*~*~*~* Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2021-2024 *~*~*~*

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How important is leadership for amcas ? I hold several positions in orgs im in or where I worked at my clinical job but I dont have space to use another entry for just leaderships because of the limit I was wondering how important is it ?
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TxMed55 said:
How important is leadership for amcas ? I hold several positions in orgs im in or where I worked at my clinical job but I dont have space to use another entry for just leaderships because of the limit I was wondering how important is it ?
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If you are applying to highly-selective Top Schools with the word Leadership in their school mission, it might be important. For all others, it's fine to include the leadership role in the name you give the space that also describes the role that led to the leadership activity, then elaborate in the narrative space.
 
Hey just some quick questions, I'm finishing up my last work activities box today for publications and can't for the life of me see the answers to the following questions:

1. If I have multiple pubs from different labs, who should I put for contact info and organization name etc?
2. Do I cite in APA or MLA or AMA?
3. What format for citing? I know what to include based on posts here (name, title, PMID, date) but not sure what order to do it in especially because I'm a 7th and 8th author on each and saw someone said I have to make it clear by stating that in brackets or something.

Thanks everyone
 
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PremedExplorer said:
Hey just some quick questions, I'm finishing up my last work activities box today for publications and can't for the life of me see the answers to the following questions:

1. If I have multiple pubs from different labs, who should I put for contact info and organization name etc?
2. Do I cite in APA or MLA or AMA?
3. What format for citing? I know what to include based on posts here (name, title, PMID, date) but not sure what order to do it in especially because I'm a 7th and 8th author on each and saw someone said I have to make it clear by stating that in brackets or something.

Thanks everyone
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I moved your question to the AMCAS Work/Activities thread.

See post #2, item 14 and then item 20 for the answers.

Catalystik provided example citations here and the clarification about contact info in this post.
 
chilly_md said:
I moved your question to the AMCAS Work/Activities thread.

See post #2, item 14 and then item 20 for the answers.

Catalystik provided example citations here and the clarification about contact info in this post.
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Yep I read all that - the contact info post you linked makes sense, thanks!

For the example citations - aren't those too short? I have 700 characters for 2 pubs and I saw that same format used as a result of someone having 15 pubs and needing to fit them all in one box.

Also, is it APA/MLA/AMA?
 
PremedExplorer said:
Yep I read all that - the contact info post you linked makes sense, thanks!

For the example citations - aren't those too short? I have 700 characters for 2 pubs and I saw that same format used as a result of someone having 15 pubs and needing to fit them all in one box.

Also, is it APA/MLA/AMA?
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You should be able to cite two pubs fully in one space without taking drastic measures to shorten them. No need to list the eight authors before you, so long as the PI and your position in the queue are clear. Any standard citation format is fine. The point is to give enough information that an interested reviewer can find the pub online if they want to.
 
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Catalystik said:
You should be able to cite two pubs fully in one space without taking drastic measures to shorten them. No need to list the eight authors before you, so long as the PI and your position in the queue are clear. Any standard citation format is fine. The point is to give enough information that an interested reviewer can find the pub online if they want to.
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How would I make clear there are 8 authors before me? I'll use APA citing - should I throw the PMID at the end? Is there an example on how to do a citation if I do have room (like you said)? The one that chilly linked seems to be used when there isn't enough room
 
PremedExplorer said:
How would I make clear there are 8 authors before me? I'll use APA citing - should I throw the PMID at the end? Is there an example on how to do a citation if I do have room (like you said)? The one that chilly linked seems to be used when there isn't enough room
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State in the description before the citation, “Eighth author: “ then in the citation, the PI, et al (adcomms wont care about the names if the other authors), Etc. It’s always good to include the PMID.
 
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Catalystik said:
State in the description before the citation, “Eighth author: “ then in the citation, the PI, et al (adcomms wont care about the names if the other authors), Etc. It’s always good to include the PMID.
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Like this?

Eight author: “PI last name, first initials, & Other PI last name, first initials (2021). Title. journal, 10, e63377. PMID
 
Catalystik said:
Yes, but spell “eighth” correctly or use “8th” Don’t forget the Et al.
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Forgot to ask but just like this message if so - should I include doi as well?

Here's a pic of my formatting :
1685498238148.png
 
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Question: I have been helping out at a food shelf and working at a free kitchen, both for those in need. Do I have to list these two volunteering experiences separately, or is there a way to combine them? I've done about 40 hours at the two places combined, but they aren't affiliated, so I'm unsure how to enter contact info.

@chilly_md @Catalystik
 
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Hi! I was a scribe for one company (a clinic), but during my gap year the plan August 2023-August 2024 is to scribe for ScribeAmerica. I was going to try and combine these activities, but you only have one contact and ScribeAmerica hasn't even started. Should I leave it out? Or list in the description my plan is to ScribeAmerica for a total for ___ hours? And not do anticipated hours for it?
 
velvetcoffee said:
Hi! I was a scribe for one company (a clinic), but during my gap year the plan August 2023-August 2024 is to scribe for ScribeAmerica. I was going to try and combine these activities, but you only have one contact and ScribeAmerica hasn't even started. Should I leave it out? Or list in the description my plan is to ScribeAmerica for a total for ___ hours? And not do anticipated hours for it?
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I have moved your question to the AMCAS Work/Activities thread.

Leave off the ScribeAmerica job since you will not be starting for another few months.
 
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AMDG_nontrad said:
Question: I have been helping out at a food shelf and working at a free kitchen, both for those in need. Do I have to list these two volunteering experiences separately, or is there a way to combine them? I've done about 40 hours at the two places combined, but they aren't affiliated, so I'm unsure how to enter contact info.

@chilly_md @Catalystik
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You could put them into 1 slot and utilize the contact for the more recent one. Or whoever is more convenient if you have been doing these at the same time.
 
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AMDG_nontrad said:
Question: I have been helping out at a food shelf and working at a free kitchen, both for those in need. Do I have to list these two volunteering experiences separately, or is there a way to combine them? I've done about 40 hours at the two places combined, but they aren't affiliated, so I'm unsure how to enter contact info.

@chilly_md @Catalystik
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chilly_md said:
You could put them into 1 slot and utilize the contact for the more recent one. Or whoever is more convenient if you have been doing these at the same time.
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You should combine them, so the hourly total has more impact. Put the 2nd Contact in the narrative, where you'll list each one's separate hourly total and date span.
 
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velvetcoffee said:
Hi! I was a scribe for one company (a clinic), but during my gap year the plan August 2023-August 2024 is to scribe for ScribeAmerica. I was going to try and combine these activities, but you only have one contact and ScribeAmerica hasn't even started. Should I leave it out? Or list in the description my plan is to ScribeAmerica for a total for ___ hours? And not do anticipated hours for it?
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chilly_md said:
I have moved your question to the AMCAS Work/Activities thread.

Leave off the ScribeAmerica job since you will not be starting for another few months.
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You might include the future plan at the end of the narrative for scribe positition #1, without including any hourly projections. Who knows, you might hate it or not make it past the probational period. If you stick with it, it could be useful for update letters or interview conversations in the future. Or, alternatively as Chilly_md suggested, leave it off, and maybe mention it in Secondaries with a suitable prompt.
 
Would anyone be willing to read my activity descriptions as one last look and advice ?
 
Can you put two part time activities (if you are deciding between the two) for your planned (gap year) and then end up only choosing one? My problem is I can either stay in one city and do research or move to another city and scribe. I already will have 2000 research whereas I have like 150 paid clinical and 300 overall. I know it doesn’t really matter (that ratio) but I want both options open due to cost of living differences!
 
I was wondering if adding LMSA for my last activity spot is good ? my undergrad doesn't have a club but I do have a mentor and has taught me about LMSA and was wondering if that could show that I want to engage in the latino community ?
 
velvetcoffee said:
Can you put two part time activities (if you are deciding between the two) for your planned (gap year) and then end up only choosing one? My problem is I can either stay in one city and do research or move to another city and scribe. I already will have 2000 research whereas I have like 150 paid clinical and 300 overall. I know it doesn’t really matter (that ratio) but I want both options open due to cost of living differences!
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I suggest you save the final choice for appropriate Secondary prompts or future update letters.
 
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Hi! As I am finalizing my work and activities section, I wanted to ask what is the best format for poster presentations? My research team and I presented our poster at a few conferences and I'm not sure if the format I have is sufficient. I stated "Presented the research findings of a study done by me and five other undergraduate researchers on (gave the topic) Presented poster in various iterations at:... " and listed the 3 conferences. Is this format also acceptable?
 
ummchile said:
Hi! As I am finalizing my work and activities section, I wanted to ask what is the best format for poster presentations? My research team and I presented our poster at a few conferences and I'm not sure if the format I have is sufficient. I stated "Presented the research findings of a study done by me and five other undergraduate researchers on (gave the topic) Presented poster in various iterations at:... " and listed the 3 conferences. Is this format also acceptable?
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Sounds good. Google "how to cite a poster" and you will see various formats. All are acceptable.
 
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Quick question here about combining activities. I need room to include one more activity so I am considering combining two activities. I volunteered with hispanic populations in both and one is clearly clinical (about 100 hours as spanish interpreter) and the other is not technically clinical but worked to connect uninsured people to free medical services for about 30 hours. I really want to mark my interpreting experience as clinical because that's what I feel my application needs but if i combine them can I still mark it as clinical and just specify in the description?
 
person24 said:
Quick question here about combining activities. I need room to include one more activity so I am considering combining two activities. I volunteered with hispanic populations in both and one is clearly clinical (about 100 hours as spanish interpreter) and the other is not technically clinical but worked to connect uninsured people to free medical services for about 30 hours. I really want to mark my interpreting experience as clinical because that's what I feel my application needs but if i combine them can I still mark it as clinical and just specify in the description?
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Were you face to face with the uninsured people when you connected them to services? How were those people referred to you? Did they have medical problems, or were they Healthy folks ?
 
Catalystik said:
Were you face to face with the uninsured people when you connected them to services? How were those people referred to you? Did they have medical problems, or were they Healthy folks ?
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I worked in an office setting mostly calling patients to remind them of appointments. Occasionally they came into the office and I walked them through the process of applying for the services (proof of income and address, etc.) when they needed to see a physician.
 
person24 said:
I worked in an office setting mostly calling patients to remind them of appointments. Occasionally they came into the office and I walked them through the process of applying for the services (proof of income and address, etc.) when they needed to see a physician.
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I think you’re fine to label the space Clinical and explain the two roles in the narrative.
 
TxMed55 said:
I was wondering if adding LMSA for my last activity spot is good ? my undergrad doesn't have a club but I do have a mentor and has taught me about LMSA and was wondering if that could show that I want to engage in the latino community ?
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I moved your question to the Work and Activities thread. If you did not partake in a club and simply talked with your mentor, I do not think you can put this down as an activity.
 
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Hi! I had a question regarding the hour portion for an activity I am on E-board for. Because we only met and organized events during the academic semesters and not winter/summer breaks, should I select repeated and input the date ranges for the semesters I was an e-board for and break down the 60-hour completed time, or is leaving it as a complete year fine? I wasn't sure if putting the date range as a year (from 02/22 to 5/23) and showing only 60 hours, might look off.
 
ummchile said:
Hi! I had a question regarding the hour portion for an activity I am on E-board for. Because we only met and organized events during the academic semesters and not winter/summer breaks, should I select repeated and input the date ranges for the semesters I was an e-board for and break down the 60-hour completed time, or is leaving it as a complete year fine? I wasn't sure if putting the date range as a year (from 02/22 to 5/23) and showing only 60 hours, might look off.
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Leave it as a single line. I think it is understood that students often stop campus related activities during winter and summer break. Even taking those out will still show that the activity did not require too much time investment.
 
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If I have additional slots left for activities, is it ideal if I put Dean's list as a separate entry and the President's Scholarship I receive from my school separately or should I combine them under one slot for Honors/Awards? I heard mixed opinions about Dean's List being separate so I wanted to double check.
 
ummchile said:
If I have additional slots left for activities, is it ideal if I put Dean's list as a separate entry and the President's Scholarship I receive from my school separately or should I combine them under one slot for Honors/Awards? I heard mixed opinions about Dean's List being separate so I wanted to double check.
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No, they should go together in 1 slot. See item 6 in post #2 of this thread.
 
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rachel_xu said:
I presented at a national conference with my faculty advisors (4 PhDs/MDs). However, I can't find anything about my particular presentation anywhere. I have emails thanking me for being a speaker and a physical plaque from them, so it definitely happened. My activity contact for this is writing my recommendation letter and if contacted, will surely attest to my involvement. Is this okay?
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Yes. You'll be fine.
 
rachel_xu said:
I'm planning to list a poster at a regional conference for neuro research and a presentation at a national conference for sdoh work. For my sdoh work, I have 2 submitted manuscripts, one under peer review and the other we're conducting revisions for re-submission to the same journal. Can I list the conferences and then write, "for this work, we also submitted..."

Thank you
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I moved your questions to this thread.

You can mention that either in the slot for the presentation or in the main slot that you used to describe the research you did that led up to this. Submitted manuscripts cannot be put down as publications.
 
rachel_xu said:
Thanks so much! And yep, I was planning to write they were submitted and their current status. Will adcoms be annoyed about me listing manuscripts under a poster/presentation section? I wanted to write about them somewhere, and this seemed like a logical continuation, but I wasn’t sure if it’s okay.
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No, and as I said, you can include it in the respective research section instead.
 
Hi everyone, thanks so much in advance for even looking at this. I spent this past year in Nepal doing maternal health research under a local non-profit. It was a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice study on maternal health behavior conducted via household surveys, so very low risk relatively and we had all the appropriate Nepal Health Research Council research approvals, etc. The data is being used by the non-profit's new community hospital in this village to create targeted maternal health education programs and services based off community needs. I am considered a co-investigator and my mentor (Nepali physician with MD/PhD and dozens of pubs and founder of the non-profit) is the PI, as well as another co-investigator and our research assistant. I received a scholarship from a US organization to support my housing, transport, costs, etc (if anyone is interested in the name of the scholarship PM me!). We are working on the manuscript now. This is definitely one of my MME and basically I just want to make sure I go about discussing it in the best way possible. I'm having trouble titling it... for example the title I have it as right now is "Maternal Health Researcher". I just want to emphasize the local level involvement and that it was conducted in all the ethical ways etc, but I know discussing global health projects can sometimes be walking on eggshells but this was a more longterm project with longterm outcomes so I feel like those usual voluntourism criticisms are not so valid. I am Nepali-American if relevant and speak Nepali. I can PM my current descriptions if helpful. Thank you SOOOOO much in advance this page is godsend and I've been going back and forth on this!!!!!
 
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orangelily1999 said:
Hi everyone, thanks so much in advance for even looking at this. I spent this past year in Nepal doing maternal health research under a local non-profit. It was a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice study on maternal health behavior conducted via household surveys, so very low risk relatively and we had all the appropriate Nepal Health Research Council research approvals, etc. The data is being used by the non-profit's new community hospital in this village to create targeted maternal health education programs and services based off community needs. I am considered a co-investigator and my mentor (Nepali physician with MD/PhD and dozens of pubs and founder of the non-profit) is the PI, as well as another co-investigator and our research assistant. I received a scholarship from a US organization to support my housing, transport, costs, etc (if anyone is interested in the name of the scholarship PM me!). We are working on the manuscript now. This is definitely one of my MME and basically I just want to make sure I go about discussing it in the best way possible. I'm having trouble titling it... for example the title I have it as right now is "Maternal Health Researcher". I just want to emphasize the local level involvement and that it was conducted in all the ethical ways etc, but I know discussing global health projects can sometimes be walking on eggshells but this was a more longterm project with longterm outcomes so I feel like those usual voluntourism criticisms are not so valid. I am Nepali-American if relevant and speak Nepali. I can PM my current descriptions if helpful. Thank you SOOOOO much in advance this page is godsend and I've been going back and forth on this!!!!!
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I have moved your question to the main Work and Activities thread. Put it as a research activity and you could use the title you have come up with. It is up to you to do your best with the description to clearly illustrate where the activity was, who oversaw it and partnered with you, your relation to the community and that it was based on household surveys.
 
Hi, I was wondering if it is important to have a hobby in the works and activities section? I have slots available and have heard it's best to include a hobby since it shows more about who you are. The 3 main activities that I can combine under 1 slot are tennis, cooking, and traveling (specifically historical landmarks to learn more about cultures and languages). I was wondering if it's worth it to include them since they might be cliche?
 
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