Student Groups

[fiznat]

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My fiancée is in law school and in that world apparently student groups are kind of a big deal. Moot Court, Law Review, etc etc-- my understanding is that prospective employers look for those kinds of accolades on resumes. Is it the same with medical school? SOMA, specialty interest groups, etc-- do residency program directors look for that kind of activity/work? Is being part of student groups during school worthwhile and interesting? What are the major groups and what do they do?

Help an incoming OMSI out please 🙂

 

[nlax30]

My opinion.... they can certainly be worthwhile and interesting, but I don't think programs put much, if any, thought into what campus clubs you were a part of.

Kind of as in undergrad, the important thing is what you do with that experience. If you are interested in a specific field, join that interest group and then use that to attend conferences, network/make contacts, and hold leadership positions, then I'd say at least that may be looked at as further proof you are interested in that field. So use it more for your benefit rather than thinking it's going to bolster your residency app. Just saying that you were part of the IM club, the Surgery club, the Student Gov't group, etc.. really doesn't mean much. Attending conferences through those groups, meeting program directors, presenting at conferences can only help you.

It's definitely not like law school with things such as Law Review, Moot Court, etc...

 

[DocEspana]

I may be predicting more than telling, as I haven't gotten anywhere near residency and am simply compounding the stories of other residents into an analysis; so take this as perhaps not universally true:

Being 'in' clubs does nothing for you, though it makes you feel good to do. 'leading' clubs does nothing for you, except show interest in a field, if you only do things within your school and its community. Being in a club and attending meetings lets you shake some hands and while it still does *nothing* for your CV, you may know some PDs or physicians ahead of time and those specific people will give you better LoRs.

Now if you are on a club leadership, go to national meetings, and you hold a national position (or if your club is REALLY prominent, a state position) you can really make an impact on your CV. I want to differentiate on this one a bit to make sure I'm clear. If you have a national position in any club you can really make huge inroads in that field. That's clear. Now as to what groups I think a state position is enough for? Pretty much only state medical societies (AMA sub-branches) and State Osteopathic Societies (not neccessarily SOMA, I mean AOA state branches). Just wanted to clarify that even if you're at the state (or national) level, being stuck in the student section 100% of the time doesn't make an impact.

I'm personally greatly involved in the state and national level of the AMA, holding state positions. It lets me talk to tons of students and representatives from all different groups (since every group known to man and not included in the AOA has representation at the AMA events) and it seems that those who make their impact in specialty societies seem to feel that reaching the level they did flipped a binary switch between stuff they did just for fun, and stuff finally paying dividends within their field. AMA/AOA national involvement does the same thing, but I am getting to know PDs from every field really well and keeping in contact with them after the meetings. I think you really need to rise to such a high level to make a difference, anything less than that is just "oh he is interested" but is rather insignificant.

TL;DR version: Clubs in medical school are basically self-stimulation. Feels good to do, but doesn't accomplish the actual goal it was made to get you (a leg up on residency). The exception here is holding national positions (attending isnt enough), and while both are effective; AMA/AOA > Specialty Society.

 

[ProtossCarrier]

I may be predicting more than telling, as I haven't gotten anywhere near residency and am simply compounding the stories of other residents into an analysis; so take this as perhaps not universally true:

Being 'in' clubs does nothing for you, though it makes you feel good to do. 'leading' clubs does nothing for you, except show interest in a field, if you only do things within your school and its community. Being in a club and attending meetings lets you shake some hands and while it still does *nothing* for your CV, you may know some PDs or physicians ahead of time and those specific people will give you better LoRs.

Now if you are on a club leadership, go to national meetings, and you hold a national position (or if your club is REALLY prominent, a state position) you can really make an impact on your CV. I want to differentiate on this one a bit to make sure I'm clear. If you have a national position in any club you can really make huge inroads in that field. That's clear. Now as to what groups I think a state position is enough for? Pretty much only state medical societies (AMA sub-branches) and State Osteopathic Societies (not neccessarily SOMA, I mean AOA state branches). Just wanted to clarify that even if you're at the state (or national) level, being stuck in the student section 100% of the time doesn't make an impact.

I'm personally greatly involved in the state and national level of the AMA, holding state positions. It lets me talk to tons of students and representatives from all different groups (since every group known to man and not included in the AOA has representation at the AMA events) and it seems that those who make their impact in specialty societies seem to feel that reaching the level they did flipped a binary switch between stuff they did just for fun, and stuff finally paying dividends within their field. AMA/AOA national involvement does the same thing, but I am getting to know PDs from every field really well and keeping in contact with them after the meetings. I think you really need to rise to such a high level to make a difference, anything less than that is just "oh he is interested" but is rather insignificant.

TL;DR version: Clubs in medical school are basically self-stimulation. Feels good to do, but doesn't accomplish the actual goal it was made to get you (a leg up on residency). The exception here is holding national positions (attending isnt enough), and while both are effective; AMA/AOA > Specialty Society.

Let's see how you match in the future. I am taken the complete opposite approach, and I am hellbent on the idea that a 20 point increase in board score will offset any extracurricular. Those position you mentioned about can be a significant commitment for your time.

 

[DocEspana]

Let's see how you match in the future. I am taken the complete opposite approach, and I am hellbent on the idea that a 20 point increase in board score will offset any extracurricular. Those position you mentioned about can be a significant commitment for your time.

Oh, abso-f*cking-loutly take up a lot of time. But for me, its time I'd be wasting. I have bouts of high efficiency for a few hours, then burn out for a while. Instead of watching TV or playing PS3, I can actually do this. The one thing i find is that the people who do this don't seem to find that their time is limited. It's something we do in our free time for two-ish total hours of work a week and then dedicate 4-6 weekends a year to.

If you feel it would take away too much time from your studies, then don't take the chance. Not worth it. But I'd definitely say that those who do have the time (and drive!) to get involved and make it to the top-ish levels benefit a ton. This is of course anecdotal, but its been clear enough that the people who do get involved but don't push past the student level get for residency what they roughly deserve by skill/merit and those who push to the national level are always off doing rotations in all these hugely desired locations and seem to get residencies that may seem like somewhat of a "lucky break" for them.

confounding variable: those who reach high levels are generally very charismatic. Charismatic people will generally place beyond their sheer skill would suggest.