Would past jobs be a good substitute to EC’s?

[DOMD2be]

Bonjour!
Here is my situation: former pro-soccer player( 5 years), then became a police officer for 7 years, been working for Uber/Lyft for years now but also working for several tutoring companies. Been volunteering for a dog rescue for almost 10 years now, and taking care of the adult section of a soccer club for 6 years now.
Just like so many of you, I have a family to take care of, mortgage, bills, THREE demanding doggies, and going to school full-time, and working evening and overnight, so I do not have lots of free time on my hands.
My questions is: even if I do plan on shadowing, possibly becoming an EMT-B or a scribe, do you think former jobs may offer some “mercy” on why my ECs may not be that extensive?
Or should I cutt off on work/school for a couple of semesters and concentrate on EC’s?
Thank you for any feedback!

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[siliso]

That’s a lot of extracurricular activity. I can’t imagine how quitting what you’re doing to join some student club would be an improvement. You just need clinical exposure.

 

[bears1992]

Those ECs are much more diverse and deep than your typical "president of the chess club, organized a welcome lunch, gave university tours" and I think they will give you more to talk about in your essays and interviews. They won't substitute for your shadowing (atleast 40), and clinical hours (atleast 150). I applied having pretty weak traditional ECs (only 180 hours of clinical volunteering, and 40 hours of shadowing) but I had 7 years of full time work as an engineer and I feel that helped me much more than your standard university ECs.

 

[DOMD2be]

That’s a lot of extracurricular activity. I can’t imagine how quitting what you’re doing to join some student club would be an improvement. You just need clinical exposure.

Thank you for your answer! Question: in my options of shadowing, EMT-B, or becoming a scribe, one of those is a must to strengthen my application, yes? As of today, fitting any of it would be impossible in my current schedule, so I would need to cutt off school and/or work.

 

[DOMD2be]

Those ECs are much more diverse and deep than your typical "president of the chess club, organized a welcome lunch, gave university tours" and I think they will give you more to talk about in your essays and interviews. They won't substitute for your shadowing (atleast 40), and clinical hours (atleast 150). I applied having pretty weak traditional ECs (only 180 hours of clinical volunteering, and 40 hours of shadowing) but I had 7 years of full time work as an engineer and I feel that helped me much more than your standard university ECs.

Thank you for your answer!
I guess my biggest problem really is to find time to apply for shadowing/clinical/hospital volunteering.
Ps: love the doggy picture

 

[bears1992]

Thank you for your answer!
I guess my biggest problem really is to find time to apply for shadowing/clinical/hospital volunteering.
Ps: love the doggy picture

It's tough when you work full time. I did a four hour shift in the ER once a week to build up my clinical hours. For shadowing, I spent 5 nights with an ER doc and 1 day with a hospitalist. Volunteering at a hospital is a great way to find doctors to shadow (you've got a badge and there isn't a HIPPA concern) plus you'll be able to get to know a good doc to write your letter of recommendation. I only applied DO so I'm not sure if MD schools will look differently at life experience type ECs. Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[Ttubule]

Get some clinical shadowing and stuff for sure but that’s a different story. Everyone is going to be VP of the premed society and in the chemistry club or whatever. I’d be way more curious about the guy who had some real jobs and unique volunteer experiences and want to talk to him in an interview. If you can find a way to tie those into why you want to be a doctor you’re gold.

Source: had a super unique application and got asked about all of the unique parts (small business owner, champion competitive bodybuilder, other Random stuff lol) in EVERY interview and they loved it.

 

[DOMD2be]

Get some clinical shadowing and stuff for sure but that’s a different story. Everyone is going to be VP of the premed society and in the chemistry club or whatever. I’d be way more curious about the guy who had some real jobs and unique volunteer experiences and want to talk to him in an interview. If you can find a way to tie those into why you want to be a doctor you’re gold.
Thank you for your answer, I appreciate the good advice....

 

[DOMD2be]

It's tough when you work full time. I did a four hour shift in the ER once a week to build up my clinical hours. For shadowing, I spent 5 nights with an ER doc and 1 day with a hospitalist. Volunteering at a hospital is a great way to find doctors to shadow (you've got a badge and there isn't a HIPPA concern) plus you'll be able to get to know a good doc to write your letter of recommendation. I only applied DO so I'm not sure if MD schools will look differently at life experience type ECs. Let me know if you have any more questions!

I will definitely have to quit at least my tutoring jobs....I sleep 3 hours on average each day lol.... I am used to it now.... and I am looking forward to be exposed to clinical/shadowing experiences, it is just more challenging when you have those damn bills waiting....
Thanks again for the good advice!

 

[Ttubule]

No sweat! It’s the least I can do after how hard I’m internally baby talking your avatar pic (I have a soft spot for pitbulls) lol.

I’m an MSIII with a pretty non trad background so if you or anyone have any questions feel free to PM me!

 

[DOMD2be]

No sweat! It’s the least I can do after how hard I’m internally baby talking your avatar pic (I have a soft spot for pitbulls) lol.

I’m an MSIII with a pretty non trad background so if you or anyone have any questions feel free to PM me!

Well, thank you for the offer, I think I will probably bother you in the months to come, AH!
Yeah, he is adorable, but high maintenance( he didnt get that from me)....

 

[Ttubule]

Well, thank you for the offer, I think I will probably bother you in the months to come, AH!
Yeah, he is adorable, but high maintenance( he didnt get that from me)....

Anytime!

And that is just in their nature.. mine woke me up whining at 3am because the blanket my wife and I cover her with on her bed every night came off and she freaked out lol

 

[DOMD2be]

Anytime!

And that is just in their nature.. mine woke me up whining at 3am because the blanket my wife and I cover her with on her bed every night came off and she freaked out lol

AH! How many do you have?....
I attached a picture of the 3 monsters in my previous post....
It’s silly to say this but I believe the hardest thing if I get accepted to med school far away from home would be to be separated from them....

 

[educ8r]

Depends partly on the strength of the rest of your app. Based only on my application experience, I can tell you that at least in my case shadowing and strictly clinical volunteering were not required for admission. Like you, I simply didnt have the time, and I was also being advised by some older MDs who weren't aware of the importance of this relatively recent "requirement." But, a warning: my lack of having checked these boxes came up in every interview: "how are you sure you want to be a doctor," "what do you think a day in the life of a doctor is like," etc. I even said at one point to an interviewer (where I wound up going) that, if I had it to do over again, I would have shadowed someone.

But that kind of highlights the absurdity of these requirements. I can't imagine that shadowing is a sensitive or specific enough test for anyone to rule in or rule out being a physician. I would question someone's judgement who relied on 40 hours of shadowing a physician to change their life path. Heck, third year med students can't make up their minds on which specialty fits them after thousands of hours of being on the care teams. Do you think it is even possible that, after all the work you've put into getting prepared to apply, a couple of hundred hours following around a doc or carting patients around is going to change your mind?

So, I'd still suggest that you get these experiences to check these boxes, if you can- because it will make interviews a little smoother. But you should know that it is at least possible to not have the boxes checked and still succeed.

 

[DOMD2be]

Depends partly on the strength of the rest of your app. Based only on my application experience, I can tell you that at least in my case shadowing and strictly clinical volunteering were not required for admission. Like you, I simply didnt have the time, and I was also being advised by some older MDs who weren't aware of the importance of this relatively recent "requirement." But, a warning: my lack of having checked these boxes came up in every interview: "how are you sure you want to be a doctor," "what do you think a day in the life of a doctor is like," etc. I even said at one point to an interviewer (where I wound up going) that, if I had it to do over again, I would have shadowed someone.

But that kind of highlights the absurdity of these requirements. I can't imagine that shadowing is a sensitive or specific enough test for anyone to rule in or rule out being a physician. I would question someone's judgement who relied on 40 hours of shadowing a physician to change their life path. Heck, third year med students can't make up their minds on which specialty fits them after thousands of hours of being on the care teams. Do you think it is even possible that, after all the work you've put into getting prepared to apply, a couple of hundred hours following around a doc or carting patients around is going to change your mind?

So, I'd still suggest that you get these experiences to check these boxes, if you can- because it will make interviews a little smoother. But you should know that it is at least possible to not have the boxes checked and still succeed.

Thank you so much for the great advice.... I agree with your statement, and I am someone who likes to get involved long-term, so shadowing for 25-50-100 hours would seem odd to me, but I agree that if I can check that shadowing box off, I should definetely do it....
I am happy to hear that its not a deal breaker, though! That’s encouraging....

 

[priormatt]

It would be best for you to go back in your past profession until you didn't get the better ones. Thank you!

 

[Dullhead]

Bonjour!
Here is my situation: former soccer player( 5 years), then became a police officer for 7 years, been working for Uber/Lyft for years now but also working for several tutoring companies. Been volunteering for a dog rescue for almost 10 years now, and taking care of the adult section of a soccer club for 6 years now.
Just like so many of you, I have a family to take care of, mortgage, bills, THREE demanding doggies, and going to school full-time, and working evening and overnight, so I do not have lots of free time on my hands.
My questions is: even if I do plan on shadowing, possibly becoming an EMT-B or a scribe, do you think former jobs may offer some “mercy” on why my ECs may not be that extensive?
Or should I cutt off on work/school for a couple of semesters and concentrate on EC’s?
Thank you for any feedback!

I have heard from a couple folks on this forum who specifically were denied because they lacked non-clinical volunteering. One of them added about a 100 hours of Meals on Wheels before applying the second cycle and got in. This is on the MD side of things. The DO side seems to be a bit more forgiving. Of course, this is all anecdotal.

On the clinical side, try to get going as soon as possible. It took me almost a year to find a place. First place it took nearly 2 months to get through the background check, interview, etc. Then they stuck me at the front desk all the time. I gave up after three months. Planned Parenthood and free clinics had a waiting list to get in to volunteer, and if I'd gotten in, I'd probably be doing paperwork filing or stuff. Hospitals I emailed said they did not have anything "clinical" after hours or weekends and those they had on the weekdays were extremely limited. Finally found one hospital where they have both after hours and weekend ER slots. Went through the whole background, interview, orientation, etc to find out that they have a mandatory front desk duty requirement before I could switch to the ER. It has taken me forever to finally start logging "clinical" hours. And I'm in a big city with several hospitals and clinics.

I would suggest when you sign up, make sure you ask what your duties are going to be and whether they would simply stick you at the front desk or gift shop. Do this before turning in an application even. No point waiting two months for a background check only to be stuck at the front desk. Shadowing is another beast I've not even started tackling yet. Despite what the previous poster said, I think that in today's environment, shadowing, clinical volunteering, and non-clinical volunteering have all become (unstated) requirements. About 100 hours each for the volunteering and 40 for shadowing seems the bare minimum.

 

[DOMD2be]

I have heard from a couple folks on this forum who specifically were denied because they lacked non-clinical volunteering. One of them added about a 100 hours of Meals on Wheels before applying the second cycle and got in. This is on the MD side of things. The DO side seems to be a bit more forgiving. Of course, this is all anecdotal.

On the clinical side, try to get going as soon as possible. It took me almost a year to find a place. First place it took nearly 2 months to get through the background check, interview, etc. Then they stuck me at the front desk all the time. I gave up after three months. Planned Parenthood and free clinics had a waiting list to get in to volunteer, and if I'd gotten in, I'd probably be doing paperwork filing or stuff. Hospitals I emailed said they did not have anything "clinical" after hours or weekends and those they had on the weekdays were extremely limited. Finally found one hospital where they have both after hours and weekend ER slots. Went through the whole background, interview, orientation, etc to find out that they have a mandatory front desk duty requirement before I could switch to the ER. It has taken me forever to finally start logging "clinical" hours. And I'm in a big city with several hospitals and clinics.

I would suggest when you sign up, make sure you ask what your duties are going to be and whether they would simply stick you at the front desk or gift shop. Do this before turning in an application even. No point waiting two months for a background check only to be stuck at the front desk. Shadowing is another beast I've not even started tackling yet. Despite what the previous poster said, I think that in today's environment, shadowing, clinical volunteering, and non-clinical volunteering have all become (unstated) requirements. About 100 hours each for the volunteering and 40 for shadowing seems the bare minimum.

Thank you for your detailed answer! Appreciate it!
Actually, the hospital nearby my house is blunt about it: in order to be “elligible” for clinical/shadowing opportunities, I will have to start with being at the front desk/guiding visitors, etcetc. Doing this for a few weeks/couple of months will be fine as I am not planning to apply for med schools until 2020. I would said suffering from 2 ACL injuries had finally a good return: my surgeon said I will be welcome to shadow him when I will be allowed( when my own f#%^* doctor refused!
I wonder if being a scribe would count as clinical exposure?

 

[Dullhead]

Thank you for your detailed answer! Appreciate it!
Actually, the hospital nearby my house is blunt about it: in order to be “elligible” for clinical/shadowing opportunities, I will have to start with being at the front desk/guiding visitors, etcetc. Doing this for a few weeks/couple of months will be fine as I am not planning to apply for med schools until 2020. I would said suffering from 2 ACL injuries had finally a good return: my surgeon said I will be welcome to shadow him when I will be allowed( when my own f#%^* doctor refused!
I wonder if being a scribe would count as clinical exposure?

At least they are upfront about it so you know going in. Scribing counts for clinical hours, as I understand, but "clinical" volunteering (even on top of scribing) would add extra shine. Since you have 2 years, you should be fine if you get started now. And you have a shadowing opportunity already lined up, so that's great. Your surgeon might even be able to set you up with other specialties. For the MD side, I would suggest 100 hours at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter etc to be safe.

Pre-osteo has a thread with stats for the 2022 class. A few folks have posted hours. The range goes from very few hours to several 1000 hours...
Acceptance Stats DO Class of 2022

 

[siliso]

I shadowed probably 8 hours total. Had other means of explaining how I knew what it’s like to be a doctor and why I thought it was right for me. Circa 2010. But, my MD school now lists shadowing 3 physicians and engaging in medical service learning as key application materials, so sounds like it’s tightening up.

You have stable, ongoing, meaningful volunteer activity that shows a commitment to service and I don’t see that you’d need to buff up that part of your resume. Except if someone interviewing you doesn’t dig dogs I guess. But the clinical exposure piece is still critical.

 

[DOMD2be]

It would be best for you to go back in your past profession until you didn't get the better ones. Thank you!

??? Not sure I understood....

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

If you have clinical employment (eg, scribing), you do not need clinical volunteering. Shadowing is highly recommended. You can get in without it, but it will likely be brought up and could get you some speedbumps. I have 10,000 of clinical experience including directly providing primary care, and I was told to make sure I get some shadowing.

You need non-clinical volunteering. It shows you want to serve others, and medicine is a service profession. I did meals on wheels, tutoring, hospitality and children’s ministry, and Stephen ministry, plus some one-offs. Habitat for humanity, special Olympics coaching, shelters, etc are also good.

 

[Goro]

Bonjour!
Here is my situation: former soccer player( 5 years), then became a police officer for 7 years, been working for Uber/Lyft for years now but also working for several tutoring companies. Been volunteering for a dog rescue for almost 10 years now, and taking care of the adult section of a soccer club for 6 years now.
Just like so many of you, I have a family to take care of, mortgage, bills, THREE demanding doggies, and going to school full-time, and working evening and overnight, so I do not have lots of free time on my hands.
My questions is: even if I do plan on shadowing, possibly becoming an EMT-B or a scribe, do you think former jobs may offer some “mercy” on why my ECs may not be that extensive?
Or should I cutt off on work/school for a couple of semesters and concentrate on EC’s?
Thank you for any feedback!

Being a police officer if the only thing that counts. Work history is good, but we need to see three separate things (and EMT-B is a glorified taxi driver; you can do better):

• Shadowing
• Service to others
• Clinical exposure, either through volunteering or work, so show that you know what you're getting into.

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.


Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

 

[DOMD2be]

Being a police officer if the only thing that counts. Work history is good, but we need to see three separate things (and EMT-B is a glorified taxi driver; you can do better):

• Shadowing
• Service to others
• Clinical exposure, either through volunteering or work, so show that you know what you're getting into.

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.


Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

Thank you very much for taking the time to send very helpful advice!

 

[curbsideconsult]

Nothing of substance to add here except to say that, on paper, you sound really interesting.

Also:

It’s silly to say this but I believe the hardest thing if I get accepted to med school far away from home would be to be separated from them....

Are you saying you'd miss them more than your kids? (I assumed you have kids because you said "family" in your original post) Not that I blame you, I'm sure I'd miss my dogs more than my kids depending on how old my kids were (middle schoolers, ick). I'm just curious.

 

[DOMD2be]

Nothing of substance to add here except to say that, on paper, you sound really interesting.

Also:

Are you saying you'd miss them more than your kids? (I assumed you have kids because you said "family" in your original post) Not that I blame you, I'm sure I'd miss my dogs more than my kids depending on how old my kids were (middle schoolers, ick). I'm just curious.

HA! No, I am married but no kids yet, although my 3 devils are my kids.... for now.... and thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Dullhead]

Are you saying you'd miss them more than your kids? (I assumed you have kids because you said "family" in your original post) Not that I blame you, I'm sure I'd miss my dogs more than my kids depending on how old my kids were (middle schoolers, ick). I'm just curious.

HA! No, I am married but no kids yet, although my 3 devils are my kids.... for now.... and thanks for the encouragement!

I know this is off topic and no one asked me specifically, but my DO school list is going to entirely be shaped by consideration for my two cats, crazy as that might be.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Being a police officer if the only thing that counts. Work history is good, but we need to see three separate things (and EMT-B is a glorified taxi driver; you can do better):

• Shadowing
• Service to others
• Clinical exposure, either through volunteering or work, so show that you know what you're getting into.

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.


Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

What area would "combat zone deployed veteran" fit into?

 

[RNtoMD87]

Thank you for your detailed answer! Appreciate it!
Actually, the hospital nearby my house is blunt about it: in order to be “elligible” for clinical/shadowing opportunities, I will have to start with being at the front desk/guiding visitors, etcetc. Doing this for a few weeks/couple of months will be fine as I am not planning to apply for med schools until 2020. I would said suffering from 2 ACL injuries had finally a good return: my surgeon said I will be welcome to shadow him when I will be allowed( when my own f#%^* doctor refused!
I wonder if being a scribe would count as clinical exposure?

If you look around, you can probably find someone willing to let you shadow them right off. I had a GI doctor start just teaching me about all sorts of stuff during a consult (turns out he taught med school in Buffalo), and I said "Say,.. is it cool if I shadow you?" and He gave me his personal number and told me to call him whenever.

 

[Goro]

What area would "combat zone deployed veteran" fit into?

The most altruistic of service activities in my book. Peace Corps would be second, hospice worker third.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Thanks. I'm still trying to get into the mindset of an adcom. So in your opinion is "autopsy intern" a waste of my volunteering time as far as entrance goes?

 

[calivianya]

I'm one of those people that ran into a wall with the whole community service thing. Zero MD love this cycle... had one MD school tell me in an interview that I was a poor fit for their school because they had a service-based mission and I had no community service.

I still fail to see how volunteering shows altruism, personally - people are generally grateful when you volunteer to help them, and it's the easiest thing in the world to do nice things for people who are nice to you.

I personally think I displayed way more altruism at my hospital job walking back into the room of the patient who had just tried to stab me with a dirty needle, or back into the room of the patient who just whipped his junk out and told me exactly what he'd like me to do with my mouth, than anything I've ever done as a volunteer. I think probably every single day at your police officer job, you did things requiring more compassion, more altruism, and greater personal strength than a typical premed will ever experience listening to people say "thank you" and enjoying the positive emotions that come from getting recognized for doing something nice at a soup kitchen.

You still have to play the game, though. DO schools will at least recognize that you have a real life and cut you slack for it, especially if you're a higher stat applicant, but MD schools won't. If you want to apply to both, make sure you check all the boxes. Don't quit work or school, though - pick up four hours of volunteering here or there wherever you can fit them in. Save your shadowing for your class breaks. If you're not applying until 2020, even four hours a week of community service would be very significant hours by the time you apply. Good luck.

 

[RNtoMD87]

I'm one of those people that ran into a wall with the whole community service thing. Zero MD love this cycle... had one MD school tell me in an interview that I was a poor fit for their school because they had a service-based mission and I had no community service.

I still fail to see how volunteering shows altruism, personally - people are generally grateful when you volunteer to help them, and it's the easiest thing in the world to do nice things for people who are nice to you.

I personally think I displayed way more altruism at my hospital job walking back into the room of the patient who had just tried to stab me with a dirty needle, or back into the room of the patient who just whipped his junk out and told me exactly what he'd like me to do with my mouth, than anything I've ever done as a volunteer. I think probably every single day at your police officer job, you did things requiring more compassion, more altruism, and greater personal strength than a typical premed will ever experience listening to people say "thank you" and enjoying the positive emotions that come from getting recognized for doing something nice at a soup kitchen.

You still have to play the game, though. DO schools will at least recognize that you have a real life and cut you slack for it, especially if you're a higher stat applicant, but MD schools won't. If you want to apply to both, make sure you check all the boxes. Don't quit work or school, though - pick up four hours of volunteering here or there wherever you can fit them in. Save your shadowing for your class breaks. If you're not applying until 2020, even four hours a week of community service would be very significant hours by the time you apply. Good luck.

Exactly! I feel the same way. How hard is it to help grateful people? Just got off of my shift at work where I had a gunshot victim I've been taking care of physically assault me. Still got all of his meds to him after that. Been taking care of him for 2 weeks and it's constantly like that. Being grabbed, mouthed "f you" over a trach.. this takes way more compassion than anything I've ever done. Hell Iraq was kind of easy compared to this. I didn't have the restraint I have now. I just pulled the trigger.


As much as I realize I don't want to be a nurse, I have to say, nurses have my respect as in my opinion one of the most altruistic professions. It's like being a waiter/waitress except with drug addicts and people who have taken terrible care of themselves in other ways taking out their poor life choices on you. Some of the nurses on my unit are so sweet and people will cuss them up one side and down the other for doing their job. I don't really get that treatment often, except for psych patients (I think being a 6' 240 pounds pretty solid power lifter vs being a little 4'11 95 pound woman plays a part in it). I honestly think I've had it MUCH easier than my female counterparts. I didn't have my eyes opened to this until recently. Patients suddenly change their tone when I enter the room.

Hats off to nurses.

 

[DOMD2be]

I'm one of those people that ran into a wall with the whole community service thing. Zero MD love this cycle... had one MD school tell me in an interview that I was a poor fit for their school because they had a service-based mission and I had no community service.

I still fail to see how volunteering shows altruism, personally - people are generally grateful when you volunteer to help them, and it's the easiest thing in the world to do nice things for people who are nice to you.

I personally think I displayed way more altruism at my hospital job walking back into the room of the patient who had just tried to stab me with a dirty needle, or back into the room of the patient who just whipped his junk out and told me exactly what he'd like me to do with my mouth, than anything I've ever done as a volunteer. I think probably every single day at your police officer job, you did things requiring more compassion, more altruism, and greater personal strength than a typical premed will ever experience listening to people say "thank you" and enjoying the positive emotions that come from getting recognized for doing something nice at a soup kitchen.

You still have to play the game, though. DO schools will at least recognize that you have a real life and cut you slack for it, especially if you're a higher stat applicant, but MD schools won't. If you want to apply to both, make sure you check all the boxes. Don't quit work or school, though - pick up four hours of volunteering here or there wherever you can fit them in. Save your shadowing for your class breaks. If you're not applying until 2020, even four hours a week of community service would be very significant hours by the time you apply. Good luck.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write detailed advice.... like you said, we all have to play the part in order to have the best chance to get in.... I truly look forward to getting involved into shadowing and more non-clinical volunteering( I forgot to mention I have been with Habitat for Humanity for a year now), don’t get me wrong, but for applicants who have families and bills to take care, it may seems like a challenge: this is why I have decided to take on another job, then I could save as much as I can and then quit a few jobs to free time for volunteering.... I may get roasted for saying that but most people worry about their stats: I worry about ECs....

 

[curbsideconsult]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write detailed advice.... like you said, we all have to play the part in order to have the best chance to get in.... I truly look forward to getting involved into shadowing and more non-clinical volunteering( I forgot to mention I have been with Habitat for Humanity for a year now), don’t get me wrong, but for applicants who have families and bills to take care, it may seems like a challenge: this is why I have decided to take on another job, then I could save as much I can and then quit a jew jobs to free time for volunteering.... I may get roasted for saying that but most people worry about their stats: I worry about ECs....

Dude, you're good. Continue HfH, add in some clinical, ~20 hours of shadowing, rock the GPA/MCAT and you're solid.