Since the start of second semester of 10th grade (I’m going to 11th in the upcoming fall), I’ve been really immersing myself in a variety of activities relating medicine. I have been volunteering at my local hospital as a nurse assistant, delivering food and beverage to many patients. Along the way, I have even listened to a few patients’ life stories that have changed my personality for the better. I also have been volunteering on the clinical side (checking weight, height, preparing equipment, introducing patients, etc.) in private practices (so far, a pediatrician and in the next few weeks i will begin volunteering at a dentist’s office). I also plan on shadowing an MD, DMD, and DO the summer before 12th grade to get a variety of perspectives in the medical field so that maybe, when the time comes, I can choose the doctor that I want to be. I’ve also been part of my school’s marching band since freshman year, and have learned many life skills / character traits, including patience, determination, punctuality (I used to ALWAYS be late to everything), and teamwork (a bit too cliche, isn’t it?). I plan on participating in HOSA’s Medical Terminology and Biomedical Science Laboratory competitive events in the upcoming year.
I am very interested in BS MD programs (especially Brown’s PLME, Northwestern’s HPME, Washington University St. Louis’s USPM, and UPitt’s GAP), however I feel as though I do not have the core extracurriculars which many successful BS MD applicants have, such as research (I’ve been searching for 2 years here on the Northeast coast and I cannot find a single lab!).
I would love to get a deeper understanding of what it would be like to be a doctor and increase my chance for one of these programs, and so I am asking for advice: are there any activities/programs out there that could help me further demonstrate my passion for medicine? All advice is appreciated.