Summer Expereince?

[SoIAmConfusion]

Hi,

So I hit kind of a hard spot that I don't know how to address. I am a rising Junior who was unable to secure any internships/volunteer experience/etc in the summer of 2020 (both because of the pandemic and the confusion that came with transferring the semester before). As things start to get back to normal this year, I have been trying to find some opportunities for this summer since the end of 2020 and have not had much luck. The vast majority of hospitals that I could find have cancelled any summer internship or volunteer programs for this summer. Two were still set to take place, one of which I got rejected from after bombing the final interview, and the other I have yet to hear anything back from despite being told directly that they would reach out with final decisions a week ago (which i take to mean that I also was rejected).

I live near Chicago, so while I know that COVID restrictions might be more extensive because it is an urban area, I am assuming there should still be many more opportunities in other healthcare settings. My issue is that I do not know how to find any of them, and whenever I reach out to any places asking about opportunities my emails don't even receive a response. I am already worried about being a pre-med because I am not on the typical bio/chem major pre-med path, and feel like I really need to get some experience in the medical field.

Do you all have any advice on how to search for good pre-med summer experiences? And is the fact that I have been unable to secure such an experience for this summer an indication of how fit/unfit I am to go to medical school?

P.S. This entire entry was written with the assumption that any programs that actively cost money are non-starters. I can't afford to pay to attend a program and still have enough money to go to school next semester lol

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Monkeymojo]

You could always look for direct care staff positions. Many require no certification and the low pay means that healthcare systems are constantly looking for people to apply. While your interactions with physicians are often limited you will work with nurses and gain clinical exposure. Scribe for America is also an option if you can type fast and want more physician contact.

I would also recommend taking this time to look for research and or schedule stuff on campus for this fall. Spring means lots of people are graduating. The biochemistry lab I just got into had 4 undergraduates graduate last semester, meaning this is prime time for PI's to look for new people.