Opinions on my past, present, future EC's

[loveoforganic]

I figured I'd try and get some opinions on what I've done and plan to do for EC's, just in case there's something critical missing I'm not seeing. I'm currently a junior in my fall term and, thus far, I've pretty much just chosen to do what's enjoyable to me. I'm still tossing around the idea of MD/PhD in my head, so comments in regard to how the EC's are for a traditional app and for an MD/PhD app are both more than welcome.

Summer After Freshman Year

-Worked (as a job) with Volunteers of America Louisiana Spirit program in southeast LA

Fall of Freshman Year

-Intramural football

Fall of Sophomore Year

-3 hours/week o. chem research

Spring of Sophomore Year

-30 hours volunteering in an middle school afterschool program

Summer of Sophomore Year

-100 hours volunteering with youth/adolescents in psychiatric hospital

Fall of Junior Year

-6-8 hours/week o. chem research (same group)
-6-8 hours/week clinical psych research
-Boxing

Christmas of Junior Year

-Shadowing PCP and radiation oncologist (unknown duration)
-Either doing research with the cancer center (where I'd be shadowing the rad. onc.) or returning to volunteer at the psychiatric hospital

Spring of Junior Year

-6-8 hours/week o. chem research (same group)
-6-8 hours/week clinical psych research (same group)
-Boxing

Summer After Junior Year

-1 to 3 months of o. chem research in Germany with DAAD Rise. Haven't decided on duration yet.




That's all I've got planned out as pretty much definites. I hate to checklist, but I know I don't really have any leadership of peers in that line up. I also had attempted summer after sophomore year working with the office of public health to find a dentist to volunteer time at a public health fair, but was unable to do so, so don't think I'd be putting that on an app.

Anyway, comments por favor?

Thanks for your time.

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[J ROD]

I know most schools like to see continous involvement. Are your volunteering ECs continous?

Also, I would get more shadowing in.....

 

[loveoforganic]

Thus far, they haven't been very continuous. From here though, the psych research is technically volunteering as I don't receive credit/pay for it (I do for chem). The return to the psychiatric hospital could be seen as continuity (assuming it happens), I suppose? I go to school out of state, and the hospital is in my home state, so as far as actual continuity, that wouldn't be possible, at least with that hospital.

Edit: Just as a side note, EC's were light during freshman year due to not really being serious about medicine, then light during sophomore due to having to teach myself how to study thumbdown), and finally a little on the lighter side during summer following sophomore due to studying for/taking MCAT.

Not excuses, just a reference to view what I typed in.

Edit again: I'm going to try to get more shadowing in, but those are the only two doctors I believe to have lined up "for sure."

 

[J ROD]

I would try to get some type of volunteering going with patient contact to get clinical experience, longevity, and volunteering in one thing with having the research. More shadowing would help too unless you have alot of hrs..really did not give us a total. I would say over 50+hrs at least....

 

[loveoforganic]

Sorry, I unintentionally made this difficult for you. Going to go back and edit after this post. I'm currently a junior in the middle of my fall term. That should clarify a lot (such as why I didn't list hours for shadowing). My b!

Thank you for the advice.

 

[J ROD]

Sorry, I unintentionally made this difficult for you. Going to go back and edit after this post. I'm currently a junior in the middle of my fall term. That should clarify a lot (such as why I didn't list hours for shadowing). My b!

Thank you for the advice.

I got ya now....I would just still say be consistent somewhere with the volunteering.

 

[pharaoh88]

I got ya now....I would just still say be consistent somewhere with the volunteering.

+1. If you can get heavily involved in one, clinically relevant or research oriented activity, it will help you enormously on secondaries and in interviews. Adcoms are looking for meaningful experiences that influenced your decision to pursue medicine.