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Hi all need some quick advice about clinical experiences.
I'm going into my senior year with plans to take a gap year. So far, I have a semester's worth of nonclinical volunteering at school and will continue with it until matriculation. It's gardening with an organization that donates produce to local families, and it's hands down my favorite activity at school, so I'd judge that as something I'm passionate about. I also am an editor for the school newspaper and will have about 2000 hours of that when I apply for med school.
My trouble comes clinically. Before an ADHD diagnosis, I struggled a lot managing my research, school work, and newspaper, and so I subsequently ruled out clinical volunteering WHILE AT SCHOOL—not for a lack of interest, but simply to make sure I didn't crash and burn. As such, I decided to scribe for a primary care physician back at home and accrued about 350 hours over last summer.
I'm incredibly passionate about rural medicine, so I decided this year that I'd focus more on my research while at school + gardening and then leave the clinical stuff for home. The problem is that I live in such a small community there really isn't much for me to do here. For instance, I got about 20 hours of hospice volunteer work last summer as well as 20 hours in a state psychiatric facility. Both were incredible experiences in rural health, but they weren't "long-term" by a longshot. And neither is my scribing experience, really.
Right now, I'm volunteering at a close-to-free clinic, but they have nothing for me to do besides shadowing the doctor and billing. I've done about 100 hours here, but I really don't even want to include it on my app one day because it isn't meaningful. I have a research internship that will be very meaningful, so my summer certainly isn't a bust, but I do feel like I'm wasting my time here.
So now I'm growing anxious, because I'm worried that I've wasted away my time remaining in school by not starting the clinical volunteering program offered by my university early enough.
Here is what I am thinking for the future: 4 hours/week volunteering with the emergency department at my university for my senior year. 8 hours/week during my gap year planned before matriculation.
Will my hodge-podge of clinical experience set off red flags, especially my apparent lack of commitment? Again, my goal was to connect with my rural community back home so that I would have meaningful things to talk about during my interview, but this seems to have backfired...
I do have the grades and tons of research to back up the academic end, as well as the non-clinical volunteering end, if that makes any difference. Also 40 hours of shadowing with an allergy doc, which I will certainly supplement.
I apologize for seeming neurotic, but I just want to make sure I change course in the right direction before it's too late.
I'm going into my senior year with plans to take a gap year. So far, I have a semester's worth of nonclinical volunteering at school and will continue with it until matriculation. It's gardening with an organization that donates produce to local families, and it's hands down my favorite activity at school, so I'd judge that as something I'm passionate about. I also am an editor for the school newspaper and will have about 2000 hours of that when I apply for med school.
My trouble comes clinically. Before an ADHD diagnosis, I struggled a lot managing my research, school work, and newspaper, and so I subsequently ruled out clinical volunteering WHILE AT SCHOOL—not for a lack of interest, but simply to make sure I didn't crash and burn. As such, I decided to scribe for a primary care physician back at home and accrued about 350 hours over last summer.
I'm incredibly passionate about rural medicine, so I decided this year that I'd focus more on my research while at school + gardening and then leave the clinical stuff for home. The problem is that I live in such a small community there really isn't much for me to do here. For instance, I got about 20 hours of hospice volunteer work last summer as well as 20 hours in a state psychiatric facility. Both were incredible experiences in rural health, but they weren't "long-term" by a longshot. And neither is my scribing experience, really.
Right now, I'm volunteering at a close-to-free clinic, but they have nothing for me to do besides shadowing the doctor and billing. I've done about 100 hours here, but I really don't even want to include it on my app one day because it isn't meaningful. I have a research internship that will be very meaningful, so my summer certainly isn't a bust, but I do feel like I'm wasting my time here.
So now I'm growing anxious, because I'm worried that I've wasted away my time remaining in school by not starting the clinical volunteering program offered by my university early enough.
Here is what I am thinking for the future: 4 hours/week volunteering with the emergency department at my university for my senior year. 8 hours/week during my gap year planned before matriculation.
Will my hodge-podge of clinical experience set off red flags, especially my apparent lack of commitment? Again, my goal was to connect with my rural community back home so that I would have meaningful things to talk about during my interview, but this seems to have backfired...
I do have the grades and tons of research to back up the academic end, as well as the non-clinical volunteering end, if that makes any difference. Also 40 hours of shadowing with an allergy doc, which I will certainly supplement.
I apologize for seeming neurotic, but I just want to make sure I change course in the right direction before it's too late.
