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

[suncookies]

Hi all,

Apologies if similar questions have already been asked.

I am working on my work/activities section, and I'm having a bit of trouble deciding where to place things. Some are clearly clinical (hospice volunteering, ED volunteering) and others clearly non-clinical (literacy tutoring at a summer program), but there are a few other experiences I'm more unclear about. I worked as a patient advocate at a community health center and essentially used a screening tool given to patients during their appointment to identify people with unmet needs and connect them to resources based on their needs (ex: diaper banks, housing assistance agencies, summer camps..etc). I only have about 40 hrs of clear cut non-clinical volunteering, so would it be okay to classify these patient advocacy hours as non-clinical? I was mostly interacting with the cases through phone or email and wasn't directly working with them during their appointments.

Also, during college I spent a year as a health coordinator intern at a public charter high school for teens who are marginally housed/homeless. I developed resources for the health advocates to use by compiling information about primary care clinics in the area and helped run different types of health fairs among other things. It wasn't exactly volunteer work because I did receive a small stipend (I think it was $700 for the year), but I wouldn't go as far to say it was paid work experience either. Should I place this under other?

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[Catalystik]

I am working on my work/activities section, and I'm having a bit of trouble deciding where to place things. Some are clearly clinical (hospice volunteering, ED volunteering) and others clearly non-clinical (literacy tutoring at a summer program), but there are a few other experiences I'm more unclear about.

1) I worked as a patient advocate at a community health center and essentially used a screening tool given to patients during their appointment to identify people with unmet needs and connect them to resources based on their needs (ex: diaper banks, housing assistance agencies, summer camps..etc). I only have about 40 hrs of clear cut non-clinical volunteering, so would it be okay to classify these patient advocacy hours as non-clinical? I was mostly interacting with the cases through phone or email and wasn't directly working with them during their appointments.

2) Also, during college I spent a year as a health coordinator intern at a public charter high school for teens who are marginally housed/homeless. I developed resources for the health advocates to use by compiling information about primary care clinics in the area and helped run different types of health fairs among other things. It wasn't exactly volunteer work because I did receive a small stipend (I think it was $700 for the year), but I wouldn't go as far to say it was paid work experience either. Should I place this under other?

1) The activity does not pass the LizzyM test of "If you can smell patients, it's a clinical experience" since you interacted with folks through a tech interface, so I think you're fine to classify it as non-clinical. I could probably have spun it the other way if you really needed clinical hours as crisis hotlines and phone interactions with current patients are commonly considered "clinical," too, though fall outside the definition.

2) Internships are generally listed under the "Other" category as they tend to have multiple components and are not-uncommonly stipended. So that's a good tag for this activity.

 

[Friendship11]

1) Folks at the front desk often have face-to-face interaction with patients (giving directions, answering phones, responding to questions, etc) which is all "clinical". Didn't you do any of that, or maybe you were in a back room doing paperwork? Or do you "need" more nonclinical hours, and would prefer to split them up?

2) Add the word "community" (to differentiate it from "campus").

Hi @Catalystik

1) I did interact with patients and their families, typically walking them to Radiology, mammography, or the outpatient lab, answered phones etc. I was under the impression this wasn't considered "clinical" as compared to working in the ED. I have many more nonclinical hours than clinical so if I can count the time at the desk as clinical it would be great for my app.

2) That sounds great. Thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

Hi @Catalystik1) I did interact with patients and their families, typically walking them to Radiology, mammography, or the outpatient lab, answered phones etc. I was under the impression this wasn't considered "clinical" as compared to working in the ED. I have many more nonclinical hours than clinical so if I can count the time at the desk as clinical it would be great for my app.

2) That sounds great. Thank you!

It is clinical. Describe the roles in both departments in your entry.

 

[trashacct01]

Hi @Catalystik , I have a few questions, if you don't mind:

1. I founded and managed a few small businesses from around 2000- 2010. I’m not involved in them anymore and they no longer operate. It was a great experience with positive attributes that shaped my life but also had components that shifted me away from it and towards medicine. I was going to list all three under ‘Leadership’ and designate it as one of my MM. What are your thoughts on this?

2. Should I list every job I’ve had since graduating high school (this would be a long list and excluding the business activities mentioned above)? Or just the job I’ve had through undergrad, of which I’ve just graduated?

3. I’m planning to use a bullet point format for the 700 character box for every category and a paragraph format for the 1300 character portion of my three MM. Thoughts?

4. I informally volunteered tutoring services for my fellow classmates in the sciences but I was not associated with an official tutoring organization through school or elsewhere. Should I list this? If so, where does it best fit?

 

[Catalystik]

Hi @Catalystik , I have a few questions, if you don't mind:

1. I founded and managed a few small businesses from around 2000- 2010. I’m not involved in them anymore and they no longer operate. It was a great experience with positive attributes that shaped my life but also had components that shifted me away from it and towards medicine. I was going to list all three under ‘Leadership’ and designate it as one of my MM. What are your thoughts on this?

2. Should I list every job I’ve had since graduating high school (this would be a long list and excluding the business activities mentioned above)? Or just the job I’ve had through undergrad, of which I’ve just graduated?

3. I’m planning to use a bullet point format for the 700 character box for every category and a paragraph format for the 1300 character portion of my three MM. Thoughts?

4. I informally volunteered tutoring services for my fellow classmates in the sciences but I was not associated with an official tutoring organization through school or elsewhere. Should I list this? If so, where does it best fit?

1) That sounds fine.

2) You can be selective and focus on more recent activities. Many in your position would have one space dedicated to Collegiate Activities and summarize jobs and extracurriculars to fit in the space, using themselves as the required Contact.

3) Mixing and matching styles is fine.

4) You may list it under Teaching, Volunteering, Extracurricular, or Hobbies (the latter needs no Contact). For the first three options, you could use a tutee as Contact if you don't have a faculty person or advisor with credentials aware of the activity and willing to verify it.

 

[trashacct01]

1) That sounds fine.

2) You can be selective and focus on more recent activities. Many in your position would have one space dedicated to Collegiate Activities and summarize jobs and extracurriculars to fit in the space, using themselves as the required Contact.

3) Mixing and matching styles is fine.

4) You may list it under Teaching, Volunteering, Extracurricular, or Hobbies (the latter needs no Contact). For the first three options, you could use a tutee as Contact if you don't have a faculty person or advisor with credentials aware of the activity and willing to verify it.

Thank you! I'm sure I speak for all when I say, we appreciate the time you invest into helping us.

 

[FatherTime-PhD]

For MME activties, I know we're supposed to highlight some of the impact and growth that we experienced. But should we not be highlighting the same ones across different activities? For example, if one one MME I stated I learned the importance of teamwork, is it a bad idea to reiterate that in a different MME?

 

[Catalystik]

For MME activties, I know we're supposed to highlight some of the impact and growth that we experienced. But should we not be highlighting the same ones across different activities? For example, if one one MME I stated I learned the importance of teamwork, is it a bad idea to reiterate that in a different MME?

I won't say it's a bad idea, especially if you can get at it from a different angle, but diversification is probably better for your application.

 

[YungZ1]

First off, thanks for providing this resource. I have two questions regarding activity categorization:

1. I work as an operations improvement analyst for a healthcare provider organization. I spend ~20% of my job actually observing workflows in clinics and the remainder is spent modeling EHR and administrative data to guide quality improvement initiatives with clinicians and administrative staff. Would it be misleading to categorize this as "Clinical/Medical" if the majority of my time is spent analyzing clinical data outside of an actual clinical setting?

2. As part of a masters program, I completed two separate projects where I worked as an intern for a healthcare system. I wasn't paid for these positions, but received credit towards my degree. Should I categorize these as paid employment or would "Other" be more appropriate?

 

[Catalystik]

First off, thanks for providing this resource. I have two questions regarding activity categorization:

1. I work as an operations improvement analyst for a healthcare provider organization. I spend ~20% of my job actually observing workflows in clinics and the remainder is spent modeling EHR and administrative data to guide quality improvement initiatives with clinicians and administrative staff. Would it be misleading to categorize this as "Clinical/Medical" if the majority of my time is spent analyzing clinical data outside of an actual clinical setting?

2. As part of a masters program, I completed two separate projects where I worked as an intern for a healthcare system. I wasn't paid for these positions, but received credit towards my degree. Should I categorize these as paid employment or would "Other" be more appropriate?

1) It would be misleading to call it clinical, because you had no patient interaction. That you spent time in a clinical facility wouldn't be a reason to call it clinical for AMCAS-related purposes.

2) "Other" would be best. It's where most Internships belong.

 

[Peter Pan.]

In my leadership positions I also did a lot of nonclinical volunteering. Do I need to make 2 entries? One for leadership and one for volunteering? Or talk about both in one? I want it for leadership but also want to put down my volunteering hours.

 

[mishyfishy333]

Hello! I just had a few questions.

1. I started out volunteering at a food/clothing pantry that offers other services. About 2 months into my volunteering there, I was asked to help out with the children's reading/math tutoring program. Is it logical to separate these 2 activities since they're completely unrelated from one another, or should I consider them as one activity since they're under the same pantry?

2. For clinical volunteering with leadership involvement (specifically, I was/am acting as a training coordinator for my CCE program), is it better to separate the 2 activities since they're kind of different (one is clinical volunteering and the other is training/teaching) or should I keep them together as 1 activity and just explain each one?

3. Is it bad to have an activity marked as "meaningful" if it isn't in your personal statement? I'm considering marking the reading/math tutoring activity from my first point as one of my three meaningful experiences, but I didn't put it into my PS as it wasn't one of the deciding factors of why I chose MD and it didn't fit with the way I was writing my PS (although I can certainly relate it to why I want to continue with medicine).

4. In relation to my third question, would it be considered strange if none of my MMEs were talked about in my PS, or is that considered normal?

 

[Catalystik]

In my leadership positions I also did a lot of nonclinical volunteering. Do I need to make 2 entries? One for leadership and one for volunteering? Or talk about both in one? I want it for leadership but also want to put down my volunteering hours.

If you want a Leadership-Not Listed Elsewhere entry, it should not include the dates or hours of the affiliated volunteering. Either split it into two spaces, each with its own dates and Total Hours, or mention the leadership in the same space with the Community Service listing, adding the leadership position to the title of the space so it won't be missed.

 

[Catalystik]

1. I started out volunteering at a food/clothing pantry that offers other services. About 2 months into my volunteering there, I was asked to help out with the children's reading/math tutoring program. Is it logical to separate these 2 activities since they're completely unrelated from one another, or should I consider them as one activity since they're under the same pantry?

2. For clinical volunteering with leadership involvement (specifically, I was/am acting as a training coordinator for my CCE program), is it better to separate the 2 activities since they're kind of different (one is clinical volunteering and the other is training/teaching) or should I keep them together as 1 activity and just explain each one?

3. Is it bad to have an activity marked as "meaningful" if it isn't in your personal statement? I'm considering marking the reading/math tutoring activity from my first point as one of my three meaningful experiences, but I didn't put it into my PS as it wasn't one of the deciding factors of why I chose MD and it didn't fit with the way I was writing my PS (although I can certainly relate it to why I want to continue with medicine).

4. In relation to my third question, would it be considered strange if none of my MMEs were talked about in my PS, or is that considered normal?

1) If you have the spaces and the hours for each are strong enough to stand on their own, then you may use two spaces, but since the categy, Organization, and Contact are likely to be the same, you can just as easily use one space for both. Your choice. Either is fine.

2) If you want a Leadership-Not Listed Elsewhere entry, it should not include the dates or hours of the affiliated volunteering. Either split it into two spaces, each with its own dates and Total Hours, or mention the leadership in the same space with the Community Service listing, adding the leadership position to the title of the space so it won't be missed. I'd be more likely to split this one apart, if you have the space and the hours for each component are not skimpy.

3) MM designated activities need have nothing to do with your pathway to medicine. They just need to have been impactful to you.

4) It's acceptable. I'd say generally, at least one MM is touched on in the PS.

 

[Catalystik]

So I am applying this cycle and I have a once a week volunteer position (since this past year) mentoring students that I will list on my AMCAS and am submitting an LOR for. My issue is that this activity appears on my transcript for 1 credit each semester because the program coordinator couldn't otherwise file to give me school page admin access for the program (she is writing me an LOR stating that I am a volunteer). But since adcoms will see that credit on my transcript, will they think I'm trying to unethically classify a credit course as volunteer work? I put in a lot of time, but I'm worried how they'll view this..

You're fine to list this as an AMCAS activity, even though you got class credit for it. Mentoring is a form of Teaching, so you might consider adding it under that tag, rather than Volunteer, or Leadership (which implies peer leadership, BTW). If you are short on nonmedical volunteering, you could use a Volunteer tag instead, but mentioning the class credit in the narrative would maintain transparency. You did choose to take the class, after all.

 

[Catalystik]

I have a publication in a high impact journal that is currently "In-Press". It has been accepted and will be published within the next several weeks. I have this has as one of my activities in AMCAS right now as well and was wondering if it is ok to keep it there?

You can list this under a Publications tab, adding to the citation [in press] with an indication of roughly when it's meant to appear publicly, if you don't know enough to add it to the citation.

 

[Skeletorr]

I have a decent amount of non-clinical work experience (3000+hrs) across 3 jobs. If I don't have enough space to fit them all in one slot, is it ok to separate them?

2 of the jobs are blue collar factory jobs, and one is a sales consultant job. I was thinking of grouping the first 2, and separating the sales consultant job.

What would you recommend I put for the experience names? I was thinking just "work experience" for the first 2, and "sales consultant" for the 3rd. Thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

1) I have a decent amount of non-clinical work experience (3000+hrs) across 3 jobs. If I don't have enough space to fit them all in one slot, is it ok to separate them?

2 of the jobs are blue collar factory jobs, and one is a sales consultant job. I was thinking of grouping the first 2, and separating the sales consultant job.

2) What would you recommend I put for the experience names? I was thinking just "work experience" for the first 2, and "sales consultant" for the 3rd.

1) Yes.

2) Factory Worker and Sales Consultant? I think it would be good to highlight the blue collar job experience in the title.

 

[scorpion2020]

Hi, I have a couple of questions

1. I did some general background research on a case report for a physician. He asked me to look for case reports that were similar to the case and to give a summary of each and send it to him. The plan was to publish this case report and I did my part but the physician never got around to proceeding due to personal issues. How can I name this activity and would under "research/lab" be appropriate?

2. I participated on Light the Night(two years) and Relay for Life to raise money for cancer research. We came up with different fundraisers for each event. How can I name this activity and under what label? Also, how do I count the hours for this? I hear some people say that for awards and events its okay to put 0 hours?

3. When adding awards I want to group phi beta kappa with deans list and magna cum laude. Should I put all of the awards names on the title or would "phi beta kappa member" be enough?

4. I presented a poster at a campus conference. My lab was relatively small and it was only a medical student and me besides the PI. We both presented and won awards. For his poster there was some data that I gathered on my own and my name is also on the poster. should I write bout this on my poster presentation slot?

 

[rexcouver11]

Hey I have a couple questions!

1. I did research in a lab for almost two years and had one poster presentation. I only presented it at a symposium at my school. Is it worth having a separate section for the poster presentation or should I just say I presented a poster in the research/lab section?

2. I am starting my job as a medical scribe on June 4. Should I put that in my application?

3. I was president of the community service fraternity at my school. I was planning on splitting it into two activities, one for leadership and one for non-medical community service. Is this a good idea? And I was conflicted on which of the two I should list as most meaningful. I was leaning toward leadership because I would be able to talk about some aspects of community service with that and relate it to my personal statement well.

 

[Catalystik]

1. I did some general background research on a case report for a physician. He asked me to look for case reports that were similar to the case and to give a summary of each and send it to him. The plan was to publish this case report and I did my part but the physician never got around to proceeding due to personal issues. How can I name this activity and would under "research/lab" be appropriate?

2. I participated on Light the Night(two years) and Relay for Life to raise money for cancer research. We came up with different fundraisers for each event. How can I name this activity and under what label? Also, how do I count the hours for this? I hear some people say that for awards and events its okay to put 0 hours?

3. When adding awards I want to group phi beta kappa with deans list and magna cum laude. Should I put all of the awards names on the title or would "phi beta kappa member" be enough?

4. I presented a poster at a campus conference. My lab was relatively small and it was only a medical student and me besides the PI. We both presented and won awards. For his poster there was some data that I gathered on my own and my name is also on the poster. should I write bout this on my poster presentation slot?

1) This is not the type of research that is intended to go under the Research tab (which is meant for original, scholarly research using the scientific method to investigate a hypothesis). If you want to discuss the project because you feel it would add appeal to your application, use the Other tab. You could call it "Investigation into [disease name or condition]". Or "Literature Search on [disease name or condition]".

2) If you planned it, the activity is worth entering. If you participated as an event goer, it's not. If the former, it could be Leadership, or Extracurricular, or Volunteer, depending on your role. You might name it "Philanthropic Activities." How many hours do you estimate you helped plan these events? Do you have a Contact to attest to them?

3) Call it "Collegiate Recognitions." Start with Phi Beta Kappa. Only list Magna Cum Laude if you've already graduated with those honors, not if you anticipate them.

4) A campus poster is not peer-reviewed. Often anyone applying gets accepted, or the presentation is required. It is generally best to mention it in the same space as the affiliated Research. Mention the award there, too. It sounds like you were on author on two posters?

 

[Catalystik]

1. I did research in a lab for almost two years and had one poster presentation. I only presented it at a symposium at my school. Is it worth having a separate section for the poster presentation or should I just say I presented a poster in the research/lab section?

2. I am starting my job as a medical scribe on June 4. Should I put that in my application?

3a. I was president of the community service fraternity at my school. I was planning on splitting it into two activities, one for leadership and one for non-medical community service. Is this a good idea?

3b. And I was conflicted on which of the two I should list as most meaningful. I was leaning toward leadership because I would be able to talk about some aspects of community service with that and relate it to my personal statement well.

1) Mention it in the affiliated Research space.

2) Are you willing to wait until you start to submit your application? If you already have plenty of clinical experience, you might consider saving it for Secondaries.

3a) Yes.
3b) That works fine.

 

[Catalystik]

I'm a freelance photographer, I do event and portrait photography and my picture was featured many times in my university's magazine. Should I list this under artistic endeavor or hobby?

Since you're reaching a wider audience, and might even have gotten paid, I'd suggest that Artistic Endeavor is the more accurate choice. Of course, you'll need a Contact for that option, whereas for Hobbies you don't. Some decide based on that factor.

 

[rexcouver11]

1) Mention it in the affiliated Research space.

2) Are you willing to wait until you start to submit your application? If you already have plenty of clinical experience, you might consider saving it for Secondaries.

3a) Yes.
3b) That works fine.

Thank you!

When you say save it for secondaries, do you mean as an update or as something I can discuss in my secondaries?

 

[Catalystik]

When you say save it for secondaries, do you mean as an update or as something I can discuss in my secondaries?

Many Secondary applications have prompts that would be suitable for mentioning this new gig. By the time you receive a Secondary invitation, you'd have a better idea about your job description and role and could provide a more meaty description. For schools that don't ask, update letters are another viable venue for making sure schools know about new (and continuing) relevant activities.

 

[scorpion2020]

1) This is not the type of research that is intended to go under the Research tab (which is meant for original, scholarly research using the scientific method to investigate a hypothesis). If you want to discuss the project because you feel it would add appeal to your application, use the Other tab. You could call it "Investigation into [disease name or condition]". Or "Literature Search on [disease name or condition]".

2) If you planned it, the activity is worth entering. If you participated as an event goer, it's not. If the former, it could be Leadership, or Extracurricular, or Volunteer, depending on your role. You might name it "Philanthropic Activities." How many hours do you estimate you helped plan these events? Do you have a Contact to attest to them?

3) Call it "Collegiate Recognitions." Start with Phi Beta Kappa. Only list Magna Cum Laude if you've already graduated with those honors, not if you anticipate them.

4) A campus poster is not peer-reviewed. Often anyone applying gets accepted, or the presentation is required. It is generally best to mention it in the same space as the affiliated Research. Mention the award there, too. It sounds like you were on author on two posters?

Thank you so much!

For light the night I was a just a participant. However for relay for life, it was done through an organization that I was president of. Our event planner and I did most of the planning and execution. Should I list this with my club president slot? I am afraid that I will not have enough space to write about my duties as president as well as fit in relay for life in the same slot.

Also, since I was the president I can only list my club advisor as a contact for my hours but she had no involvement whatsoever and did not keep track of hours. As a matter of fact, this is also the case for my club presidency hours.

Edit:
It turns out that our poster was peer reviewed according to my PI. Perhaps I have the wrong understanding of a campus poster. Yes, I was author on both posters.

 

[Catalystik]

For light the night I was a just a participant. However for relay for life, it was done through an organization that I was president of. Our event planner and I did most of the planning and execution.
1) Should I list this with my club president slot? I am afraid that I will not have enough space to write about my duties as president as well as fit in relay for life in the same slot.

2) Also, since I was the president I can only list my club advisor as a contact for my hours but she had no involvement whatsoever and did not keep track of hours. As a matter of fact, this is also the case for my club presidency hours.

3) Edit:
It turns out that our poster was peer reviewed according to my PI. Perhaps I have the wrong understanding of a campus poster. Yes, I was author on both posters.

1) Yes, you'll have to practice writing succinctly.

2) List the event planner, or list yourself (obviously, not ideal).

3) Why did you submit a poster? Can you find out what percent of the posters submitted were chosen for inclusion in the Poster Day events? You'll need to be convincing that the process was selective. And maybe find out what was meant by peer-reviewed.

 

[Valtun]

I apologize if this has been asked before, but who are we supposed to list as our contact (and subsequently, their title and contact info) for things such as honors/awards and hobbies?

 

[Catalystik]

I apologize if this has been asked before, but who are we supposed to list as our contact (and subsequently, their title and contact info) for things such as honors/awards and hobbies?

For Awards/Honors, use the Registrar of your college. Hobbies don't require a Contact.

 

[deleted688779]

I did non-clinical volunteering (I think?) with the same org I did clinical volunteering, this is part of the deal to be part of the clinic. Usually it involved calling patients about their vaccinations, screenings, or info related to something that applies to them. I’ve accumulated about 50 hours.

There were also specialty shadowing days apart from the usual volunteer days. I already have a shadowing section entered.

How would I go about listing these activities within a larger activity (if they’re even worth listing)? If it matters, the clinical experience is a most meaningful.

 

[Catalystik]

I did non-clinical volunteering (I think?) with the same org I did clinical volunteering, this is part of the deal to be part of the clinic. Usually it involved calling patients about their vaccinations, screenings, or info related to something that applies to them. I’ve accumulated about 50 hours.

There were also specialty shadowing days apart from the usual volunteer days. I already have a shadowing section entered.

How would I go about listing these activities within a larger activity (if they’re even worth listing)? If it matters, the clinical experience is a most meaningful.

You were talking to patients on the phone about clinical concerns related to their patient status. I'd call it clinical (even though you couldn't "smell" them per the LizzyM definition). So add those 50 hours to your clinical volunteering entry and add the described role to your list.

Be sure not to double count the hours you extracted as "Shadowing" time.

 

[Catalystik]

I had a question about this organization I am part of. I don't know if I should include this in my medical school application or not. In this organization, we basically learn about the legislative process by attending conferences in various places. We also help certain candidates get elected by urging people to vote for them and the organization's overall goal is to increase civic engagement so we could become tomorrow's leaders.
I have gotten around 75 hours by being a part of this organization and i dont know if i should include it.
What do you guys think?

If the purpose is to give you experiences that will help you become a leader, how have you demonstrated leadership qualities in other ways? I'd be more interested in seeing the leadership roles you've taken on outside of this politically-related group now that you've had the requisite exposure, eg, are you involved in patient or human rights advocacy in some way? That's not to say you can't list it, but it would be like getting certified in CPR and then never using the skills learned in a job or volunteer position. JMO.

When could advocacy be considered an example of leadership: If one was just showing up for rallies, then it is NOT. Did you organize a rally? Did you lead a committee? Did you marshal a group of patients with [specific disease] to meet with legislators, create a strategy and implement it? What did you do to effect change? How would you describe your role? I'm just making a point that your description needs to support leadership-y actions if you pick that tag.

 

[Catalystik]

I am applying to MD/PhD programs through AMCAS this cycle.

For MD/PhD programs, AMCAS requires you to list the # of significant research hours you've done. However, when I performed research at my current university, I did not regularly log my hours, as my projects were task-oriented (e.g., my PI would tell me "get this done by this week", etc). In turn, the # of hours I volunteered each week was highly variable. How am I supposed to calculate my total research hours in this case? Would it hurt my app if I estimated based on how much I remembered working?

1) Give your best good-faith estimate that your Contact (the PI) will agree with.

 

[lolhelp]

Is it frowned upon or just weird to put being a nanny in this section? I basically worked full-time in this position and was taking a summer class at the same time. I don't want adcoms thinking I just sat around for an entire summer not working. If I do list it, should I just put the contact title as "Children's Mother"?

 

[Catalystik]

Is it frowned upon or just weird to put being a nanny in this section? I basically worked full-time in this position and was taking a summer class at the same time. I don't want adcoms thinking I just sat around for an entire summer not working. If I do list it, should I just put the contact title as "Children's Mother"?

Definitely add Nanny under Employment. It's not weird. Contact could be "Employer."

 

[FutureSurgical]

So I have been working for over 1.5 years at a research institution and I'm making it one of my most meaningful experiences. How should I approach it? I wanted to originally put, in 700 characters, a bit of what I do. However, because I do so much which varies from week to week; how can I succinctly put everything I do? I generalize the assays and other things. But I feel like I can't paint a true picture in such little space.

 

[Catalystik]

So I have been working for over 1.5 years at a research institution and I'm making it one of my most meaningful experiences. How should I approach it? I wanted to originally put, in 700 characters, a bit of what I do. However, because I do so much which varies from week to week; how can I succinctly put everything I do? I generalize the assays and other things. But I feel like I can't paint a true picture in such little space.

You have an extra 1325 characters to work with when you designate an activity Most Meaningful. If some of your description & role spills over into the second space, you won't be the first one to use it that way, before you enter the impact, personal growth, future endeavors, etc., and any illustrative anecdotes. But you may still need to use generalizations and not include EVERY technique you've learned. Just be careful to have a paragraph break at 700 characters, so it will look like one essay. Check that it worked out right without cutting off the last sentences by selecting Print Application from the Main Menu, so you can see it the way adcomms will.

 

[Catalystik]

How would I classify hours for a volunteer position I've had since my freshman year of high school? Do I count the hours I did in high school? The time-frames I participated in it were as follows:

February 2012 - August 2015, Hours: 300 (250 hours in HS, 50 hours in the summer before college)
June 2016 - August 2016, Hours: 50
June 2017 - August 2017, Hours: 50
May 2018 - August 2018, Hours: 50
May 2019 - August 2019, Hours: 50

Since you can only have four repeating time-frames, I don't know whether to include the 2012-2015 time frame or the 2019 time frame to indicate I'm still doing it? If I chose to include the 2015 time-frame, would I include the hours throughout high school or just the 50 hours I completed in the summer before going off to college?

Add the word "Summer" to the title of the volunteer activity. Then using the Repeated feature, split it into 1) HS dates up until HS graduation with its Total Hours and 2) College dates starting after HS graduation and its Total Hours. As you plan to add additional hours this coming summer, you may either add a third timeframe with those dates and hours vs stating your intentions in the narrative.

All the timeframes with appear in the header of the Activity space stacked atop each other.

 

[lolhelp]

Me again. Being paranoid, again. I'm discussing a clinical volunteering activity and included a simple explanation of a certain patient and their symptoms. I said the patient was a woman, her past occupation (nondescript), one of her symptoms and the fact that she had a surgery (it literally just says, "the surgery"). Is this too much PPI?

 

[Catalystik]

I'm discussing a clinical volunteering activity and included a simple explanation of a certain patient and their symptoms. I said the patient was a woman, her past occupation (nondescript), one of her symptoms and the fact that she had a surgery (it literally just says, "the surgery"). Is this too much PPI?

It looks sufficiently innocuous, unless the cited "symptom" is bizarre and rare..

 

[deleted976595]

If the purpose is to give you experiences that will help you become a leader, how have you demonstrated leadership qualities in other ways? I'd be more interested in seeing the leadership roles you've taken on outside of this politically-related group now that you've had the requisite exposure, eg, are you involved in patient or human rights advocacy in some way? That's not to say you can't list it, but it would be like getting certified in CPR and then never using the skills learned in a job or volunteer position. JMO.

So would you consider advocacy leadership? I don't have a dedicated leadership slot but one of my nonclinical volunteer activities involves going to capital hill w/ a healthcare nonprofit nonprofit focused on a specific disease to advocate for legislation benefiting these patients. I'd still have decent hours of nonclinical volunteering if I switched the tag.

 

[Catalystik]

So would you consider advocacy leadership? I don't have a dedicated leadership slot but one of my nonclinical volunteer activities involves going to capital hill w/ a healthcare nonprofit nonprofit focused on a specific disease to advocate for legislation benefiting these patients. I'd still have decent hours of nonclinical volunteering if I switched the tag.

If one was just showing up for rallies, then No. Did you organize a rally? Did you lead a committee? Did you marshal a group of patients with [specific disease] to meet with legislators, create a strategy and implement it? What did you do to effect change? How would you describe your role? You don't have to answer these questions here, I'm just making a point that your description needs to support leadership-y actions if you pick that tag.

 

[Catalystik]

Question about leadership slots

I'm struggling to come up with a leadership role that is unrelated to an activity in another slot... For example, every summer I hire interns and then mentor/train them in my department, but this is a part of my full time job. I coordinated volunteers/led groups to a certain site, but this is included as part of the community service activity. Am I supposed to split out the leadership aspect, even if it was found in other roles?

If you want to have a dedicated Leadership-Not Listed Elsewhere activity, it can be carved out of another experience and listed with it's own dates and Total Hours, provided you subtract those hours from the other space so they aren't double counted, and provided the hours of each of the two spaces are strong enough to stand on their own.

You don't necessarily need to have a dedicated Leadership space. You can emphasize the leadership component of another inclusive activity by adding the leadership role to the Name you give the space.

 

[GeorgeRRMartin]

I have a question about whether to list an activity as teaching or leadership.

My clinical research study on-boards two undergraduates each semester, and it is my job to teach them how to perform a number of the our study's tests (EEGs, etc) and also teach them to use MATLAB for data analysis, write MATLAB scripts coding EEG stimuli, etc. This all seems to fall under the "teaching/mentorship" category.

However, I also lead monthly journal meetings, present updates on our team's progress at weekly lab meetings, and coordinate the undergraduates' schedules with the study schedule.

The job title I've been given for this role is "undergraduate researcher supervisor", which steers me towards listing this as "leadership".

Is this up to my own discretion?


One final question: I am looking to gain more clinical experience in the coming year. I have applied for a job as a surgical instrument technician, but don't know if this would really be seen as "clinical experience", since my interaction with patients would be limited (considering they are anesthetized for 99% of the time I would be at my job.) Any opinions on this?

Thanks!

 

[drdreyman]

Sorry if this has already been asked!
I'm applying MD/PhD, and the application states "If your research resulted in a publication on which you were an author, please provide full citations for publications in the Work/Activities section of your application."
I have multiple publications/posters, and have tried to put all of them in 1 W/A slot, but even if I condense it to just the title and PMID with a very brief description of the project, it's too many characters. I've also tried to sprinkle in some of them into other W/A sections such as the ones describing my research, but even still no luck.
What do I do!?
thanks!

 

[Catalystik]

1) I have a question about whether to list an activity as teaching or leadership.

My clinical research study on-boards two undergraduates each semester, and it is my job to teach them how to perform a number of the our study's tests (EEGs, etc) and also teach them to use MATLAB for data analysis, write MATLAB scripts coding EEG stimuli, etc. This all seems to fall under the "teaching/mentorship" category.

However, I also lead monthly journal meetings, present updates on our team's progress at weekly lab meetings, and coordinate the undergraduates' schedules with the study schedule.

The job title I've been given for this role is "undergraduate researcher supervisor", which steers me towards listing this as "leadership".

Is this up to my own discretion?


2) One final question: I am looking to gain more clinical experience in the coming year. I have applied for a job as a surgical instrument technician, but don't know if this would really be seen as "clinical experience", since my interaction with patients would be limited (considering they are anesthetized for 99% of the time I would be at my job.) Any opinions on this?

1) Who does your "team" consist of? How many of them are under your training and oversight?

2) Can you summarize the job description?

 

[Catalystik]

I'm applying MD/PhD, and the application states "If your research resulted in a publication on which you were an author, please provide full citations for publications in the Work/Activities section of your application."
I have multiple publications/posters, and have tried to put all of them in 1 W/A slot, but even if I condense it to just the title and PMID with a very brief description of the project, it's too many characters. I've also tried to sprinkle in some of them into other W/A sections such as the ones describing my research, but even still no luck.
What do I do!?

IDEAS:
-Truncate the title.
-Don't describe the project.
-Can you spread out into more spaces and list them under headings, like 1st author, second author, co-author?
-Could you eliminate any where you are author #23 and/or had minimal creative input into the research process?
-You could summarize co-authorships as "Also co-authored 13 additional papers, citations available on request."
-You could omit Pay to Publish articles.
-If you presented a poster and later published a paper on the same dataset, you could omit the poster citation, or just state after the publication citation, "Also a poster x/xx/xx at [conference}."

Here is an example of a super-condensed format using PMID#.

Abridged bibliography in the following format:
Shortened Title; Shortened Journal/Book; Pubmed ID/Location/Status.

1st Author:
TSUP; BBA; PMID 22192777
Rhodopsin Superfamily; Nature; 25670324
Efflux Proteins: Microbial Efflux Pumps; Horizon Scientific Press; Accepted (date)
Lead and Mercury Transporters (2 articles); Encycl. of Metalloproteins; ISBN 978-1-4614-1532-9 Jan. '13
MFS; FEBS J; PMID 22458847

2nd Author:
PTS; ELS; Search PTS on www.els.net
Transp. Protein Evol.; Protein Families; Accepted (date).

Co-author:
Phylogenetic char.; JMMB; PMID 22286036
APC; JMMB; PMID 22627175
Transposons; Mutagenesis; Accepted (date)
Mer; WASP; Accepted (date).

 

[GeorgeRRMartin]

1) Who does your "team" consist of? How many of them are under your training and oversight?

2) Can you summarize the job description?

1) Currently, there are two undergraduates and one post-bacc. However, the entire "team" on the project is ~25 people. I am not in charge of the training and oversight of all of them, just the undergraduates and post-bacc. I do, however, present the entire team's updates, results, and progress at our lab meeting each week and am responsible for getting all that information from them.

2) inspect, assemble and evaluate all surgical instruments and instrument sets to ensure proper sterilization, completeness of set, and to determine need for repair/replacement. Perform decontamination of soiled instruments, sterilization containers and equipment according to established protocols. Inspect instruments, equipment and containers to assure cleanliness and proper functioning. Correct instrument sets according to current standards and established count sheets and/or instrument tracking systems. Maintain proper levels of inventory to ensure availability for case carts.

This job description seems to have answered my question.

 

[Catalystik]

1) Currently, there are two undergraduates and one post-bacc. However, the entire "team" on the project is ~25 people. I am not in charge of the training and oversight of all of them, just the undergraduates and post-bacc. I do, however, present the entire team's updates, results, and progress at our lab meeting each week and am responsible for getting all that information from them.

2) inspect, assemble and evaluate all surgical instruments and instrument sets to ensure proper sterilization, completeness of set, and to determine need for repair/replacement. Perform decontamination of soiled instruments, sterilization containers and equipment according to established protocols. Inspect instruments, equipment and containers to assure cleanliness and proper functioning. Correct instrument sets according to current standards and established count sheets and/or instrument tracking systems. Maintain proper levels of inventory to ensure availability for case carts.

This job description seems to have answered my question.

1) I think you're fine to use a Leadership tag. You could just as easily spin it to Teaching, if that's what you'd prefer.

2) Yeah, clearly this in not the sort of clinical experience (interacting with patients) that adcomms expect to find under a "Clinical tag.