I'm at kind of a transitional place right now, and am trying to figure out my next steps. I am definitely planning on applying to med school next summer, but I don't feel like I'm doing enough right now to support my app and would love some advice...
Some background:
2015 college grad taking post-bacc classes (3.84 gpa)- just taking physics right now, have to take orgo II and physics II in the spring. Up until August, I had been working for a health system in workforce development since graduation, coordinating programs that prepared underserved populations for careers in healthcare. I left the job because my grant period ended, and am now nannying almost full-time in order to both make money and have a schedule flexible enough to take classes and study for the MCATs.
I recently finished an EMT class and am hoping to volunteer as an EMT maybe once a week. I really don't have more time than that to devote to it and do not want to take on a job as an EMT, because I need the money I'm making from nannying. In terms of ECs, I worked as an administrative assistant at a maternal fetal medicine office for several years in college, spent about ~50 hrs. shadowing the doc there, and have a good bit of volunteer experience from college (free clinic, mentoring/tutoring adult with development disability, teaching health lessons to elementary schoolers, part of a group that did sexual health programming at my university). I also worked for a bit in a fly lab in college (extremely unglamorous, but I guess lab experience nonetheless) and did a chart extraction clinical research project that took 2-3 years and resulted in a first author publication. I have two other publications from research I did in high school (which I know doesn't really count, but I feel like a publication is a publication...)
Before applying, I would definitely like to shadow a primary care doctor, but I feel like I'm not doing enough right now, because I'm mostly just working and taking classes. Another issue is I may move to another state in January, and I don't want to commit to a long term volunteer position or job if that is the case. I've tried to continue volunteering at the free clinic, but it's hard to get hours and doesn't work very well with my schedule at the moment. I also don't want to take on something that I'll only be able to do for a couple months (whether it be now, or in January) that will look like I'm just trying to pad my app. I'm having trouble coming up with ways that I can demonstrate a commitment to medicine while fulfilling all my other responsibilities. Besides 50-75 hrs at the free clinic and the maternal fetal medicine office, I feel like I'm lacking in clinical experience, and I'm a little stressed. Does anybody have ideas of things I could be doing right now?
Some background:
2015 college grad taking post-bacc classes (3.84 gpa)- just taking physics right now, have to take orgo II and physics II in the spring. Up until August, I had been working for a health system in workforce development since graduation, coordinating programs that prepared underserved populations for careers in healthcare. I left the job because my grant period ended, and am now nannying almost full-time in order to both make money and have a schedule flexible enough to take classes and study for the MCATs.
I recently finished an EMT class and am hoping to volunteer as an EMT maybe once a week. I really don't have more time than that to devote to it and do not want to take on a job as an EMT, because I need the money I'm making from nannying. In terms of ECs, I worked as an administrative assistant at a maternal fetal medicine office for several years in college, spent about ~50 hrs. shadowing the doc there, and have a good bit of volunteer experience from college (free clinic, mentoring/tutoring adult with development disability, teaching health lessons to elementary schoolers, part of a group that did sexual health programming at my university). I also worked for a bit in a fly lab in college (extremely unglamorous, but I guess lab experience nonetheless) and did a chart extraction clinical research project that took 2-3 years and resulted in a first author publication. I have two other publications from research I did in high school (which I know doesn't really count, but I feel like a publication is a publication...)
Before applying, I would definitely like to shadow a primary care doctor, but I feel like I'm not doing enough right now, because I'm mostly just working and taking classes. Another issue is I may move to another state in January, and I don't want to commit to a long term volunteer position or job if that is the case. I've tried to continue volunteering at the free clinic, but it's hard to get hours and doesn't work very well with my schedule at the moment. I also don't want to take on something that I'll only be able to do for a couple months (whether it be now, or in January) that will look like I'm just trying to pad my app. I'm having trouble coming up with ways that I can demonstrate a commitment to medicine while fulfilling all my other responsibilities. Besides 50-75 hrs at the free clinic and the maternal fetal medicine office, I feel like I'm lacking in clinical experience, and I'm a little stressed. Does anybody have ideas of things I could be doing right now?
