What are you doing with YOUR gap year?

[Osteoth]

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Traveling, working in industry

 

[journalistdoingscience]

Research research research! Trying really hard to get a few more pubs in before I matriculate (hopefully next fall!). Volunteering as much as possible (currently at a children's hospital) aaaand saving for/planning a really long super awesome adventure in Europe for next spring/summer!

 

[bruwin2011]

This is my 2nd gap year in a row (I went to grad school before I started working) . I am working as a clinical research coordinator at big research hospital affiliated with a top medical school (one PI is a associate professor at the med school, other is the department head), academic tutor, MCAT tutor, volunteering with underserved at risk girls, continuing to compete as a competitive athlete.

If you are looking to do research in your gap year, I suggest clinical research at an academic hospital because you will not only get the research hours in (and hopefully some publications), but also clinical hours through seeing patients and a letter of rec- hopefully you can get lucky and work under one that is a professor at a med school or has some sort of connection so they can make calls on your behalf.

 

[Dr. Stalker]

Taking a Spanish course. Tutoring. TA'ing. Hospital volunteering. Researching. Praying to get in.


Posted using SDN Mobile

Love the "praying to get in" part, same here 😛!

 

[deeproots]

I was desperately trying to find a job in a clinical setting to boost my clinical experiences during my gap year. I got really down when I couldn't find anything of the sort, and I started opening my mind a bit. Long story short, I got a job working with kids with special needs. I'm SO glad I did, because it gives life experiences while still being clinically relevant, and I'm actually having fun at work (at least sometimes...).

 

[ebasappa]

I'm currently in my gap year, I work part-time in a research lab, the other time I spend partying >:] Gotta go through a full year of being trashed before med school starts haha

 

[dbgehle]

I am doing a gap year applying now, and I work as an ER scribe full time. I have to say this has been an amazing way to get experience before medical school. If you're going to spend an entire year off, this is a good way to keep learning new things that will be relevant to you once you become a physician.

How hard was it to get a job? Did you do it through a particular program?

 

[cv7462]

How hard was it to get a job? Did you do it through a particular program?

PM me if you want specifics, but it all depends on the area that you live in and how many people are applying at the same time! The training is rigorous though, and I know for my program they hire more people than they actually let pass training.

 

[dbgehle]

I'm currently in my AmeriCorps gap year working in the HIV/AIDS field.

Just curious, is this with Medicorps? Are you doing clinical work?

 

[RavenclawMed]

Just curious, is this with Medicorps? Are you doing clinical work?

It is not with Medicorps. I'm doing more social service work but I am exposed to the clinical side through my work as well.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

I would do an MS in clinical research. Good foundation for when you decide to do research in med school, esp. if you decide to do something competitive, so you don't have to be taught. Also will make u look unique on residency interviews, which residencies will salivate over.

Is this type of thing seen as mostly fluff, or is it actually considered worthwhile and helpful (admissions-wise) for someone who wants to attend a research oriented medical school?

 

[DermViser]

Is this type of thing seen as mostly fluff, or is it actually considered worthwhile and helpful (admissions-wise) for someone who wants to attend a research oriented medical school?

It's not fluff at all. When you do clinical research with a department in medical school, no one is going to "teach" you how to do research. It definitely makes you unique, and is a good thing during a gap year while you're waiting for acceptances. Same with doing in MPH.

 

[shoopshoop]

want to do something a little out of the ordinary, and learn something new and exciting – so i'm thinking of doing health consulting or biotech or something more businessy. the extra $$$ don't hurt.

 

[organesha]

Working 10-15 hours per week in a lab, scribing 25-30 hours per week for an otolaryngologist, volunteering 4 hours per week in a critical care unit, and being a rock-climbing gym rat!

 

[sparos]

.

 

[redshortshorts]

Working as an ER scribe full time for the past 1.5 years. This has been a great experience that I've been able to address on a majority of my interviews and like another poster said this has been excellent exposure into clinical medicine as well as provided a way for me to support myself. Also volunterring at a local non-profit organization for children on a weekly basis. Shadowing docs here and there. Other than that I still find I have time to pursue extracurriculars and hobbies (like bars).

 

[Dr. Stalker]

Hey that sounds pretty awesome. Overall winner here seems to be ER scribe - how does one go about finding this position though...?

 

[JimmyB123]

Hey that sounds pretty awesome. Overall winner here seems to be ER scribe - how does one go about finding this position though...?

ER scribe is a great gig, I did it for a pretty long time. However, I'm not going to say it's the best gap year experience. If you have the opportunity to go teach English in Japan, work as a clinical research coordinator, work at a biotech, etc., I would say those experiences will give you more to talk about and add more dimension to your application. But of course, if you want clinical experience and really like emergency medicine, be an ER scribe by all means. It definitely taught me a lot and was a good experience. But think about yourself as a physician who is interviewing a candidate. Personally, I would be more interested in a candidate that did something a little more interesting. I'm not really interested in talking about why ultrasound use by emergency physicians is controversial or the pros/cons of a d-dimer reading in a potential PE patient. These are things you will learn as an ER scribe and definitively are cool and will kick you a leg up, but they are things the physicians interviewing you will already know and not really think it to be very interesting topics for discussion - especially with a pre med student. That's my take on ER scribe anyways. It's a good gig but I would try to make yourself stand out more during your gap year. YOLO!


Edit - Oh yeah to answer your question. Google PhysAssist, Scribe for America, and Medical Scribe Systems. Apply through their websites.

 

[FutureOncologist]

I didn't take a gap year, but a friend of mine took quite a few.

He is 35 and had 13 gap years (technically). He had a B.A. in Biology when he graduated, but didn't feel ready for medical school. So he raised horses, had a full-time job, and tutored math and biology to high schoolers on every other weekend or so. It was through the school at first but then he was hired privately. He got so much money from it that he took an entire summer (June - September) to tour Europe with his wife. When he came back, he found a research gig at his alma mater and quit tutoring. He published twice before leaving the group (for personal reasons). When he left, he shadowed a bunch of doctors that he had met through the years and accumulated >300 hours. He took the MCAT and scored a 37... He had finally applied at the age of 33 and got into every school he applied to.

We asked him why he applied so late. He told us "because I did everything I wanted to do in life other than medical school, which is the only thing I had left to do. So I finally forced myself to apply."

I wish I did what he did. Gap years can be the best decision you make before going to medical school.

 

[karayaa]

Hey that sounds pretty awesome. Overall winner here seems to be ER scribe - how does one go about finding this position though...?

Please don't blindly copy what everyone else is doing, especially everyone else on sdn.
Did you google er scribe job? fyi ER is a bit inflammatory, because you're implying that EM is not a real department or a real specialty (or so some might assume).
Different companies staff different locations (hospitals vs clinics etc) in different parts of the country.

For myself, I thought that scribing didn't offer enough responsibility and autonomy, and I worried that it would warp my view of medicine and exacerbate my doubts about applying to med school, so I bounced around in social service stuff and eventually ended up in research.

 

[Dr. Stalker]

ER scribe is a great gig, I did it for a pretty long time. However, I'm not going to say Tis the best gap year experience. If you have the opportunity to go teach English in Japan, work as a clinical research coordinator, work at a biotech, etc., I would say those experiences will give you more to talk about and add more dimension to your application. But of course, if you want clinical experience and really like emergency medicine, be an ER scribe by all means. It definitely taught me a lot and was a good experience. But think about yourself as a physician who is interviewing a candidate. Personally, I would be more interested in a candidate that did something a little more interesting. I'm not really interested in talking about why ultrasound use by emergency physicians is controversial or the pros/cons of a d-dimer reading in a potential PE patient. These are things you will learn as an ER scribe and definitively are cool and will kick you a leg up, but they are things the physicians interviewing you will already know and not really think it to be very interesting topics for discussion - especially with a pre med student. That's my take on ER scribe anyways. Tis a good gig but I would try to make yourself stand out more during your gap year. YOLO!


Edit - Oh yeah to answer your question. Google PhysAssist, Scribe for America, and Medical Scribe Systems. Apply through their websites.

awesome thanks for the tips. I really appreciate how you went into the pros and cons of a bunch of things! 😀

 

[Dr. Stalker]

I didn't take a gap year, but a friend of mine took quite a few.

He is 35 and had 13 gap years (technically). He had a B.A. in Biology when he graduated, but didn't feel ready for medical school. So he raised horses, had a full-time job, and tutored math and biology to high schoolers on every other weekend or so. Twas through the school at first but then he was hired privately. He got so much money from it that he took an entire summer (June - September) to tour Europe with his wife. When he came back, he found a research gig at his alma mater and quit tutoring. He published twice before leaving the group (for personal reasons). When he left, he shadowed a bunch of doctors that he had met through the years and accumulated >300 hours. He took the MCAT and scored a 37... He had finally applied at the age of 33 and got into every school he applied to.

We asked him why he applied so late. He told us "because I did everything I wanted to do in life other than medical school, which is the only thing I had left to do. So I finally forced myself to apply."

I wish I did what he did. Gap years can be the best decision you make before going to medical school.

Wow what an incredible story. Props to your friend, bet he'll be a great doctor! The thing is I'm positive there's nothing else I want to do...taking this one year is practically killing me, and I'm not even there yet! I'm trying to make the best of it, to really broaden my understanding of of medicine as well as enjoying myself! I just worry incase my scores and numbers will keep me out :\.

 

[Dr. Stalker]

Please don't blindly copy what everyone else is doing, especially everyone else on sdn.
Did you google er scribe job? fyi ER is a bit inflammatory, because you're implying that EM is not a real department or a real specialty (or so some might assume).
Different companies staff different locations (hospitals vs clinics etc) in different parts of the country.

For myself, I thought that scribing didn't offer enough responsibility and autonomy, and I worried that it would warp my view of medicine and exacerbate my doubts about applying to med school, so I bounced around in social service stuff and eventually ended up in research.

Hey, I totally agree with that. When I quoted the overall consensus,that was more of a joke - I didn't want to just jump into anything without thinking about it thoroughly. I agree that I, as well as other people, should always think carefully, before committing to anything, but its really easy to get hyped and sort of, jump on the bandwagon with these activities.

 

[FutureOncologist]

Wow what an incredible story. Props to your friend, bet he'll be a great doctor! The thing is I'm positive there's nothing else I want to do...taking this one year is practically killing me, and I'm not even there yet! I'm trying to make the best of it, to really broaden my understanding of of medicine as well as enjoying myself! I just worry incase my scores and numbers will keep me out :\.

He was also raising a family right when he graduated. He didn't want his children growing up with a father spending more time studying for exams and classes than spending time with them. They were mature enough when he applied to understand "even though dad can't spend all of his time with you because of classes and exams, he still loves you and wants to be there for you."

 

[Dr. Stalker]

He was also raising a family right when he graduated. He didn't want his children growing up with a father spending more time studying for exams and classes than spending time with them. They were mature enough when he applied to understand "even though dad can't spend all of his time with you because of classes and exams, he still loves you and wants to be there for you."

Absolutely great point again. I kind of feel like that is a big deal. At this rate, applying, going to medical school, residency, fellowship, someone is like 33-35 when they're done.And then you're talking about getting married and kids...shame it takes forever to train! People tend to forget the other important components of life. I mean,you can have a family during residency, but never seeing the kids must be tough on the resident and immensely troublesome for the kids growing up with 50% of the parents around :\.

 

[karayaa]

Absolutely great point again. I kind of feel like that is a big deal. At this rate, applying, going to medical school, residency, fellowship, someone is like 33-35 when they're done.And then you're talking about getting married and kids...shame it takes forever to train! People tend to forget the other important components of life. I mean,you can have a family during residency, but never seeing the kids must be tough on the resident and immensely troublesome for the kids growing up with 50% of the parents around :\.

I agree that raising a family during residency sounds rough. This is part of the reason why medicine is seen as a sacrifice.
One solution is to shorten your training period (finish ug at 22, finish med school at 26, finish residency at 30), or just start your family later, at 33-35. But if the latter, you might want to get a younger wife if you want more than a couple of kids.

 

[AM508]

Over the last 15 years I finished two bachelor's degrees and worked 60-80 hour weeks when I was not in school (worked 36 hour shifts on weekends while in school). Call it lazy or selfish if you want, but this last 6 months before I need to move and start school, I am taking it very easy, focusing on my hobbies and other interests that will definitely be neglected once medical school starts.