PART 6
Health Experiences
http://med.umkc.edu/bamd/apply/ (Go to “Health Experiences”)
http://www.premedlife.com/feature-articles/5-extracurricular-activities-every-medical-school-admissions-committee-wants-to-see_7334-1403/
http://www.prospectivedoctor.com/how-to-stand-out-with-extracurricular-activities/
excerpts from the application posted earlier in the thread: “reviews your health experiences to better understand your involvement with health-related activities and your investigation of the medical profession.”
Do not list experiences in this section that you have already listed in the High School/College Activities & Leadership section. You are limited to 10 health-related activities.
From the application for each activity (limit 10):
School related
any official in-house clubs or organizations at your high school which give some type of healthcare exposure: i.e. HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America)
Work experience
any healthcare related type of experience in which you are getting monetary compensation – i.e. emergency room tech, pharmacy tech, phlebotomist, EMT, physician scribe, and paramedic. These can be harder to find or be able to certify for as high school students.
Structured/Formal program
any official program (can be outside of your high school) that gives exposure to healthcare/medicine, i.e.:
http://med.umkc.edu/summerscholars/
https://www.envisionexperience.com/explore-our-programs/national-youth-leadership-forum-medicine
http://www.nslcleaders.org/youth-leadership-programs/summer-medical-programs/
http://blog.prepscholar.com/medical-programs-for-high-school-students
Volunteer experience
any healthcare related type of experience in which you are NOT getting paid but doesn’t fall into a structured/formal program or shadowing
Shadowing
This explains best of what shadowing is and more importantly WHY you should be doing it, and thus why med schools want to see evidence of this:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/admissions/applicants/shadowing
http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/documents/md-program/Shadowing.pdf
Shadowing some type of healthcare professional → since you’re applying for medical school to become a physician), it would help to shadow physicians (although it’s not necessarily a requirement). This is probably much easier done with a private practice physician who works in a solo or group practice, although it is possible to do this at an academic teaching hospital
Research
- can be directly or indirectly medicine/health related, usually in science
- this can be laboratory based (so test tubes, beakers, blah blah) or less commonly at your age level, clinically based (going thru patient charts, usually)
- usually under a college/university PhD professor or an MD clinician, under the supervision of postdocs or research fellows
- can be done on your own or thru an official program: http://blog.prepscholar.com/medical-programs-for-high-school-students
Best to probably do this in the summers, although depending on time commitment it can be done during the school year. Hopefully you’ll get something tangible – it can be a poster, an oral presentation, an abstract, or a publication, although it’s not necessarily mandatory. At the more competitive combined programs, it’s not uncommon for applicants to have 1 tangible result of their research.
Other health experience
anything healthcare related that does not fit into any of the above categories.
Healthcare setting examples:
http://www.jblearning.com/samples/0763746878/46878_CH01_pass1.pdf
[ul]
[]Hospitals - General, Specialty, Rehabilitation, Behavioral Health (Psychiatry) – Adult and Children’s hospitals
– county, private community, VA (Veterans’ Affairs) hospital, academic teaching hospital, ambulatory surgical centers
[]Long-Term Care Facilities - Assisted Living Facility, Independent Living Facility, Nursing, Residential Care, Retirement Community
[]A private practice (solo or group practice) physician’s office (usually more on an outpatient basis)
[]Emergency Room
[]Urgent Care Facility
[]Home Health Services
[]Hospice or a Palliative Care facility
[]Indigent care/Free clinics[/ul]