*~*~*~* Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2019-2020 *~*~*~*

[Catalystik]

Oh, I see. Yeah because for instance, I did Physical Therapist observation which I'm listing as Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation for 32 hours. I then shadowed a podiatrist for 30-35 hours as well. My total time for shadowing MD's is 43 hours, which is less than the total hours of non-docs, which is roughly 62-67 hours.

You are not obliged to include all the hours that you spent shadowing other professions.

A physical therapist is not a physician, so instead call it Physical Therapy shadowing.

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[Catalystik]

Another question I have is how common is it for adcoms to actually contact someone you may have shadowed whether that's a PA, podiatrist, or Physical therapist in order to confirm hours or what you did while you were there?

It would be very rare to highly unlikely for those professionals you specified.

 

[Catalystik]

No I did not, I only spent time organizing the events.

To me this would be most like Leadership or Extracurricular, not Volunteering, as you'd prefer to label it. Maybe if you could spin it a little differently and call it Advocacy it might fly as a community service on your part.

 

[Catalystik]

I am applying MD/PhD this cycle and wondering how to classify three of my activities. They are service-oriented, but for the benefit of students at my university:

1) Advocacy work to make lab work and careers in science more accessible for disabled students (mentorship program, information sessions, & group discussions).
2) Soliciting graduating students for donations (i.e. "senior gift"). This supports student scholarship programs and club funding. I was nominated to service on this "senior gift" committee, so I was already planning on listing it under awards.
3) Member of university honor society in which I discussed pertinent issues on campus (diversity, academics, etc) with university administrators. This student committee is quite selective, so I was also planning on listing it under awards.

Would any of these constitute community service? I have no nonclinical volunteering otherwise. None of these three were really leadership activities, and I already leadership + award/honors entries. How would your recommend that I categorize them?

4) I am also curious if it would be "fluff" to have my departmental honors research thesis + poster as their own activities separate from my existing entry for that lab. I have no publications from this lab, and the poster was just presented at a university symposium. I have no poster/presentations or publication sections otherwise.

5) I do have a second author publication + poster I won an award for at a college symposium, but both were from high school research I conducted up to starting college. I was told by my premed adviser to group these together under 1 Research/Lab entry since they are kinda from high school.

1) This seems more like Leadership, but you might be able to spin it into a community service so it will fit the category you'd prefer to label it with.

2) If you think of it as a recognition of some sort and can explain why, then Awards is fine.

3) This sounds leadership-y.

4) Some applicants list the experience of preparing a thesis in its own space under the tag "Other." The campus poster could be mentioned there or in the affiliated Research space.

5) A Publication, even from a HS project, deserves its own space under Publications (if it wasn't in a campus journal). You can mention the award in the same space as the citation, as well as anything else you have to say about your role in the research project.

 

[econwonkMD]

The organization that published the paper. As this is often evident in the journal name, you may not have to add it except for the first one you list in the header.

So my experience title is: Co-Author; Research Publications 1 -4. Then in the description, I listed all four of them in this format: My name (# author), My PI. Name of the publication. Journal. Date

Which Journal Name do i use for Org? The first one on the list, or the most recent/oldest publication?

 

[deleted688779]

Would you advise to put a medical center's volunteer records office as a contact instead of the supervising physician? Out of hundreds of volunteers, I am sure the volunteer office would do a better job verifying hours, as it is their job. If so, should I put down X Volunteer Office as the name or shall I call and ask for one of their names?

 

[Dr.Toboggan]

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[Catalystik]

So my experience title is: Co-Author; Research Publications 1 -4. Then in the description, I listed all four of them in this format: My name (# author), My PI. Name of the publication. Journal. Date

Which Journal Name do i use for Org? The first one on the list, or the most recent/oldest publication?

The first one that you'll cite in the narrative box.

 

[Catalystik]

1) Would you advise to put a medical center's volunteer records office as a contact instead of the supervising physician?

2) Out of hundreds of volunteers, I am sure the volunteer office would do a better job verifying hours, as it is their job. If so, should I put down X Volunteer Office as the name or shall I call and ask for one of their names?

1) Yes.

2) It's fine to make it non specific. Last name: Staff, First name : Volunteer Office will print out on the application as Volunteer Office Staff.

 

[Catalystik]

Boy do I have a weird one for you...

So, I'm transgender. I've debated whether to out myself on my applications, but I've decided that I'm going to mention it in my personal statement because it is a significant part of my experience and my journey to medicine. So that's out of the bag.

Anyway, I'm considering putting an activity under "hobbies" (or maybe "other") that I would call something like, "advice and support to the online transgender community", basically describe how I've spent a lot of time (I mean, probably hundreds of hours over years) giving advice from both personal experience and research, and emotional support, etc to other trans people online in places like trans-specific reddits, forums, etc. Obviously this is all informal, not from any place of authority or a formal organization or anything.

Is this too weird to define as an "activity"? Not the transgender part, but more the informal-ness of it.

My rationale for including it as a "hobby" is that it really is something that I do a lot in my free time, it's something I'm passionate about and interested in and it holds personal significance for me. Plus it helps others.

So, yea or nay? And would I be completely out of my mind to list it as a most meaningful activity so I could describe it more and its importance to me?

Mentoring is an excellent activity to include on the application. An advantage of using the Hobbies tag is that you don't need to provide a Contact who can attest to your hours of involvement. I'd have no problem with you listing it as Most Meaningful so you have more space for description. Take care not to describe "giving medical advice" even if you have. That wouldn't go over well. But emotional support: Yea!

 

[graden]

Should I bother listing my EMT cert if I never got to use it in an EMT setting? I didn't receive any college credit for it, as it was a course through a volunteer ambulance corps. I did use some skills I learned, like taking vitals, as a MA though.

 

[econwonkMD]

The first one that you'll cite in the narrative box.

Thank you

 

[Catalystik]

Should I bother listing my EMT cert if I never got to use it in an EMT setting? I didn't receive any college credit for it, as it was a course through a volunteer ambulance corps. I did use some skills I learned, like taking vitals, as a MA though.

Mention it in the description of the MA job where it was useful.

 

[graden]

Mention it in the description of the MA job where it was useful.

Sounds good, thank you. One more question: if my job consists of helping doctors and physical therapy, since our office is interconnected with both, does it make more sense to consolidate these experiences under Medical Assistant or separate them and include another entry for Physical Therapy Aide?

 

[camp23]

I worked a construction job in the summers through high school and the summer after my freshman year of college when I was also taking summer classes. I wanted to include this but the company is owned by my dad. I was planning on providing the contact information of his foreman but I don't want it to seem as though I'm hiding the fact that it is my dads company. How should I go about this?

 

[Catalystik]

Sounds good, thank you. One more question: if my job consists of helping doctors and physical therapy, since our office is interconnected with both, does it make more sense to consolidate these experiences under Medical Assistant or separate them and include another entry for Physical Therapy Aide?

A physical therapy aide also interacts with patients in a helpful way, so both roles are a source of clinical experience of value to your application. It's fine to keep them in one space.

 

[Catalystik]

I worked a construction job in the summers through high school and the summer after my freshman year of college when I was also taking summer classes. I wanted to include this but the company is owned by my dad. I was planning on providing the contact information of his foreman but I don't want it to seem as though I'm hiding the fact that it is my dads company. How should I go about this?

Many applicants have worked for a family business, and there's no reason to hide it or to worry about how it will look, though using a more objective Contact than a parent is a good idea.

 

[Lucille95]

I have a question about the 3 most meaningful activities. I know that 3 is the max, it's not required, and you shouldn't add activities just to fill them up if it'll sound like BS. I'd actually already written 3 before I read that advice, so now I'm wondering if I should cut one. It was about my study abroad trip-- enjoyed the intensity of the program so I would enjoy the intensity of medicine, learned a lot of history, learned how to plan and be self-reliant through my independent travel, and made connections with people different than myself. Sounds trite summarized like that, but I don't think the essay itself comes off as too trite. But then again it was only one summer. I'm happy to PM the essay if that helps.

 

[Lucille95]

.

 

[Catalystik]

I have a question about the 3 most meaningful activities. I know that 3 is the max, it's not required, and you shouldn't add activities just to fill them up if it'll sound like BS. I'd actually already written 3 before I read that advice, so now I'm wondering if I should cut one. It was about my study abroad trip-- enjoyed the intensity of the program so I would enjoy the intensity of medicine, learned a lot of history, learned how to plan and be self-reliant through my independent travel, and made connections with people different than myself. Sounds trite summarized like that, but I don't think the essay itself comes off as too trite. But then again it was only one summer. I'm happy to PM the essay if that helps.

Another option is an RA job: I was an RLP RA for a women in leadership residential learning program. Basically built the program from scratch; all I had to go off of from previous years was a 1 page google doc of their "covenant" and no returning residents or RA's, and my boss was not familiar with the program (but supportive). Planned weekly meetings, programs, community service, retreats for 14 members. Plus all the regular RA duties for the rest of the floor. Ties into LGBTQ and social justice, (which I've emphasized elsewhere in my app) because we focused a lot on feminism, gender/sexuality, in our meetings/programs/service, etc.

TBH I don't know why I didn't write about this in the first place... now that I write it out the leadership sounds a lot more easily applicable to medicine than the study abroad.

I agree with using the RLP position as an MM entry. You can still list the Study Abroad activity as an experience, but honed down to the essential important elements.

 

[Catalystik]

If I was hoping to group my shadowing experiences into one group in the Work/Activities section, what information should I put for organization name, start and stop date, and other required fields?

Here's an example of how shadowing can be listed:

Experience Type: Physician Shadowing
Title: Physician Observation
Date span can be inclusive of all the dates you specify later in the narrative
Total Hours: Total hours shadowed for all docs included in the space.
Contact info, organization name (practice name or hospital, etc), and dates: Use the info for the first physician you want to list.

Description:
John Patel, D.O., Family Medicine resident
13 hours in May 2017

Also:
Jill Rosenbloom, M.D., Pediatrician
New York Pediatrics
800-000-0000
20 hours in June 2016

Jane Santos, M.D., General Surgeon
New York Surgical Associates
800-000-0000
13 hours in January and February 2016, during general and bariatric office hours

James Ruzic, M.D., Radiologist
New York Radiology Associates
[email protected]
7 hours in May 2015, during image reading

 

[Lucille95]

Another question (sorry if this is answered elsewhere, I looked through the last few years' threads and didn't see it)
Would the organization for research done at a university just be the university name, like "University of X at Y"?

 

[Catalystik]

Another question (sorry if this is answered elsewhere, I looked through the last few years' threads and didn't see it)
Would the organization for research done at a university just be the university name, like "University of X at Y"?

You could use the name of the university, or the name of the lab (Smith Lab), or the name of the department (Department of Biochemistry).

 

[musgrove0314]

I like to race cars....really fast ones and it's one of the things I do as a stress reliever and hobby..... is this something to include in the EC section?

 

[Catalystik]

I like to race cars....really fast ones and it's one of the things I do as a stress reliever and hobby..... is this something to include in the EC section?

What kind of cars? Pinewood Derby cars, stock cars, lamborghinis?

 

[Ad2b]

So, I'm transgender. I've debated whether to out myself on my applications

Just t/j for a minute to let you know you are not the first on SDN and are not alone. The support for the individuals has been amazing. Best of luck to you in your journey to and through med school!

 

[Neuro244]

You are not obliged to include all the hours that you spent shadowing other professions.

A physical therapist is not a physician, so instead call it Physical Therapy shadowing.

I am calling it Physical Therapist observation, but under Experience type, I chose Physician shadowing/Clinical observation. Wouldnt this be the best description of the type of experience? The only other one that comes close to it is Community service/volunteer-Medical clinical. Should I list it as that? Same goes for shadowing a PA, should I list it as that as well, or as Physician shadowing/clinical observation?

Thanks

 

[Catalystik]

I am calling it Physical Therapist observation, but under Experience type, I chose Physician shadowing/Clinical observation. Wouldnt this be the best description of the type of experience? The only other one that comes close to it is Community service/volunteer-Medical clinical. Should I list it as that? Same goes for shadowing a PA, should I list it as that as well, or as Physician shadowing/clinical observation?

Sorry, I didn't catch that Physician Shadowing/ Clinical Observation was the tag you were using for the space. My bad. And thank you for your patient, more-detailed explanation. You are right that this is where you'd list your Physical Therapist shadowing and the PA shadowing and the Podiatrist shadowing, along with your physician shadowing.

 

[Neuro244]

Sorry, I didn't catch that Physician Shadowing/ Clinical Observation was the tag you were using for the space. My bad. And thank you for your patient, more-detailed explanation. You are right that this is where you'd list your Physical Therapist shadowing and the PA shadowing and the Podiatrist shadowing, along with your physician shadowing.

Okay perfect, so I'll go ahead and clump them into that description. In terms of listing that you shadowed a PA I'm thinking adcoms already know what shadowing entails as I've been told before so is it suffice to say the following for the description or would I need more detail:

I shadowed an orthopedic surgery PA in a single specialty group practice setting.

 

[Catalystik]

Okay perfect, so I'll go ahead and clump them into that description. In terms of listing that you shadowed a PA I'm thinking adcoms already know what shadowing entails as I've been told before so is it suffice to say the following for the description or would I need more detail:

I shadowed an orthopedic surgery PA in an outpatient group practice setting.

That sounds fine.

 

[babykarat]

1) This seems more like Leadership, but you might be able to spin it into a community service so it will fit the category you'd prefer to label it with.

2) If you think of it as a recognition of some sort and can explain why, then Awards is fine.

3) This sounds leadership-y.

4) Some applicants list the experience of preparing a thesis in its own space under the tag "Other." The campus poster could be mentioned there or in the affiliated Research space.

5) A Publication, even from a HS project, deserves its own space under Publications (if it wasn't in a campus journal). You can mention the award in the same space as the citation, as well as anything else you have to say about your role in the research project.

Thank you for the advice! To clarify: for my Publications entry, are you suggesting that I list my poster + poster award alongside my paper? The poster was not peer-reviewed, but much of the data lead to the key experiments in that paper.

 

[Catalystik]

Hello - I need help in creating the experience description. I am unsure if I should describe the experience and what I performed (mechanical style of writing). Or, should I tell what is it and how it changed me and impacted me (add emotions).

It lies outside the scope of this thread to critique individual Activity essays.

As a generalization, describing a project and your role would be typical for a Research entry. You might add some procedures you learned. You could add impact if you have remaining space, but it isn't typically emotional impact that is included. You need not use up characters describing productivity in this space as there are other tags, like Publications and Posters/Presentations where you can give those details (unless they were campus pubs and campus presentations).

Don't use the same formula for every entry. What you need to convey will vary by category.

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you for the advice! To clarify: for my Publications entry, are you suggesting that I list my poster + poster award alongside my paper? The poster was not peer-reviewed, but much of the data lead to the key experiments in that paper.

Yes, that's what I'm suggesting, as they are all related. Cite the paper, then add, "Data from this manuscript was also presented in poster form (which I first-authored) at a campus symposium x/xx/xxxx. It won an award for [whatever].

 

[ApplyingThisCycleBurner]

Will admissions committee members be able to see the organization name when looking at the activity title? I have an acronym in front of an activity (the name of the institution) that doesn't make sense unless you see the organization name too, which I have explained, like

Organization Name: "Concord Hospital for Cats (CHfC)"

Activity Title: "CHfC Conference"

 

[Catalystik]

Will admissions committee members be able to see the organization name when looking at the activity title? I have an acronym in front of an activity (the name of the institution) that doesn't make sense unless you see the organization name too.

Yes. The Organization is easily visible several spaces below the activity title and experience name.

 

[oxcoll18]

Hello,

For one of my prior activities, the supervisor that I worked under has since found a new job. Could I still list her as my contact for that activity with a title of "**** Specialist - Former" or do I need to list someone currently in the organization? The other people in the organization may or may not remember me as it has been a while.

Thanks

 

[Catalystik]

For one of my prior activities, the supervisor that I worked under has since found a new job. Could I still list her as my contact for that activity with a title of "**** Specialist - Former" or do I need to list someone currently in the organization? The other people in the organization may or may not remember me as it has been a while.

Thanks

If you make clear that the Contact has a new position, it's fine to use her, but keep in mind the contact is not meant to give a reference, just a confirmation of timeframe and total hours worked, so you could just as well use the payroll office. If you do use your old supervisor, and it's been awhile since you've connected, you might want to give her a heads-up about a possible communication and what will be asked, as she will not have written records to which she can refer.

 

[babykarat]

I am starting a community service engagement this month, and will continue it through my gap year. I will probably accrue <50 hours, but this will make up the majority of my non-clinical volunteering so far. Should I omit it from my AMCAS primary and just include it as an application update? It is so close to my submission date, so I don't want to give off the box-checker vibe (my other activities are much longer term).

 

[Catalystik]

I am starting a community service engagement this month, and will continue it through my gap year. I will probably accrue <50 hours, but this will make up the majority of my non-clinical volunteering so far. Should I omit it from my AMCAS primary and just include it as an application update? It is so close to my submission date, so I don't want to give off the box-checker vibe (my other activities are much longer term).

As nonmedical community service is important to so many schools, I suggest that you list it on the application with a note at the end of the entry that you intend to continue through the application year for 6 hr/week (or whatever) as a signal of your intentions. Then, take care to mention added hours in each update letter and Secondary you send out.

Sure, last minute box checking doesn't look good, but no nonmedical community service at all is worse.

The box checker vibe is somewhat countered, BTW, if you have clinical volunteering that didn't start recently, and if you give a good reason why you were drawn to the activity.

 

[unluckyadhessiveness]

I worked at a salesman before 18 while in high school and went back to work there during winter breaks during my undergrad years, can I include all of these hours in my AMCAS application? It didn't occur to me before but I figured since I answered "yes" to the have you worked before 18 I may want to include it. Or should I simply include the hours I did over the winter breaks of my undergrad years? Thanks

 

[Catalystik]

I worked at a salesman before 18 while in high school and went back to work there during winter breaks during my undergrad years, can I include all of these hours in my AMCAS application? It didn't occur to me before but I figured since I answered "yes" to the have you worked before 18 I may want to include it. Or should I simply include the hours I did over the winter breaks of my undergrad years? Thanks

Since the work position continued into the college years, you're fine to include the HS hours, as well. That kind of employment longevity at such a young age is plus for your application.

 

[cookiez]

1. Do I need phone numbers of every physician I shadowed if I list them in the description and not the main form field? On AMCAS the phone # field is required for our contact, but per the handbook: "You are required to provide a phone number and/or email address for the contact person. If a contact is not known, you may enter the name of a person who can verify your participation, including yourself." Just want to make sure since the AMCAS app suggests otherwise.
2. I had a similar question as another person who asked how to format a job promotion in the activity title. You suggested "job1 -> promoted to job2." Unfortunately my job2 title is way too long so I can't keep it under the character limit. For reference, I went from Student Assistant -> Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator. Do you think I could just list the promoted job title and/or could I abbreviate job2 to Assistant CRC?

 

[Catalystik]

1. Do I need phone numbers of every physician I shadowed if I list them in the description and not the main form field? On AMCAS the phone # field is required for our contact, but per the handbook: "You are required to provide a phone number and/or email address for the contact person. If a contact is not known, you may enter the name of a person who can verify your participation, including yourself." Just want to make sure since the AMCAS app suggests otherwise.
2. I had a similar question as another person who asked how to format a job promotion in the activity title. You suggested "job1 -> promoted to job2." Unfortunately my job2 title is way too long so I can't keep it under the character limit. For reference, I went from Student Assistant -> Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator. Do you think I could just list the promoted job title and/or could I abbreviate job2 to Assistant CRC?

1) The AMCAS app says "(Providing an email address or a phone for your contact is required)" immediately above the Contact's Phone and Email Address blanks. While both blanks have a red asterisk implying they are both required, only one need be entered. You will be able to Save the entry and move to another. If both were required, you would not be allowed to save the entry.

Ideally, you will have Contact information for each doc you shadowed and would include them in the narrative space description for all but the first listed, which is in the header. See example in Post 2, item #10.

2) It's OK to truncate your true title so it fits, but not to use abbreviations that won't be understood. Eg, "Lab Assistant, then Asst Research Coordinator." As you get about 63 characters, you can fit in more than these bare bones.

 

[babykarat]

I am applying MD/PhD and had a high-school research position that continued up to starting college. I would like to list this in work/activities, but understand that high school activities are seen as irrelevant. Thus, I was planning on splitting the total hours into pre- and post-graduation date ranges. Does that make sense? For the total research experience hours question before my "Significant Research Experience" essay, should I include all hours from this high-school lab, or just the post-graduation hours?

 

[tiny turtle]

Hi I have two questions!!

1. Is being on a special committee (ex: a fundraising committee) within a larger student organization considered leadership? And what if there's a special head of the committee, but you're just a regular member of the committee?

2. I have committee memberships that I honestly don't have anything meaningful to say about other than I helped out with like 1-2 small events and attended committee meetings. Are things like that worth including? I was conflicted because on one hand it's consistent with the overall picture of my app (it's very leadership-heavy) and shows a leadership trend but on the other hand, if prompted about it on an interview, I wouldn't have anything particularly interesting to say. Also the description in the activities section would sound pretty bland.

 

[tiny turtle]

Oh also!! Is it proper etiquette to ask someone before listing them as a contact for an activity or can I just go ahead and do it? Sorry if that's a dumb question

 

[Catalystik]

1) I am applying MD/PhD and had a high-school research position that continued up to starting college. I would like to list this in work/activities, but understand that high school activities are seen as irrelevant. Thus, I was planning on splitting the total hours into pre- and post-graduation date ranges. Does that make sense?

2) For the total research experience hours question before my "Significant Research Experience" essay, should I include all hours from this high-school lab, or just the post-graduation hours?

1) This particular HS research activity is relevant because it continued into the college years, ie, after HS graduation, and helps to demonstrate the trajectory of your research involvement over the years. You can list all the hours. If you want to split them into two time ranges using the Repeated feature, that's fine too.

2) Sorry, I don't review the PhD portion of applications, so I don't know what's usual and customary when an applicant got a particularly early start.

 

[Catalystik]

1. Is being on a special committee (ex: a fundraising committee) within a larger student organization considered leadership? And what if there's a special head of the committee, but you're just a regular member of the committee?

2. I have committee memberships that I honestly don't have anything meaningful to say about other than I helped out with like 1-2 small events and attended committee meetings. Are things like that worth including? I was conflicted because on one hand it's consistent with the overall picture of my app (it's very leadership-heavy) and shows a leadership trend but on the other hand, if prompted about it on an interview, I wouldn't have anything particularly interesting to say. Also the description in the activities section would sound pretty bland.

1) I would not consider it leadership unless you are chair or have a subcommittee that you oversee, manage, and for which you take responsibility for results.

2) It's OK to leave them out, especially as you have far stronger demonstrations of leadership capability.

 

[Catalystik]

Is it proper etiquette to ask someone before listing them as a contact for an activity or can I just go ahead and do it?

It depends. If it's someone with access to written records, like a volunteer office coordinator or employment office, then there's no need. If it's the president of a club you belonged to or a co-tutor with whom you worked, then yes.

 

[Catalystik]

I have about 10 to 15 poems and articles, many related to Health published in online magazines. can I show them as publications in AMCAS activities?

The Publications tab is where adcomms will go to look for peer-reviewed scientific publications. Perhaps you might consider instead using the Artistic Endeavors designation to showcase your writing talent, or alternatively to use that tab for the poetry and maybe Teaching for health-related articles (if educating the public is your purpose).

I was also a Poetry Editor for my school's journal. Is this included as Leadership Position?

It depends. Did you have staff for whom you were responsible and to whom you delegated tasks? Then yes. If you did all the work yourself, then no. If you did something else that you consider leadership-y, then tell me about it.

I was interviewed for this position. I along with other team member made decisions on inclusion and exclusion of the poems received from the students. Where should I include this activity if not for Leadership?

Alternatives to Leadership-Not Listed Elsewhere: You might list it under Extracurricular or include it in the same space where you mention your own poetry (which would highlight that you rose from contributing Poet to One with Authority/Decision-Maker), unless it was Employment.