Shadowing and Volunteering? For Paramedic/RN with experience.

[CCMedic]

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Hello everyone,

I am a non traditional applicant, and I have been involved in health care for over 10 years in various roles in EMS paid/volunteer and Nursing. At present I have a full time job and taking pre-reqs and studying for MCAT.

Going to medical school was not a serious goal until recently, when I finally realized that I will not be content unless I have the knowledge of true medical sciences and get to practice at the highest level.

During my years I had over 5 years of volunteer experience in various places for simply love of it. Sadly people move away from their positions and asking for letters of past "volunteer experience" from new people in those positions is not something I can get. In addition, during training and work I had countless shadowing hours over the years with attendings, residents etc. in various hospitals and no letters of proof.

In addition, doing something just for a check box on an application is very superficial and is not something that sits well with me. I think when interviewed that's easy to spot: "EMT class last year of college check, 100 hours volunteer check, 50 hours shadowing check. I always wanted to be a doctor and help people story check" These are not substantial experience and there is a line of people just like that come interview day.

Thus my no BS question is someone who is non traditional and working in healthcare how important is it to have "volunteer" and "shadowing experience" for Med school application? With full time job and course load this would literary be a check box experience and is it that important to have?

Thank you!

 

[seanm028]

I hear what you're saying, but there are certain requirements in this game. Shadowing and volunteering are two of them.

That said, my understanding is that reporting shadowing hours is essentially done on the honor system. As long as you're being honest about your shadowing hours, you should be alright without letters. Obviously, time might be an issue. Depending on how long ago these experiences were, you might consider doing a few more hours.

 

[CCMedic]

Is there an objective ranking MCAT, GPA, Shadow, Volunteer in terms of how these activities are viewed by admissions?

Also curious to hear from other healthcare professionals if you were asked about shadowing experience and volunteer. I can understand shadowing for someone who had no exposure, working 10 years in various roles what would 50 or 100 hours of shadowing currently showcase to admissions?


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[seanm028]

Is there an objective ranking MCAT, GPA, Shadow, Volunteer in terms of how these activities are viewed by admissions?

Also curious to hear from other healthcare professionals if you were asked about shadowing experience and volunteer. I can understand shadowing for someone who had no exposure, working 10 years in various roles what would 50 or 100 hours of shadowing currently showcase to admissions?


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I think the closest thing you'll find to an objective ranking is the @WedgeDawg Applicant Rating System (I think that's what it's called). The link is in his signature.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I think the closest thing you'll find to an objective ranking is the @WedgeDawg Applicant Rating System (I think that's what it's called). The link is in his signature.

Hi. Yes it is.

And to answer the shadowing question, it’s so that you can demonstrate you really know what the real life day to day job of a doctor is and you know exactly what you’re getting into. Years of other healthcare experience is great and all and you can certainly talk about your familiarity with healthcare settings and your desire to work with sick people, but you’re only getting snapshots of a doctors life in these roles. Shadowing makes the focus of the activity you observing what a doctor actually does rather than just peripherally interacting with them. That is what makes it valuable in and of itself. The only activity I can think of that also counts as shadowing is scribing because you’re literally following a doctor around for their entire workday. However, you would only be exposed to the ED and not an actual inpatient or outpatient setting, which make up the majority of the settings that doctors practice in, so you should still do some more shadowing beyond that as well.

 

[Blanky]

First thing I will mention is to get used to box checking, in fact get "good" at it and do it with a smile.
I agree it sucks.
I am not an RN but have worked EMS for 8 years and then in the ED for 3. UG of 4 years so you can do the math in regards to me starting PT in school and transitioning into the ED and FT for UG.
I get a lot of exposure to EM physicians and went with a EM DO and a CCM MD LOR for my app, and received tons of DO love and minimal MD (1 II, 1 WL) love. The MD love is likely related to my MCAT only being 507 (GPA 3.85.)

Long story short I went into the app with no shadowing or research. I do feel that some primary care would have rounded out my app nicely (20-40 hrs.) But went in with 18k clinical paid hours and 3k volunteer hours as a Firefighter. I wrote my essays towards my strengths and I don't feel I have a weak app except the below avg MCAT.

 

[MedicE24]

As a medic with acceptances in this current cycle, I'll speak from my experiences. EMS for 5 years with sporadic (<200 hr) volunteer experience and minimal (<50 hr) shadowing. Neither of these seemed to be an issue when discussed in interviews, as they wanted specifics (stories, lessons learned, etc.). What I don't know, however, is if these shortcomings prevented me from ranking higher in the initial review process that leads to II from schools I thought I had a decent shot at. Stats in sig with up to date application statuses.

Like you, I didn't feel "check boxing" was a good look for me, but perhaps I overthought it. Limited research and further science background definitely limited my app in the reach school category, but I'm not sure if the other limitations affected me with fit schools. My recommendation would be do whatever you feel will boost your resume beyond checklists. Specifically, do things that will lead to stories and interactions that will provide good personal statement and secondary essay material (and even LORs!). Another thing to take into account is where you are in this process. If you are applying this summer, I would avoid loading up on activities that you weren't doing beforehand to avoid looking like you're not confident in your app (again, maybe overthinking it). If you are working towards a 2020 or later cycle, plot out some things you would like to accomplish during your breaks from school, days off, etc. that will accomplish the goals noted above.

Above all else, trust your app. You've made this decision for a reason. You will second guess yourself so much (especially on this neurotic website lol). Just know that whatever has brought you to this point is the most important part of your app, not the checklist items you may add in the coming months. Keep us updated with your progress and good luck down the road!

 

[RNthenDoc]

I reported zero shadowing. 5 acceptances.

Your mileage may vary, but if you’ve already worked with physicians and know lots of them, that counts as “shadowing.”

The volunteering is important, but I hadn’t had any recently. (For good reason: I was working overtime and doing premed classes.)

 

[Mike Bagwell]

It varies from school to school and from application to application.
Despite what some people on this site say, you don't need a tremendous amount of shadowing or volunteer work to have a competitive application. I had some decent hours and got in but I have classmates with substantially less experience than me who also got in.

As a nurse you have good clinical exposure but you still need to be able to shadow a physician to be able to say you understand what being a physician is all about. Personally, I think shadowing is overrated but it's a box you need to check like you said.

But again, this scenario varies from school to school so I would actually try and discuss this with the admissions department of the schools that you are interested in applying to. That's what I did.

Lastly, clinical exposure will not help you with low stats. Some people still think investing in clinical hours with mediocre stats will make up for some other deficiency in their app and that is false.

 

[Michelle 0bama]

I am a non-traditional 2nd year medical student. I didn't have a lot of time to shadow or volunteer. I pursued getting my EMT as an opportunity to gain more exposure. My recommendation is to shadow physicians as much as possible. Do so in the interest of really learning what you enjoy in the medical field. Getting into med school is just one hurdle. The real challenge is maintaining your enthusiasm, pacing yourself, and being sure this is what you really want. This is not a job. It's a life commitment. Seek out experiences that really interest you and I don't think you can go wrong.