TIP 5
Elect a summer session
As the term proceeds you may find your schedule
to be too demanding and that it is
jeopardizing your overall performance. You
should then consider dropping a course to
lighten your load, perhaps making up the course
during the following summer. Consult
an appropriate school advisor before doing
so.
EXTRACURRICULAR AND SUMMER ACTIVITIES
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Your nonacademic activities usually will not be
decisive elements in your admission to
medical school but they can be helpful. You
would be well advised to participate in your
college premedical society, as well as other
organizations that may be related to medi-
cine less directly. Participation in community,
political, or sports activities helps in pre-
senting the image of a well-rounded and
adjusted individual to admissions officers.
If possible, plan your summer activities so
that they can be useful for your career
goals. Such activities include hospital work,
research, or other activities involving inter-
personal contacts. For example, at the end of
the freshman year, try to find activities that
involve working with people, such as youth camp
work or community projects. During
the summer following the sophomore year, try to
gain some hospital experience.
Though summer positions in hospitals are not
readily available, try for employment as
an orderly, operating or emergency room
assistant, or nurse's aide. Also consider a posi-
tion as a clinical laboratory assistant or a
position in a mental hospital or nursing home.
The summer between the junior and senior year
could also be spent in hospital
work. Students with an interest in research
might try obtaining a position at a medical
school or in a government laboratory. In
addition, a summer spent participating in a
research project can provide an understanding
of the scientific method in action. It will
afford experiences in designing experiments and
in collecting and evaluating data.
When working on a summer project, make a
definite effort to ensure that your
supervisor becomes acquainted with both you and
your work. It may prove useful later
when you begin securing letters of
recommendation to be sent to the medical schools.
As a prospective professional, you should take
a job in a hospital, not just to be able
to list this activity on your application, but
to be able to look at yourself and your reac-
tions to the sick patient, to understand that
medical practice is not all heroics and glory,
but many hours of hard work. You should try to
familiarize yourself with the roles of the
various members of the health care team so that
you recognize that each has a crucial
function in the entire process. In this way you
can see if it is the physician's role that is
most compatible with your life
goals.
Your competitors for a place in a medical
school freshman class will present evi-
dence of participation in one or more of three
areas: clinical experience, volunteer ser-
vice, and/or research. Each of these activities
will be discussed separately.
Clinical Experience
The overwhelming majority of applicants seek,
to some degree, to demonstrate expo-
sure to clinical aspects of medicine. This may
result from professional medical activities
(such as being a PA, EMT, nurse, etc.) or from
involvement in volunteer work. The
nature of your experience and duration are the
two important factors relative to this
issue. Your contact with physicians, patients,
and ancillary staff, and the type of envi-
ronment you were in can suggest the impact it
will have on your thoughts on your career
choice and possible future plans.
If a clinical opportunity comes your way,
inquire if it offers the possibility of obtain-
ing the experiences you seek, such as working
with patients, observing physicians during
rounds and at clinical conferences, being
exposed to emergency room activities, etc. The
latter has the potential of offering invaluable
exposure into the world of medicine from a
variety of perspectives and, when possible,
should be included as part of one's clinical
experiences.
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