The 4 Best Extracurricular Activities for Med School

[@MichaelMinhLeMD]

Now you know what 4 types of extracurriculars premeds ABSOLUTELY must have. For 7 of my favorite extracurriculars that turned real premeds into real doctors, graduating from UCLA, UCI, GW & UCincinatti, you’ll want to watch this video - "I Asked 12 Doctors What Got Them Into Med School” kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXKkiXylord7d8Usi=kEoW3YuLz3pWa6iB If you’re struggling more with clinical experiences, then you’ll want to dive deeper into why certain clinical experiences are mediocre and why other stand out. I talk about all that in this video here - “These Clinical Experiences Don’t Stand Out” kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHKzoaONfKp5hKMsi=eUlLvQ_tNxgJgTpm

[@sim_aware]

This is a great review. Love that you include the data. I really get my undergrads to concentrate on the story they are telling and how everything relates in some way to that growth. Great video!

[@MichaelMinhLeMD]

Glad it was helpful! I'm happy you're spending your time supporting undergrads as well! :)

[@ZuzanaHuserova-j6c]

Thank you so much for making these videos! They have been very helpful.

[@avgstudent4.0]

My mother experienced a cranial aneurysm in 2009 and it was repaired in a clinical trial. I have not been able to find anyone at my university that does research on aneurysms. I have joined a biomedical engineering lab (they utilized a new biomedical engineering device with her aneurysm) and a neuroscience lab ran by a neurologist focusing on movement disorders… this is the closet I have gotten. Is this a good enough connection? Should I keep looking?

[@MichaelMinhLeMD]

I don't think you need to search for a direct connection. If you find the work fascinating, I genuinely believe you'll be more engaged and do more impactful work. I love that you've sought out work that's in line with your narrative. That is such a fantastic perspective on it. BRAVO!

[@avgstudent4.0]

@@MichaelMinhLeMD Thank you so much! I have been loving your videos as I am a first year premed student. You have really helped me and I have sparked some new ideas of where I can make an impact in my community. Keep up the work!

[@gumbo909]

Hi! I’m a combat medic in the Army and our scope of practice goes up to around paramedic level. We’re required to earn an EMT license during our training so after I finished my initial entry training, I’ve been working as an EMT part-time. Currently I’m going to a community college but plan on transferring to earn my bachelor’s. I was going to take paramedic school between my cc and uni years as well as go on a 6 month deployment for my clinical experience. I was wondering if you think that taking a gap year for these would be worth?

[@zerorayne4782]

What are some good examples of opportunities to look for in clinical volunteering?

[@gumbo909]

Hi! I’m currently going to a community college and plan on transferring to a university to earn my bachelor’s. I’m also a combat medic in the Army and our scope of practice goes up to around paramedic level. We’re required to get an EMT license as well, so after I finished my initial entry training, I started working as a part-time EMT immediately. My plan was to take a gap year before I transfer to a university, after my associates, go on a 6 month deployment as a combat medic, and do paramedic school. My main objective for this is to try and get into the Chicago Fire Department for my clinical experience, which I think would be invaluable for me as I’m currently interested in emergency medicine. I was wondering if you thought taking a gap year was a good idea since I’m already a year behind my peers due to my Army training, as well as the possibility of me losing my study habits or forgetting some content that I might need to catch back up to for my future classes in university. Would love to have any sort of input, thank you.

[@sim_aware]

IMHO, gap year is really up to you. The experience you have have as a combat medic really puts you ahead of other applicants in some ways too. Tell your truth. How have you arrived at your truth. The journey is valuable. Good luck and thank you for your service!

[@MichaelMinhLeMD]

Thank you for your service Gumbo! I like how intentional and proactive you're being about making this decision. It looks like the crux of this decision is the value of a year of possibly working in Chicago PD vs. the cost of taking another year off from starting medical school. I personally would minimize the effect of study habits/forgetting content that a year has. Most of us who take any time off forget 99% of Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, etc. and we all relearn it because that's just what we need to do! I I wouldn't worry about that. You'd have to figure out whether the possibility of that time in Chicago PD is worthwhile for you as an experience (not just as a clinical experience for medical school but overall as a life experience) to spend a year on. It would certainly make your application more genuine and interesting, but I personally wouldn't make all my decisions in life around my medical school candidacy.

[@pranav4094]

what is the difference between paid and volunteer clinical experience and is it okay if I only have paid clinical experience?

[@MichaelMinhLeMD]

Totally okay! I’d focus more on the caliber of the clinical experience than whether it’s paid or volunteer. There can be paid clinical experiences that aren’t helpful and they can also be volunteer experiences that aren’t helpful. The opposite is true as well!

[@ShakthiMonkey]

Yea true

[@MichaelMinhLeMD]

Appreciate you Shakthi!

[@bartsworld2]

Awseome Video