CEU) presentation at [institution]; [month], 201X.
“[Presentation on a medication management topic X” National presentation at [institution]. 201X.
“[Presentation on a medication management topic Y.” National presentation at [organization Z national conference]. 201X.
Presentations affiliated with [residency program 1]
“[Poster presentation on pharmacy residency research project 1]” Poster Presentation at [organization Y annual national conference]. 201X.
“[Presentation on medication management topic 1.” National continuing Education (CME/CPE/CEU) presentation at [institution]. 201X.
Presentations affiliated with [residency program 2]
“[Presentation on medication management topic 2].” Local Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) presentation at [institution. 201X.
“[Presentation on residency research project 1].” Regional presentation at [organization W regional annual conference]. 201X
Presentations affiliated with [school program]
“[Poster presentation on innovative pharmacy practice stuff” Poster presentation at the [school annual symposium]. 201X.