Reflecting back on your pre-med ECs...

[Planes2Doc]

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Now that you're a medical student, what did you really think about all of those ECs you did to get into medical school? Did you enjoy them? Hate them? Is there something you wish you did, or didn't do? Are you still partaking in any of these activities? What would you have done differently?

I'm curious to see what people have to say, since I already discussed this topic with fellow students. I would like to see the medical student (and not pre-med) perspective on SDN. 🙂

 

[armybound]

I tried to do things I was interested in rather than just doing crap to check a box. You can volunteer for something you like instead of doing something boring and generic. The clinical volunteering I did was a waste of time and completely unhelpful... if I had to do it over again I'd do less of that and more nonclinical. I tried lab research to see if I'd like it and quickly realized I didn't.

Depends how you approach the ECs, really.

 

[Dr Love]

There are certain ECs you do for medical school that are designed to have no utility. I was really surprised that the ECs that really were a waste of time were considered so positively by different folks involved in admissions, when ECs I did that were actually useful to me and others and far more difficult were hardly mentioned.

I think those activities are a test of commitment more than anything - you show that you are willing to put up with a bunch of useless and pointless crap just to get into medical school, and then you do different but equally useless and pointless crap in medical school. I wish I just realized the way the system was set up beforehand, so that the ECs would have been more bearable.

 

[projectlogic]

There are certain ECs you do for medical school that are designed to have no utility. I was really surprised that the ECs that really were a waste of time were considered so positively by different folks involved in admissions, when ECs I did that were actually useful to me and others and far more difficult were hardly mentioned.

I think those activities are a test of commitment more than anything - you show that you are willing to put up with a bunch of useless and pointless crap just to get into medical school, and then you do different but equally useless and pointless crap in medical school. I wish I just realized the way the system was set up beforehand, so that the ECs would have been more bearable.

Exactly. The whole process really is about jumping through hoops.

 

[FunnyCurrent]

Time well spent

Thousands of hours working side by side with a physician = PBL pwnage (and hopefully 3rd year pwnage)
Thousands of hours of research = multiple undergrad pubs


Yah that's pretty much all I did for EC's.

lol!

 

[Planes2Doc]

Exactly. The whole process really is about jumping through hoops.

I agree. I think my views have changed, somewhat for the worse, since my first year classes are in full-swing.

I'm grateful that I never had an entry-level clinical job, since every pre-med and their mother did it, which meant it was unlikely to have set them apart. I was happy to have worked a good job during my gap year, which paid more money, and probably set me apart more than the typical tech, EMT, phlebotomist, scribe or other generic position.

Even though I did a volunteer activity here and there during undergrad (I was NOT pre-med then), this would not have been considered "enough" by ADCOMs when I was officially pre-med during my post-bacc. I mostly did not enjoy my hospital ED experience due to the scut work and the way the ED staff treated me. During one stretch, I had to do 8AM Saturday shifts which usually prevented me from seeing friends on Friday nights. While this was bothersome then, it actually enrages me now thinking back to it. Today, I have virtually no time to see my family, friends, and girlfriend. In fact, I don't even know if my relationship with her will even survive this year! I'm devoting so many years so that I can be a doctor, and help the community that way. Was it really necessary to do so many hours of free hospital labor to show my commitment to the community? The rest of my life will be spent doing that! Also, many fellow MS-1s also admitted that they would not have done these ECs if it weren't for medical school admissions. I miss the time I used to have with family and friends, and wish that I could take it back.

/rant

 

[Non Pizza Lunch]

It was fortunate that most of the EC's I did were those that I were interested in.

I think the only thing that actually felt like I was jumping through a hoop was the hospital volunteering. I mean you do see some cool things as an undergrad, but F*** it can get annoying when the only thing there is to do is just stand there and change a bedsheet or two (although it was highly physician dependent).

 

[MedicalStudent5]

Now that you're a medical student, what did you really think about all of those ECs you did to get into medical school? Did you enjoy them? Hate them? Is there something you wish you dœid, or didn't do? Are you still partaking in any of these activities? What would you have done differently?

I'm curious to see what people have to say, since I already discussed this topic with fellow students. I would like to see the medical student (and not pre-med) perspective on SDN. 🙂

Wasted time trying to please superiors. In other words, typical academics.

While some ecs may have been great volunteering at the hospital doing g menial **** to make my app look like I wanted to be a doc was ncessary but worthless. Shadowing on the other hand is pure gold for premed. Even in med school, shadowing and being interested + asking questions has been an invaluable part of my education and I'm grateful to those docs who took the time.

 

[soundnin]

i wish i traveled more.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk

 

[Planes2Doc]

i wish i traveled more.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk

Once I had my acceptance, I quit volunteering which I typically did on weekends. Since I worked for an airline during my gap year, I found the time to travel the United States and the world. It was definitely worth it. 😀

I wasn't one of those bleeding heart pre-meds you find in the pre-allo boards. I live my life for myself and others, and shouldn't be seen as a bad person for quitting the EC. Looking back at that makes me happy at least.

 

[NickNaylor]

I actually enjoyed most of my ECs looking back. They were great experiences, and I had the chance to run into some great people. Were it not for the medical admissions process I probably never would've gotten involved most of them as I'm not really one of those people that takes the initiative to join clubs. It was just never my thing.

However, I certainly don't miss going up to the hospital at 5am or 6am before class to get some volunteering in...

 

[Abby_Normal]

In general, I tried to choose ECs I liked rather than ones that just "looked good." If anything, I wish I'd been more involved in some of them.

The least valuable experience for me was probably being an emergency department volunteer because the main benefits were on paper. It really didn't show me anything I didn't already know about myself or my interest in medicine. The hospital also didn't use its volunteers as efficiently as it could have, so I spent a fair amount of the time being useless.

On the other hand, shadowing was something I did "just because they want to see it" and it actually turned out to be a very valuable experience. In retrospect, I should have done more of it.

 

[notbobtrustme]

I gamed my ECs anyways. 1 day shadowing turned into several sessions on paper. I volunteered once or twice a month in the ER and put down 4 hours/week. The only thing that wasn't gamed was my work experience, since you can't really fake having (or not having) a job and I also got LORs from them.

The entire admissions process isn't about what you do, it's about convincing others what you did. I'm glad I gamed my ECs too; they are bull****. The notion of "DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO" is bull****. I want to bang 3 bitches in a night and drink beer, but that's not an acceptable EC. Most of us aren't altruistic. Most of us won't even see Medicaid patients, nevermind perform charity care.

Honestly, the reason most of us got in is because medicine is a presitigous, in-demand, well-compensated job that also happens to help people. There are only a few percent of med students who actually will perform charity care, do Doctors w/o Borders, etc etc. The rest of us want that new BMW with the house on the hill and if we help a bunch of people while doing it, more power to us.

 

[metallica81788]

I was involved in pretty much nothing in undergrad because it all sucked. Now I'm involved in a lot because I actually like stuff that goes on in the medical school. Kind of strange.

 

[MilkmanAl]

The volunteering I did (in the ER and as a transporter) was a complete waste of time, as far as informing my decision to be a physician goes. I learned absolutely nothing about medicine, med school, or being a doctor, and not for lack of trying. I did somewhat enjoy the time, though. My job as a pharmacy tech, on the other hand, was extremely helpful. I didn't have to study much at all for pharm.

 

[mimelim]

I didn't do a single EC 'for' medical school. I also didn't decide to apply to medical school until Junior year. I just did what I wanted to do. Apparently what I wanted to do was what they were looking for.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Hospital volunteering was a waste of time, that's why I quit. Didn't like bench research but I'm glad I had the experience. All the others I am glad I did.

 

[NoNotYouLionel]

I actually wouldn't have done the research I did if I hadn't been applying to med school. It was pretty nonconventional and had nothing to do with medicine, but I'm really glad I did it because I think it was probably my most enjoyable period of time during undergrad.

 

[secants]

Doing volunteer work or community service is a waste of time unless you get some intrinsic satisfaction from doing so. The best EC I had and enjoyed was being a TA for organic chemistry. It was fun teaching kids only a year younger than me and I thoroughly enjoyed the subject anyway; which is why I want to see if academics might be a good fit post residency.I had a bittersweet relationship with research. On one hand, if you can actually find a topic you like and get involved in a project, then I think it's worthwhile but I just spammed a bunch of PI's not knowing what any of them really were investigating. I did get a letter from them and it also gave me something to talk about though. I think something I would have tried was maybe the student government or become an RA or do those orientation group things for the freshman.

 

[kpcrew]

I really liked working with kids at an afterschool program, I learned a lot from shadowing and I'm also glad that I got work experience. Hospital volunteering was a total waste of time though, I can't believe I did it.

 

[HughMyron]

Not in medical school, but I'd like to say that I spent most of my hospital volunteering reading the Economist and TIME. At least I learned a lot about current affairs.

 

[45408]

Being an EMT was great. I actually renewed my license and did it during the M1-M2 summer and part of M2, just for giggles and thrills.

Shadowing was great. I didn't see another CABG until I was a resident.

Volunteering at a hospice? Sucked, except for when a nice nurse/aide was on, which was rare.

Research....eh....wasn't that great. It gave me good exposure, I guess, but it's not my thing.

 

[mmmcdowe]

I have no regrets about what I did so much as I roll my eyes at the fact that I used to worry that it wasn't enough.

 

[Kaputt]

A lot of my ECs were a waste of time. Granted, I had very few and really the only ones I legitimately enjoyed were teaching/tutoring and research. ED volunteering was soul-suckingly boring.

 

[evilbooyaa]

The research I did was really cool. It gave me some insight into what goes on behind the scene in trying to figure out what may be eventually used for human treatment. If I have the opportunity to have lab research time as a physician, I'll definitely jump on it.

The volunteering was boring busy work that I inflated on my resume anyways, except when I was at a nursing home as a middle schooler and getting actual satisfaction out of the elderly there.

The limited shadowing I did confirmed to me that I did not want to be a general internist. After starting 3rd year, I realize that has meant I don't want to be an outpatient general internist.

 

[siliso]

I only did things I wanted to do, so yes, the things I did were enriching and valuable. My grades and scores were good enough on their own, so I didn't feel obligated to do things that weren't fun and or profitable in the moment. As far as shadowing, I did enough to say I did it: three mornings total.

 

[kpcrew]

I didn't do a single EC 'for' medical school. I also didn't decide to apply to medical school until Junior year. I just did what I wanted to do. Apparently what I wanted to do was what they were looking for.

Did you do anything in medical school?

 

[mimelim]

Did you do anything in medical school?

Clinical research in Vascular Surgery (2 publications)
Founded, coded, edited a web-based clinical vignette platform for Step 1/pre-clinical exam prep (by the time I left had ~30 authors)
Founded the syllabus revision committee (edited all the pre-clinical syllabuses trying to make them more relevant and less detail oriented, and get rid of as many stupid mistakes as possible 😉)
Ran/taught the Surgical skills lab for the 3rd year clerkship and 1st year intro to suturing
Curriculum committee
Educational Technology Committee

Oh ya, got married, re-discovered rock climbing and got myself back to being pretty comfortable on 5.11b and lower, and ran a Minecraft server company. Had a blast 🙂. Most of those things I started before even starting to think about residency, except the research really. And considering I ended up (first choice) at one of two Vascular programs that require 2 years of research, I don't really consider the research outside of what I would have ended up doing anyways 😉.

Had to divest from the Minecraft before starting residency, but still climbing 2-3 days a week.

 

[link2swim06]

Clinical research in Vascular Surgery (2 publications)
Founded, coded, edited a web-based clinical vignette platform for Step 1/pre-clinical exam prep (by the time I left had ~30 authors)
Founded the syllabus revision committee (edited all the pre-clinical syllabuses trying to make them more relevant and less detail oriented, and get rid of as many stupid mistakes as possible 😉)
Ran/taught the Surgical skills lab for the 3rd year clerkship and 1st year intro to suturing
Curriculum committee
Educational Technology Committee

Oh ya, got married, re-discovered rock climbing and got myself back to being pretty comfortable on 5.11b and lower, and ran a Minecraft server company. Had a blast 🙂. Most of those things I started before even starting to think about residency, except the research really. And considering I ended up (first choice) at one of two Vascular programs that require 2 years of research, I don't really consider the research outside of what I would have ended up doing anyways 😉.

Had to divest from the Minecraft before starting residency, but still climbing 2-3 days a week.

Dam dude. Making the rest of us look lazy.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Clinical research in Vascular Surgery (2 publications)
Founded, coded, edited a web-based clinical vignette platform for Step 1/pre-clinical exam prep (by the time I left had ~30 authors)
Founded the syllabus revision committee (edited all the pre-clinical syllabuses trying to make them more relevant and less detail oriented, and get rid of as many stupid mistakes as possible 😉)
Ran/taught the Surgical skills lab for the 3rd year clerkship and 1st year intro to suturing
Curriculum committee
Educational Technology Committee

Oh ya, got married, re-discovered rock climbing and got myself back to being pretty comfortable on 5.11b and lower, and ran a Minecraft server company. Had a blast 🙂. Most of those things I started before even starting to think about residency, except the research really. And considering I ended up (first choice) at one of two Vascular programs that require 2 years of research, I don't really consider the research outside of what I would have ended up doing anyways 😉.

Had to divest from the Minecraft before starting residency, but still climbing 2-3 days a week.

Not so subtle brag

 

[notbobtrustme]

Clinical research in Vascular Surgery (2 publications)
Founded, coded, edited a web-based clinical vignette platform for Step 1/pre-clinical exam prep (by the time I left had ~30 authors)
Founded the syllabus revision committee (edited all the pre-clinical syllabuses trying to make them more relevant and less detail oriented, and get rid of as many stupid mistakes as possible 😉)
Ran/taught the Surgical skills lab for the 3rd year clerkship and 1st year intro to suturing
Curriculum committee
Educational Technology Committee

Oh ya, got married, re-discovered rock climbing and got myself back to being pretty comfortable on 5.11b and lower, and ran a Minecraft server company. Had a blast 🙂. Most of those things I started before even starting to think about residency, except the research really. And considering I ended up (first choice) at one of two Vascular programs that require 2 years of research, I don't really consider the research outside of what I would have ended up doing anyways 😉.

Had to divest from the Minecraft before starting residency, but still climbing 2-3 days a week.

one time, I banged three bitches in the same night, so nyah.