I am about to graduate high school and I will be attending college this coming fall. I intend on pursuing the pre-med track and majoring in biology. I’m wondering from people who’ve already been through this process: is there anything I should be doing this summer, looking into the future, to prepare myself for medical school and obviously the arduous pre-med path as a whole. I plan on working for sure to save money to put towards college expenses, but what else should I be doing with my free time this summer?
Get involved in any activity which can expose you to medical related activities either as a volunteer or paid job. This is the most useful thing to do so that first you can validate whether you want to be in any health profession or not, sooner the better. This also key requirement for admission down the road. Since it is a very long and highly competitive profession to enter, the sooner you are clear, the better for you so that you can start your plan B if you change your mind.
See if you can certified for EMT or Pharmacy technician or CNA. That can help you during your college time to get a job to earn something at the same time expose you to health profession. Or volunteer anywhere where you can expose your self to serve people who are in need.
Things done before college are generally not included on your med school application unless you continue with the same activity at the same site through college.
EMT, CNA and Pharm tech licensing is state-dependent so getting licensed in one state will not automatically qualify you for licensing in another state. Unless you’re going to college in the same state as where you live now, getting licensed isn’t all that useful. (Also licensing has to be renewed periodically to assure that an individual’s knowledge base is current and requires X hours of work experience. So if you don’t use it–you lose it.)
I would say that working in a people-contact job is a worthwhile thing to do with your summer. (Work on those soft skills that med schools are looking for. Plus a whole lot of attendings and PDs today are complaining about millennials whose first actual job is that of medical resident and have poor work attitudes.)
Also this will be one of your last chances to have a summer free of pre-med responsibilities. Do something you enjoy.
Yes, do something you enjoy this summer. Don’t burn yourself out.
If you have some extra time, then volunteer at a hospice or nursing home. Shadow a doctor or two. But enjoy this break…it may be your last one for awhile.
D had a hard time to find a retail job the summer before college. Volunteered in the hospital. But the best thing I think you can do is to backpacking and travel in Europe or Asia to learn different culture, meeting different people locally.
Getting EMT/CNA certified is an excellent idea, as it’ll help you get a lot of experience. Check if your community center has a course, or a college, or your college. Make sure your certification works in your college’s state.
Working is good.
Take time off to relax. Go run or swim every day. Have fun with friends. Give some time to your parents who’ll miss you You want to arrive at college refreshed and focused.
Many physicians (including adcomm members) view EMTs as glorified bus drivers because their duties are often limited to patient transport (i.e. driving the ambulance or pushing a wheelchair or gurney). The scope of practice for an EMT is quite limited, basically it’s limited to patient transport and advanced first aid skills such as CPR or using an AED device.
If you are hoping to work as EMT, be aware in many urban/suburban areas the demand for EMTs is quite low because of huge over-saturation of the market by hopeful pre-meds.
EMT-I or AEMT have a much broader scope of practice, but a AEMT requires a longer training period because they are able to administer drugs and do invasive procedures. (Which EMTs cannot. An EMT is not even allowed to start an IV line.)
I am not denigrating EMTs–one of daughters was a EMT & AEMT before she went to med school–I just want to clarify that an EMT isn’t a slam dunk clinical experience that many people seem to believe it is.
okay, I’m hearing mixed opinions. I’m going out of state for college what would be something worth while getting before college? (EMT AEMT EMT-l or CNA) Important to know, I’m moving to a college town, not a large metropolitan city.
EMT’s may he first responders on campus and have more responsibilities in a college context than in a large city.
Choose whichever is easier for you in terms of access, time, costs.
And as iwannabe_brown above said, have fun. In particular, sleep enough
Getting a EMT or CNA isn’t useful unless you actually use it during college. Merely having the certification is meaningless.
If you want to get your EMT or AEMT, wait until you get to college. Because certification requirements differ from state to state and because licensing reciprocity is spotty, you’re better off doing your EMT training in the state where you plan to use it. Training costs $$ so you don’t want to pay for it twice.
BTW, campus EMTs do not have broader responsibilities than EMTs at other places–their scope of practice is limited by law. Although they may be first responders on campus they still are obligated to act within their scope of practice.
WayOutWestMom: “Things done before college are generally not included on your med school application unless you continue with the same activity at the same site through college.”
If you’re still following this thread, my son will begin his freshman year at Rice this fall. He is spending this summer shadowing a variety of physicians in different specialties (± 250 hours) to determine whether doctoring is for him. So far, he has thoroughly enjoyed it and intends to fulfill all the college course and extracurricular requirements necessary to be considered for med school admission. Are you saying that his time spent this summer may not be considered as an EC activity on his application?
Well, hopefully he’ll have more to put on his resume by junior or senior year… While nice (and useful if he intends to apply for PA/OPT programs) these hours won’t really matter unless something comes out of it in terms of college experience.
Thank you for responding. Let’s assume, by med school application time, that my son has successfully completed all his required premed coursework, has a high GPA, high MCAT, and has a well rounded and notable amount of clinical and non clinical volunteer hours and clinical research. In other words, he is a viable and solid med school applicant. Will his 250 hours of physician shadowing experience this summer before his freshman college year be able to be counted on his application?
@phokie. There may be disagreement, but in competitive med school admissions, in my opinion everything counts. If he applies summer before senior year, he only has 3 summers to demonstrate his interest and experience, so the summer before college can add to this. There is some fear from med schools that kids don’t know what they are getting into (esp if parent is not physician), so they need to be convinced that student really wants this and has seen what medicine is all about. I’d use this time wisely. It can only help, it can’t hurt. That said, your student should always do something they enjoy, not because s/he thinks it looks good on the resume. Someone mentioned learning a new language or new culture. Broadening one’s horizons and learning about different cultures for practicing medicine is a good thing, if that’s what the student enjoys.
When it comes to applying to medical school, your son can put anything he wants on his application. He can include high school activities if he wants. There’s no hard & fast rule about what goes the AMCAS application. But there is just a limited number of slots (10) available to list all clinical activities, honors & awards, employment, research, publications, leadership positions, community service, hobbies, etc. Competitive applicants often leave more stuff off their application than they include.
A med school application is all about “what have you done lately?” A student’s perceptions change over time as they gain greater world experience and maturity. Shadowing again the future–particularly after an applicant has done clinical volunteering-- can either reinforce his initial perceptions or change them. It’s not that he can’t include his shadowing hours from before college, it’s that those shadowing hours may need to be supplemented closer to the time of his application.
Very good. Thank you. That answers my question. I wanted him to, and he readily agreed, start shadowing a variety of physicians early before he embarked on the arduous
…, and expensive, journey of becoming a physician. This summer has already convinced him to proceed and, as you indicate, can ultimately add to his med school application. He will undoubtedly gain more experience over the next few years directly with physicians as well as complete all the other activities needed to gain acceptance into med school. He is well aware of grade and MCAT requirements and the need to balance his academics with interesting, meaningful, and applicable extracurriculars. He has been around physicians all his life (given what I do for a living) and appears to have the passion, umph, and brains necessary to make it happen. We’ll see.
IMO, 250 shadowing hours just for this summer alone is probably overkill. (That’s more hours than many, many successful applicants accumulate over several years. Shadowing is important, but it’s not a make or break EC for applicants, especially if they have physician parents. ) 25 or 50 hours this summer will be adequate.
Consider having him get involved in some sort of community service project instead–particularly with disadvantaged or vulnerable population groups.
You want to arrive at college refreshed and focused.