Overcoming application weakness during interview season?

[UrsusHorribilis]

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Hey all,
I'm sure this has been brought up before, but I'm having a hard time generating search results on this question. I'm applying this cycle and I'm definitely on the shorter end of clinical experience. I think I'm probably in good enough shape in terms of stats, research, volunteering, long term demonstrated interest in medicine and other extracirriculars so I am hoping that will get my foot in the door. I'm also trying to squeeze in a few last minute things, but it will not be anything impressive or long term. Assuming adcoms look past my lack of experience working with patients/in a hospital setting enough to grant me an interview, can I overcome this with strong clinical work during my interview season? My full time job next year involves significant clinical exposure and work with patients, and I intend to do weekly clinical volunteering (independent of its impact on my application-I just finally have time to get involved in stuff like this for my own enrichment). Or is it too little too late? If it will be beneficial, what's the best way to bring it to light? Just talk about it during interviews? Write an update letter at some point so it's on paper in my file?
To be broader, since I'm sure other people have this issue in some realm of their application, is it possible to overcome an extracirricular weakness while interviewing? Or is it too late if it's not on the primary?
Thanks!
Ursus

 

[NightSwim]

I would assume the answer is YES. During my interviews, being able to talk about my current job at length helped a lot, imo. As long as you have a logical reason for pursue medicine in your PS, your plan sounds good to me.

 

[marele86]

Almost every one of my interviewers asked me, with pen and paper in hand, what clinical experience I had gotten since they had received my primary. (Before anyone jumps in to say they were never asked that question: I was really weak in that area (only 1 year of clinical volunteering). It's understandable that they asked me and not other people. But it sounds like the OP will be in the same situation..)

Some advice for hitting the interview trail after a lot of post-primary clinical experience: I eventually realized I'd be better off typing a short list of my shadowing (as a letter to the adcom, with each experience as a bullet point and a short 2 sentence blurb about my interest in their school at the bottom) and handing it to my interviewers when they asked - that way they wouldn't have to write a lot (always a plus to not waste the interviewer's time) and they'd have a piece of paper to remember me by. I've learned from marketing experiences that giving people a piece of paper they can't throw away (they will keep it for your file) increases their likelihood of considering you. (This is why, for example, Kaplan will give out Prep With Us fliers at a workshop and then request that you take notes on the back.)

Just make sure you send update letters about your clinical experience to any schools that you don't hear back from by, say, January. Good luck.

 

[UrsusHorribilis]

Thanks a ton for the feedback. And those are fantastic suggestions Marele86. I think I might just take a page from your book and go into interviews with an update sheet ready to go =)