What experience do I need?

[ztamm14]

So I’m a Sophomore in High School. I’m pretty smart I think, 4.1 GPA with all A’s which I’m not worried about.

It’s the experience that I’m worried about. So in the summer I signed up for Havard MedScience, which was a week of shadowing, meeting and listening to doctors and other researchers at MGH and Brigham and Women’s. But since that, I’ve read online of people shadowing for over 200 hours? I only shadowed doctors for 2 days!
What type of experience in internships, shadowing, and research should I be trying to get as I’m in high school? Please don’t tell me not to worry about this now, because I know in 3 and then again in 7 years I’ll be regretting not doing something sooner when it comes to experience in Medicine.

And how do I find doctors to shadow? Is there a website? Can anyone give me tips on where or how I would go about finding a doctor to shadow, who isn’t my private practice pediatrician? Do I absolutely need to shadow doctors in this setting? If not, what other type of experience should I be gaining?

Thanks

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[Robin-jay]

Don't post your name (even if its just your first).

 

[stickgirl390]

Serious answer: focus your free time on something unrelated to medicine while you are in high school. Most medical schools don’t want to hear about experiences gained in high school. They only request info from College and beyond. What you want to avoid is falling into the cookie-cutter mold that many premeds fit. High school is a great opportunity to try out hobbies that will make you unique and set you apart. More and more, med school applicants are coming across as “check box applicants” whose applications are more or less identical.

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions. I’m a high school teacher who will be starting medical school in the fall. Good luck!

 

[calivianya]

The poster above me is right. What you do in high school absolutely does not matter - nobody's even going to look at it.

 

[mtn_dew0verdose]

So I’m a Sophomore in High School. I’m pretty smart I think, 4.1 GPA with all A’s which I’m not worried about.

It’s the experience that I’m worried about. So in the summer I signed up for Havard MedScience, which was a week of shadowing, meeting and listening to doctors and other researchers at MGH and Brigham and Women’s. But since that, I’ve read online of people shadowing for over 200 hours? I only shadowed doctors for 2 days!
What type of experience in internships, shadowing, and research should I be trying to get as I’m in high school? Please don’t tell me not to worry about this now, because I know in 3 and then again in 7 years I’ll be regretting not doing something sooner when it comes to experience in Medicine.

And how do I find doctors to shadow? Is there a website? Can anyone give me tips on where or how I would go about finding a doctor to shadow, who isn’t my private practice pediatrician? Do I absolutely need to shadow doctors in this setting? If not, what other type of experience should I be gaining?

Thanks

Oh kid, if I were in your shoes...

1) Forget about SDN
2) As a sophomore, get my driver's license.
3) As a junior and senior, maintain that GPA and get into a good school
4)Summer before college, party and learn about "how" college works (Im a 1st gen college grad, I didn't know jack about college in or after high school. When I started college I was already a junior out the gate since I took a load of dual credit in hs. As stupid as it may sound, I knew nothing of the fafsa, nothing of 15hr/sem = graduate on time, 3hrs = 1 course, even tho labs are like 3 or 4 hrs long they only count for 1hr of credit, declaring majors, etc... Let alone what I wanted to major in, let alone what I wanted to do in life! If what I'm saying is obvious af to you, then awesome, disregard #4 except for the "party" part.)
5) Settle into college, knock out the first semester, no need to do anything outlandish.
6) Second semester start looking into extra curriculars, pursuing SDN, and working on building that medical foundation.

Tl;dr you're golden, just chill tf out, you got like two and a half years, maybe even three, before you need to worry about anything.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using SDN mobile

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Protip: a mature person doesn’t ask for advice and then say “don’t give me advice if it’s something I won’t agree with.”
Listen to the above. It’s too early to shadow. Most hospitals will not allow anyone under 18 to set foot near patients.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

As others alluded to, no one will look at your high school activities. It is generally the advice that you only include activities that happen after high school graduation unless those things start in high school and continue into college (and are significant activities). Shadowing in high school will be hard to procure and completely unnecessary (and mostly irrelevant).

Just do the things that will get you into a good college, which it sounds like you’re already doing. Explore other careers and fields. This is the time to rule out other things you might be interested in and to enjoy having few responsibilities. Don’t waste it being hyper focused on medicine.

 

[21Rush12]

1. Go to hSDN and post there.
2. Learn to drive.
3. Get laid.
4. Enjoy your life.

 

[Goro]

So I’m a Sophomore in High School. I’m pretty smart I think, 4.1 GPA with all A’s which I’m not worried about.

It’s the experience that I’m worried about. So in the summer I signed up for Havard MedScience, which was a week of shadowing, meeting and listening to doctors and other researchers at MGH and Brigham and Women’s. But since that, I’ve read online of people shadowing for over 200 hours? I only shadowed doctors for 2 days!
What type of experience in internships, shadowing, and research should I be trying to get as I’m in high school? Please don’t tell me not to worry about this now, because I know in 3 and then again in 7 years I’ll be regretting not doing something sooner when it comes to experience in Medicine.

And how do I find doctors to shadow? Is there a website? Can anyone give me tips on where or how I would go about finding a doctor to shadow, who isn’t my private practice pediatrician? Do I absolutely need to shadow doctors in this setting? If not, what other type of experience should I be gaining?

Thanks

College

 

[deleted859535]

What type of experience in internships, shadowing, and research should I be trying to get as I’m in high school? Please don’t tell me not to worry about this now, because I know in 3 and then again in 7 years I’ll be regretting not doing something sooner when it comes to experience in Medicine.

Some of us who occasionally read this forum are honest to goodness, real life attending physicians. We've gone through this and far more. You haven't. Go get exposure if you want to do it for yourself, but don't pretend what you do now is going to mean much to a medical school admissions committee years from now (and as @OrthoTraumaMD said, don't tell people what kind of advice to give you if you actually want advice that means something).

 

[deleted480308]

So I’m a Sophomore in High School. I’m pretty smart I think, 4.1 GPA with all A’s which I’m not worried about.

It’s the experience that I’m worried about. So in the summer I signed up for Havard MedScience, which was a week of shadowing, meeting and listening to doctors and other researchers at MGH and Brigham and Women’s. But since that, I’ve read online of people shadowing for over 200 hours? I only shadowed doctors for 2 days!
What type of experience in internships, shadowing, and research should I be trying to get as I’m in high school? Please don’t tell me not to worry about this now, because I know in 3 and then again in 7 years I’ll be regretting not doing something sooner when it comes to experience in Medicine.

And how do I find doctors to shadow? Is there a website? Can anyone give me tips on where or how I would go about finding a doctor to shadow, who isn’t my private practice pediatrician? Do I absolutely need to shadow doctors in this setting? If not, what other type of experience should I be gaining?

Thanks

You don’t know that....you think that...and statistically you’d be wrong. No student that I know matching to residency this year has ever said, “if only I did more medical exposure experiences in high school”. It’s just not a thing.

Dirty secret is most of undergrad is uselss to your medical training too, it’s just the hoop you have to jump through tonget to medical school.

Literally just keep getting As in high school, don’t get arrested, and get yourself into college. A cool “name” college might be a little helpful but frankly it doesn’t matter as mich your gpa/mcat so anywhere you won’t have a ton of undergrad debt is my suggestion.

In college, (again, don’t get arrested or written up for underage drinking) you can join a club or two, volunteer an afternoon per week in a clinic, maybe do some research...,,all if and only if you are getting As. Gpa>everything. Then get a good mcat.

You do that and you are very likely a med student.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

Very seriously, in case you aren't listening to the other people on here, the AMCAS and AACOMAS applications (MD and DO primary applications) don't let you count anything you were doing prior to the first semester of college on the application. I was able to put down one EC that began the month before I started freshmen year and carried over throughout the first year of college but was unable to count anything that happened during high school. (Applicant to MD and DO schools this cycle, recently accepted to both).

The only thing you should be doing in high school in order to get into medical school is developing good study habits that can carry over to undergrad courses. When you start your first semester of college, come back here and make sure you are getting into classes and activities that will get you on the right track. Otherwise, enjoy high school and stay out of trouble.

 

[Cheezin]

So I’m a Sophomore in High School. I’m pretty smart I think, 4.1 GPA with all A’s which I’m not worried about.

It’s the experience that I’m worried about. So in the summer I signed up for Havard MedScience, which was a week of shadowing, meeting and listening to doctors and other researchers at MGH and Brigham and Women’s. But since that, I’ve read online of people shadowing for over 200 hours? I only shadowed doctors for 2 days!
What type of experience in internships, shadowing, and research should I be trying to get as I’m in high school? Please don’t tell me not to worry about this now, because I know in 3 and then again in 7 years I’ll be regretting not doing something sooner when it comes to experience in Medicine.

And how do I find doctors to shadow? Is there a website? Can anyone give me tips on where or how I would go about finding a doctor to shadow, who isn’t my private practice pediatrician? Do I absolutely need to shadow doctors in this setting? If not, what other type of experience should I be gaining?

Thanks

Hey ztamm14 so a lot of people are adults on here and have replied to your post. They offer good insight and the best advice for someone pursuing the traditional route in becoming a physician. However, as a fellow highschooler, although I am now a senior, I know there is an option for you to apply to BS-BA/MD-DO programs in which high school experience REALLY DOES matter.

However, it is great you already have "medical related" clinical experience. Any is great! For these programs, where you get a reserved spot in medical schools as a high school student, experience is required. However, it isn't about how many hours you have, its about how you can talk about what you learned from those experiences and your passion for medicine (except some programs require research, living in a certain area, being "poor", etc). I only had volunteer experience in HS , only 20 hours with actual nurses and physicians. Mostly 80 hours with physical therapists and 30 hours shadowing with physical therapists. However I was able to speak well on these experience and just got into my second med program where I have a reserved seat in medical school. Volunteering is very important. There is a website to help you find shadowing opportunities but it isn't very good. The most reliable way is volunteer at a hospital/clinic this summer and ask a doctor you like to shadow them and there you go. Hope this helps and look up schools with these joint programs. Also ask me for any other questions

Good luck

 

[liveurlife]

i am a sophomore too!! READ THIS CAREFULLY AND TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY
there are a LOT of people who get bad grades in high school but do AMAZING in med school
first chill out bro lol; do not do some shadowing or whatever u r doing until u r an undergrad student
NOBODY DOES THAT AND STILL THEY END UP BEING SUPER SUCCESFUL!!!!!!!!
do clubs like HOSA or science olympiad or bio olympiad which r ALL competitions
take AP science classes including AP psych if u want to
take precalc and AP calc ab or bc
i would reccomend ab because bc is terrible and the smart math genius that i know rn who r sophomores but r 3 years ahead in math r struggling in AP calc AB!!!!!!
play sports (one is fine) like tennis cuz your coaches will teach if u dont know how to play
hang out with friends plsssssss
do community service through national honor society(NHS) or key club
do a cultural club bro its fun
study really hard and DO NOT get into high school relationships cuz they really NEVER EVER last long and HEARTBREAKS WILL DISTRACT YOU; wait till u r in your 20s so that u will know that the man or woman that u r looking for is actually worth your feelings and time
dont do high school drama and stay positive!
be the one who gives advice to friends and is a loyal friend and always there for anyone
and if u get a bf or gf then be loyal to him or her
be a good person and care about others
TAKE SOME FUN CLASSES cuz high school is not going to come back
dont take a whole load of ap classes; just take some that interest u
be an ALL ROUNDER
do exercise and spend time with your family and HAVE FUN IN HIGHSCHOOL!
dude i feel bad for u cuz u r spoiling your childhood in something that u can do later in life
bro, LIVE YOUR LIFE
childhood aint coming back
DONT GROW UP TOO SOON!!!!!!!
yes u r smart but LIVE IN THE PRESENT!
i am helping u, not criticizing u
idk in what way u took this but just saying
i am saying this as a 15 year old and i thought u were going too far ahead!
DO NOT DO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL CUZ IT IS NOT COOL it will spoil u and u will be an unsuccessful person
be a good human! and pls dont think about the future, be in the present!

 

[Maudlin]

I'm a bit older than you as a senior and I can tell you as someone who kind of skated through high school on easy mode that even I am suffering terminal senioritis. Don't try to be a med student as a high school underclassman -- you will truly regret it. I started out like you, all anal retentive and intensely ambitious. 3.8 GPA all the way through sophomore year (because I go to a trash heap school that doesn't believe in weighted GPA), Forensics team, writing and directing a documentary, learning Mandarin Chinese, and running a study blog. Life comes at you fast, though, and because I was laboring under the delusion that my life at that point was actually relevant to my future I had a mental breakdown and missed all my stupid smart-kid classes in junior year because I was being treated for life-threatening anorexia. Because I realized that neither corpses nor headcases are generally accepted into medical school, I slowed the eff down and it probably saved my butt in terms of actually having a chance at becoming a physician.

By pre-med standards, I'm a total loser. I decided to get a GED to stay on track for graduation instead, and I'll actually be preceding my classmates across the stage by a whole month. I speak "elementary" Spanish according to DuoLingo. The only activity I engage in that remotely resembles an extracurricular is some fire group chats. I cancelled all my travel plans to summer boot camps and shadowing hours at universities and enrolled in EMT class, got a job as a dancing monkey ER volunteer, and started bagging groceries for chump change. I chill with my boyfriend every night at McDonald's to exchange Ugandan Knuckles memes and cultural commentary.

And I'm happy. I'm freaking stable instead of teetering on the verge of raving lunacy, and I actually have a lot of fun. That's what I want you to understand. Being under 18 means you have the luxury of running on adrenaline, I guess because there had to be some compensation for being your parents' chattel. But if you kill all your brain cells sobbing into your Anatomy and Phys notes every single night for the next 2 years, you may find that you were so wrong to waste the only childhood you'll ever have.

I'll get off my soapbox now, I guess. This is a topic I'm passionate about, because the rhetoric that you need to be a depressive savant to get into medical school is such a toxic lie. Like the legit doctors said, go break your curfew and make out with stoner dude juniors. Take selfies, steal your parents' cheap wine, ditch homeroom and go get some dang Subway. Do anything as long as you appreciate what a cool time of your life you're in, okay? Everything will be fine, even if it isn't perfect.