research, volunteering and shadowing?

[AlXguy]

So I know that an applicant must have those 3 EC's in order to be competitive for med school admisssions. Can Somebody give me like a timeline, when those things should be done? in summer or during semester?

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[Bacchus]

Consistency is key. You do not need research to be competitive but you better have awesome ECs, clinical, etc. Many people on here have no research and have been accepted. Timeline wise, fit everything into your schedule first. Consistency is key so don't do everything during them summer; try to spread it out.

 

[burningsky]

I wouldn't say that those are all a must but clinical experience definately is. It can be accomplished by volunteering or shadowing but volunteering is probably more common. Having a few meaningful experiences are a must so I recommend volunteering for 1-2 years and maybe doing a few months of shadowing. If you are planning on applying to a big research school then you should probably do that as well. I would wait until the end of your sophmore year though.

 

[maxflash04]

I agree with what the others have said: Research isn't a requirement.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I've got ****loads of research (real research, not just working being someone's lab bitch) and volunteering (real volunteering, not just the "Hey! Look at me! I'm not doing this just for a bullet on my AMCAS!" variety), but no shadowing per se.

 

[Bacchus]

I've got ****loads of research (real research, not just working being someone's lab bitch) and volunteering (real volunteering, not just the "Hey! Look at me! I'm not doing this just for a bullet on my AMCAS!" variety), but no shadowing per se.

You're also "nontrad" and an EMT DKM. If I was one of those I'd have a lot more volunteerism! (Not saying I don't have enough) I wish I've seen some of the crazy **** you've probably seen.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

You're also "nontrad" and an EMT DKM

Yeah, and a sarcastic one at that.

I wish I've seen some of the crazy **** you've probably seen

No, you don't. Trust me.

 

[Bacchus]

Yeah, and a sarcastic one at that.

I'm glad you said it!

No, you don't. Trust me.

Well from what I've seen so far the majority of the hospital is icechips and water (Not that that's bad). I need to get more stuff under my belt . ER in the fall semester.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Well from what I've seen so far the majority of the hospital is icechips and water (Not that that's bad)

Not bad, just boring as hell.

I need to get more stuff under my belt . ER in the fall semester.

I didn't mean that experience is a bad thing- it's not. You can not rely on either education alone nor experience alone. Relying on experience alone simply produces someone who makes the same mistakes with an ever increasing level of confidence in doing them. If you depend upon what others have learned and don't apply your own experience, things never improve either but on a much larger scale (most clinical advances happen because someone noticed something that did not jive with accepted practice or theory).

The problem is that I've been in EMS for 11 years and at times what I have had to deal with has gotten to me, so when people make comments like yours, I tend to remind them that most of what we see most often is not what you are probably looking for. The things you are (probably) looking for are of a nature that tends to extract their pound of flesh from you psychologically. The washout rate in EMS is high for these and other reasons (the lack of advancement opportunities and the low pay tend to be the "other reasons), and I've always said that at 5 years (and more so at 10) you see about 5-10% of the people who initially sought training still in it.

This is expressed in a "rule" I tell EMT students: "95% of people are in EMS for 5% of the calls. The 5% of us who stay in it long term are sustained by the 95% of the calls." Those 5% of calls (the traumas, the cardiac arrests, the crashing asthmatics, the bad CHFers) also tend to thin the herd of students with sensitive makeups pretty quickly, especially if it's a pediatric arrest or trauma. The strictly adrenaline junkie types tend to get bored and leave when they realize they won't be working a code every shift, nor do you see bad traumas as every other call either.

You can watch a radical shift in attitude after a new provider a few months to a couple of years of experience under his belt- the traumas and cardiac arrests lose their allure and the things you can easily fix (hypoglycemia, most asthmatics, etc) tend to become more enjoyable. Sorry....didn't mean to ramble.......

 

[Bacchus]

Wow... I did not realize all of that about EMS. But I'm not going into EMS so I'm not sure where the EMS post came from? Oh well, on to other endeavors and keeping it real with more posts.

 

[gallbladder2]

you don't need research
just do some awesome volunteer work
I went to Nepal and did some medical work
also worked in several clinics in Thailand and INdia
also was a volunteer fireman
my gpa was 3.34 had 8 C's and 10 B's on my application in electrical engineering
mcat 30

got accepted to 3 schools out of 5 I applied to

never set foot in a research lab

 

[LifetimeDoc]

What you need depends on where you are applying, and what your "total application package" looks like. Any of the three you mentioned are part of a good total package, but they aren't all required. Just do what you feel is right, explore all of the avenues of medicine so that you go into this educated, informed, and able to relay that to the ADCOM when the time comes in your essays and interview.

 

[AlXguy]

so research is the least important of the 3 things mentioned?

 

[LifetimeDoc]

so research is the least important of the 3 things mentioned?

Depends on the medical school. Some favor research, some don't. There is a high diversity amongst medical schools concerning the "model medical student". This is why you should apply to a variety of schools, but choose intelligently, because you never know what school you will be a good fit with.

 

[Spathi]

I think you need some sort of volunteer, clinical activity that you stick with for 1-2 years at least.

 

[totempole]

I started volunteering in the Emergency Department of a local medical center about a month ago and love it so much I'm considering doing EMS training during my freshman year of college and applying to work in the ED as a tech. I was wondering how adcoms view working in a hospital as opposed to volunteering? Or would it be wise to seek volunteer work in other places? (I'm thinking I might do that regardless, because I love volunteering now, and I'm thinking there might be other places I'd be able to see/help out more at.)

The volunteer program at my MC is rather disorganized, but I actually like it that way. I'm the only volunteer I know of and I essentially just get to follow techs around and assist them whenever they stock/see patients. I usually work between 7-12 once a week and get to go to the express ED when it's 10. There I've pretty much just followed the doctors/med students around which essentially seems like shadowing to me, but I really love it.

I never knew how to formally get involved with shadowing. Do I just approach a doctor and ask them? Or would I need to go through the hospital administration (I suppose this would depend on what type of physician I'd want to shadow.) I've also been asked by the "volunteer coordinator" if I want to watch surgeries, which I do. And I think that is awesome--volunteer work has been so wonderful I almost feel guilty that I've received way more than I've contributed.

And I guess my question about shadowing also includes the aspect of whether or not it's ever to early to shadow. Would you recommend waiting till junior/senior year to do this? Or can you do it anytime? I really just can't wait to do it, I love watching the ER physicians do their thing now and sort of want to get a heads up.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I'm considering doing EMS training

If you decide to pursue it and need any assistance or have any questions, please let me know as I am a former EMS instructor and supervisor. Feel free to PM me.

You might also check out: http://www.fieldmedics.com/forum/ Arguably the best EMS forums on the internet...not the most active, but the membership there tends to be a little more....uh, intelligent and forward thinking than you encounter at one of the busier sites.

 

[maxflash04]

It's never too early to volunteer or contribute to the medical field. Continuing to do so throughout college will only show your ability to manage both. Regarding approaching a physician about shadowing, just ask him/her. I've sat-in on several surgeries and it's amazing. I'm sure you'll love it!

 

[prmdbeach17]

I started volunteering in the Emergency Department of a local medical center about a month ago and love it so much I'm considering doing EMS training during my freshman year of college and applying to work in the ED as a tech. I was wondering how adcoms view working in a hospital as opposed to volunteering? Or would it be wise to seek volunteer work in other places? (I'm thinking I might do that regardless, because I love volunteering now, and I'm thinking there might be other places I'd be able to see/help out more at.)

The volunteer program at my MC is rather disorganized, but I actually like it that way. I'm the only volunteer I know of and I essentially just get to follow techs around and assist them whenever they stock/see patients. I usually work between 7-12 once a week and get to go to the express ED when it's 10. There I've pretty much just followed the doctors/med students around which essentially seems like shadowing to me, but I really love it.

I never knew how to formally get involved with shadowing. Do I just approach a doctor and ask them? Or would I need to go through the hospital administration (I suppose this would depend on what type of physician I'd want to shadow.) I've also been asked by the "volunteer coordinator" if I want to watch surgeries, which I do. And I think that is awesome--volunteer work has been so wonderful I almost feel guilty that I've received way more than I've contributed.

And I guess my question about shadowing also includes the aspect of whether or not it's ever to early to shadow. Would you recommend waiting till junior/senior year to do this? Or can you do it anytime? I really just can't wait to do it, I love watching the ER physicians do their thing now and sort of want to get a heads up.

It's never too early to get in shadowing hours. I feel the same way you do about volunteering (& the shadowing I've done), I've gotten back more than given & I love to do both. A lot of people would cut out the volunteering if it didn't just look good on their app, but I'd still do it. Try emailing physicians to shadow..works better at a large teaching hospital..or ask family members/friends if they know physicians who'd be willing to let you follow them around. The doctors I've shadowed have been really awesome about it. Or just tell your vol coordinator, yes you'd like to watch some surgeries.

 

[zoeblogrow]

When doing research, does it matter if you're getting paid? I'll be a freshman next year and think I might be able to become someone's "lab bitch"(as murphy so eloquently put it) in September or October. Would medical schools give more credit to those who actually get paid instead of just volunteering in the lab?

And how much do you guys think the prestige of the undergraduate institution matters? Would Ivy League students have a considerable advantage over, say, public school applicants? Would this only come into effect during neck-to-neck comparisons or would it actually make up for some gaps?