RE: your podcast
Be aware of HIPAA limitations. Doctors are quite limited in what patient information they allowed to discuss–even if the information is depersonalized from the patient.
One thing I noticed was missing from your CV is non-clinical volunteering with disadvantaged/underserved communities or groups. Start volunteering a couple hours a week now with a program that seeks to alleviate the physical suffering of those less fortunate than yourself. Think soup kitchen, women’s shelter, food pantry, Habitat for Humanity, tax prep services for the unhoused. Your service should be face-to-face, not in fundraising or support capacities,
Empathy and compassion are one the 10 core competencies expected in all med school hopefuls.
UCSF’s mission statement about what it looks for in potential students is here
Please take a look at the 10 core competencies and mission- driven values that UCSF holds and decide how well you have fulfilled those.
For UCSF, if you do not already speak a language other than English, you may want to take some foreign language classes to learn to be at least minimal conversant in another language. Spanish is especially useful in California.
(A fun fact from last year’s class of medical graduates: the median number of languages spoken by med grads is 5.5.)
One last comment: California is one of the most competitive states for med school admissions. There are simply too many qualified in-state applicants and too few available med school seats. The majority of successful CA med school applicants will attend an OOS med school. Plan to apply widely when you’re ready.