I've been lurking on this forum for several months now, and I have some questions regarding ECs. I was initially torn between going MD or DO, and after talking with some of my physician coworkers and researching the profession, I've decided that I would rather become a DO than an MD. I like the DO philosophy better and DOs seem to be more laid back in general. I was hoping to get some input on what I've done thus far in terms of ECs and some advice on what I should do for the next two years before I apply.
Most of my "ECs" come in the form of work experience.
* Three years doing full-time clerical work in an inner-city ED. I have occasionally picked up shifts as a patient care tech.
* I just started a PRN job in the microbiology lab in a large area medical center. I do specimen preparation and some limited waived testing.
* The final year of my bachelor's degree program will be a laboratory internship at a large area medical center.
* I will serve on the ethics committee of the hospital where I work in the ED. The hospital is fairly small, so I wouldn't anticipate too much going on with that, but it should be an interesting experience nonetheless.
* I have several years of volunteer experience serving as a computer consultant for a local parochial high school.
I have no research experience, and I don't expect to have any by the time I graduate.
Will DO schools count my work experience for much or do they prefer that medical contact experiences be on a volunteer basis on one's own time? Is research experience extremely important for getting into DO medical school?
To give you a little more background on myself:
I am a clinical laboratory science major with a cumulative college GPA of ~3.7/4.0. I'm currently at a community college and will transfer to a local university to finish my degree. From my diagnostic scores, I would anticipate an MCAT score in the low thirties.
Anyway, that's pretty much me. I would appreciate any input you guys can offer on my ECs. Are they good? Could they use some work? What would you suggest more of?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Most of my "ECs" come in the form of work experience.
* Three years doing full-time clerical work in an inner-city ED. I have occasionally picked up shifts as a patient care tech.
* I just started a PRN job in the microbiology lab in a large area medical center. I do specimen preparation and some limited waived testing.
* The final year of my bachelor's degree program will be a laboratory internship at a large area medical center.
* I will serve on the ethics committee of the hospital where I work in the ED. The hospital is fairly small, so I wouldn't anticipate too much going on with that, but it should be an interesting experience nonetheless.
* I have several years of volunteer experience serving as a computer consultant for a local parochial high school.
I have no research experience, and I don't expect to have any by the time I graduate.
Will DO schools count my work experience for much or do they prefer that medical contact experiences be on a volunteer basis on one's own time? Is research experience extremely important for getting into DO medical school?
To give you a little more background on myself:
I am a clinical laboratory science major with a cumulative college GPA of ~3.7/4.0. I'm currently at a community college and will transfer to a local university to finish my degree. From my diagnostic scores, I would anticipate an MCAT score in the low thirties.
Anyway, that's pretty much me. I would appreciate any input you guys can offer on my ECs. Are they good? Could they use some work? What would you suggest more of?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
