How Do I Bolster my Resume?

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Colt4545

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I'm at the end of my P1 year and so far have a great GPA and am interested in a hospital residency. However, I know GPA is not the most important factor of getting a residency. I currently am not involved in any clubs on campus and do not have any work experience. I've applied to a couple hospitals for intern/technician positions and hope to start at one of them in the next couple months. Other than keeping my GPA high and getting work experience what other suggestions could you guys make? I've heard doing research early in school rather than saving it all for your P3 year is smart and that research is vital for obtaining a residency.

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1) Intern/Tech position (preferably at hospital)
2) Professional organizations
3) Research! (I saved this until P4 year, and got lucky to find a faculty mentor who truly helped and loved me enough to take me under her wing during my APPE blocks off to do some research. START EARLY!)
4) Community Service
5) Presentations and Posters if you can (?), some of my colleagues have presented at national conferences besides ASHP midyear. (ACCP Midyear, CROI, etc)
6) Clinical competitions and skills competitions with other schools. Some of my friends have this.
7) Honors and GPA of course (but you technically don't always need it, I'm not honors :) )
8) TEACHING EXPERIENCE! If you want a residency that does teaching/has teaching certificate/academic medical center (Peer mentorship, mentor-mentee events from the professional organizations if your school has this... and APPE Teaching/Academia rotations!)
... I don't know if I'm missing anything else.
 
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One thing I wish I did was set up rotations at as many sites as I could that I was planning on applying to. It's like a 4-6 week interview and gives you a real advantage over other applicants who are just names on paper.
 
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1) Intern/Tech position (preferably at hospital)
2) Professional organizations
3) Research! (I saved this until P4 year, and got lucky to find a faculty mentor who truly helped and loved me enough to take me under her wing during my APPE blocks off to do some research. START EARLY!)
4) Community Service
5) Presentations and Posters if you can (?), some of my colleagues have presented at national conferences besides ASHP midyear. (ACCP Midyear, CROI, etc)
6) Clinical competitions and skills competitions with other schools. Some of my friends have this.
7) Honors and GPA of course (but you technically don't always need it, I'm not honors :) )
8) TEACHING EXPERIENCE! If you want a residency that does teaching/has teaching certificate/academic medical center (Peer mentorship, mentor-mentee events from the professional organizations if your school has this... and APPE Teaching/Academia rotations!)
... I don't know if I'm missing anything else.

This might be a weird question but for #8 on your list, would you put things like peer mentorships or mentorships from professional orgs on a CV or is it simply just word of mouth networking?
 
This might be a weird question but for #8 on your list, would you put things like peer mentorships or mentorships from professional orgs on a CV or is it simply just word of mouth networking?

Peer Mentor
Mentorships from professional organizations
Academia and teaching rotations
International student ambassador (if your school has this)
... Teaching assistant stuff with any professors as well.

:) hope this answers it
 
I'd echo pharmasaurusRex17's list.

Residencies [ideally] prepare you to be a good [pharmacy] clinician, researcher, teacher and/or leader, with each hospital weighting each a little differently. Use those core dimensions to guide your behavior. Pharmacy involvement is definitely recommended, but don't limit yourself to it.

One thing: I think there's always an innate tendency to pad your resume with activities, research and organizations, hence your question. Be value-added and focus on impact.
 
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