Premed senior in college with no extracurricular experience at all ( Mental Health Issues)

[doctorastro]

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So I'm a senior in college and have absolutely zero extra curricular experience. I have no volunteer experience, no internships, and have never had a job in my life. I'm also not a part of any clubs or anything. The reason is I have dealt with mental health problems and it can be very hard for me to concentrate on multiple things such as work and school. I also have no friends so I'm not really sure who to talk to about this. I know, very sad. I know I have no other choice so I'm going to be taking at least 2 gap years before applying to any med schools. What should I do during this time and how do I start? Should I get a regular minimum wage job and start volunteering wherever I can ? Should I apply to be a scribe or a CNA? Since I have no work experience and no social life I just feel so behind everyone else. If anyone can help me out, that would be great!

 

[deleted966164]

What should I do during this time and how do I start?

I think, before any EC plans, you could try to take care of the underlying issue. Most universities have appropriate resources available to students. This w would make the whole med school experience much more bearable.

 

[LizzyM]

Visit your school's career center and work on preparing a resume and seeking a job in a field that you are qualified for. As a college grad, you should not have to settle for just any minimum wage job.

Identify local hospitals and "federally qualified health clinics (FQHC)" in your area, and check online whether they have an office for volunteers. Ask about training as a volunteer in a setting that provides patient contact. You may need some training and a TB test, criminal background check, etc, but this would be a place to begin to get some clinical experience. If you end up getting a job in a clinical setting, then having volunteer hours in a clinical setting is less important but it is a place to start.

For non-clinical volunteering, you may want to look for ways to help people less fortunate than yourself or you might want to become involved in advocacy efforts on behalf of people with mental health issues or to work on behalf of a political candidate at the local, state or federal level who is supportive of services for people with mental health issues. Being engaged in efforts with others to improve things for people in our community is something almost anyone can do and it is a life-long process of advocacy through teamwork. If you've never been involved, it can seem overwhelming or scary but you can choose to be involved as little or as much as you can handle. Try taking a first step by identifying an organization that has a mission that resonates with you and attending one event that it sponsors.

 

[Goro]

So I'm a senior in college and have absolutely zero extra curricular experience. I have no volunteer experience, no internships, and have never had a job in my life. I'm also not a part of any clubs or anything. The reason is I have dealt with mental health problems and it can be very hard for me to concentrate on multiple things such as work and school. I also have no friends so I'm not really sure who to talk to about this. I know, very sad. I know I have no other choice so I'm going to be taking at least 2 gap years before applying to any med schools. What should I do during this time and how do I start? Should I get a regular minimum wage job and start volunteering wherever I can ? Should I apply to be a scribe or a CNA? Since I have no work experience and no social life I just feel so behind everyone else. If anyone can help me out, that would be great!

You have to get your mental health issues under control before you can proceed any further on this pathway. Medical school is a furnace, and I've seen it break even healthy students. The #1 reason my school loses students to withdrawal, dismissal or LOA is to unresolved mental health issues.

As a medical student and a doctor, you have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

For ECs, here are my thoughts:
Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

Service need not be "unique"; it can be anything that helps people unable to help themselves and that is outside of a patient-care setting.If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching literacy or ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Meals on Wheels, mentoring immigrant/refugee adults, being a friendly visitor to shut-ins, adaptive sports program coach or Special Olympics.

 

[WRL]

I worked as an engineer for a med tech company; it wasn't great alignment for medical school. But it helped me get in.