<p>Hi, I'm a high school senior preparing for premed in college, and I'm wondering how valuable the experience of interning at a hospital/clinic is to the med school admissions process. I know med schools definitely look for that in an applicant, but is it true that you need to have three years of experience as hospital intern? Also, exactly how much do you gain from the internship and how can you acquire the one that's right for you? I volunteered a lot at hospitals, but I mostly did patient support and clerical work, because I was unable to catch an interning opportunity, and even though I definitely gained experience in that kind of a setting, I didn't learn anything relevant to my career. </p>
<p>So how can I get the most out of a hospital internship? I'm interested in a career either in surgery or anesthesiology with emphasis on academia. </p>
<p>Second, I'm also thinking of getting certified for EMT and doing volunteer EMS to get experience in an emergency setting, but people say it's useless if you aren't extremely active, and I'm wondering how time consuming EMS work can be? </p>
<p>Would you learn more from a hospital internship or from doing hands on EMT work? </p>
<p>Thirdly, I'm interested in doing research in biomedical field, like biochemistry. There are tons of summer programs for research, and we can help professors with their research as well, but how can we get the most out of doing research? By committing a lot of time in a project that spans more than a year, even two years, and having it either turn out a success or a flop, or trying various projects and have them turn out all right? </p>
<p>I really want to make use of all the opportunities that college gives, so how can a premed student get the most out of the extracurricular activities offered without sacrificing grades? What's the right balance?</p>
<p>Long response got “et by the 'net”. 
</p>
<p>Short response. Successful pre-meds have traveled all these paths. You have to choose what’s right for you. </p>
<p>You need clinical experience.
You may need quality research experiences, most especially at the research intensive med schools.
You need good grades.
You need a good MCAT. </p>
<p>Other than that, it is a personalized journey and you need to find your own path. It ain’t cookie-cutter. It ain’t check the box. Live your life. Do what you enjoy. These things shouldn’t be “chores”. Work to your highest potential. Achieve. Take advantage of the opportunities presented to you to excel. Go beyond the norm when the fancy strikes you. If you ain’t enthusiastic, find something else to do. And yep. Even if med school is * not * in your future, I’d give you similar advice. ;)</p>
<p>And good luck.</p>
<p>RE: interning</p>
<p>My best advice is to intern with a doctor who knows you and who is in private practice and/or works at a private hospital. Public and federal hospitals (like the VA) have very strict patient privacy regulations that preclude interns from having much, if any contact with patients. </p>
<p>RE: EMT</p>
<p>First of all you must be 18 to take EMT training. And be 21 for EMT-P.</p>
<p>Caveat: EMT training and licensing varies a great deal by state. What is true for my state may not be true for yours. Check your state’s regulations. Also if you take your EMT training in your home state, your licensing may not be valid if you go out of state for college. Some states have reciprocity; many don’t.</p>
<p>EMT-B is a 12 or 15 week long course without significant clinical requirements. After you’ve finished the course with a satisfactory grade, you must take & pass a state licensing exam. EMT-B is a low level of training and will not in most cases make you employable. At least around here, hospitals will not allow volunteer EMT-Bs to have direct patient contact in the ER due to insurance and liability issues. And the fire dept will not take volunteers without at least 2 years of significant EMT experience and strongly prefer an EMT-I over an EMT-B. Most places around here that do take volunteers seem to expect volunteers to work regularly scheduled 4 hour shifts, at least 1 day a week. Search & rescue volunteers are on call 24/7 almost every day.</p>
<p>RE: research</p>
<p>It is almost always better to stick with a project long term than to flit from project to project. Researchers who take you into their lab will expect you to stay for at least a full year and strongly prefer longer. Why? Because you’re coming into their lab without any useful skills and it takes time to train you. Basically you’re their chore monkey at first. Newbies in the lab are often stuck with doing unskilled tasks for months until they’ve proven themselves by being meticulous in completing the tasks they’ve been assigned and by asking good, thoughtful, intelligent questions about what is taking place. Once you’ve earned their trust, only then will you start to get meaningful tasks and get real hands on participation in the actual data gathering. Research is a slow, careful and expensive process and the PI doesn’t want a newbie screwing stuff up that has may have taken months or years to do.</p>
<p>Science is a slow process. Research take years. Patience is important. And failure is always a possibility. However, sometimes even a failed experiment will yield important data.</p>
<p>EC’s are important. Make sure not overdo them, since GPA and MCAT are more important. You will find your own balance and will drop something if it gets too much. My D. did just that. Cannot worry too much until it actually happens. Relax, and best wishes.</p>