1-2 Years Before Applying to Med School

23:03 Presh_dr 1 Comments


Hey lovelies,

I'm going to be rambling on about my personal views on some of the characteristics that I believe are expected from prospective medical students. Plus some of the activities I participated in before applying to med school.

 Medicine is a very competitive course and career, the main key is finding ways to standout from other students who have exactly the same grades as you.

Medical students tend to be very good in various areas. Being a medical student is more than just getting the best grades, I believe universities want to see your commitment overall and your ability to cope in this career.  

 Taking part in extracurricular activities, volunteering, work experience are few of the basic characteristics that I believed helped boost my application, and eventually got me three interviews (out of 4) and two offers.

Volunteering 

 I believe showing commitment is looked upon very well. Committing to a charitable organisation, care homes, and services that may not be necessarily related to medicine over a long period of time, would hopefully portray your dedication.  Plus it's always a area you can possibly discuss in your personal statement or med school interviews. Start volunteering early, whether it's orphanages (particularly if you are abroad-Nigeria) or first aid services (e.g. St John's Ambulance). 
I remember one of my teachers stating to me that I need to volunteer for a minimum of 6 months. I highly doubt they reject candidates who volunteer for 7 months instead of 8. If you are concerned about not having enough time to volunteer, you commit to once per week, or whatever suits you best.

Work experience 

 Work experience is very important. It gives you a vague idea of what it's actually like to work in the medical field, plus it allows you from early on to see whether this is actually the career for you.  

 It's great to shadow doctors and surgeons, but I feel that a better way to show your insight into the healthcare system would be by shadowing other healthcare professionals e.g. nurses, pharmacist, or dieticians. They are an integral part of the multidisciplinary team, which you may be working with in the future.

In one of my med school interviews I was asked- 
'What made you decide to become a doctor? Why not any other healthcare profession?'. 
I more or less said- I have always known that I wanted to work within the healthcare system. However, in order to know the specific career path that I would be committing to, I shadowed  different professionals including nurses, pharmacist, and doctors. From my experiences, I was drawn towards the medical field, largely due to the wide variety of specialities. However, because it would also allow me to take part in research, make diagnosis,  and most importantly be involved in patient care. 

I should hopefully write a piece in the near future about my medical school interviews experience, and how I prepared. 

 Extra curricular 

 What activities do you take part in school or outside school? For example are you part of a debate team, or any clubs in school that are not compulsory. I was part of a group of students that discussed medical topics once a week, took part in presentations, and had debates. If there is nothing like this at your school, start one! There will be other students who are also pursuing a career in medicine. 

 Hobbies 

 Having a hobby is important, it shows that you are able to have a work life balance. 
I'm going to be completely honest with you, I've always found it a bit difficult to maintain a balance, largely due to my fear of failure. However, I will discuss this in another post.

Have a hobby, enjoy it. Whether it's cooking, knitting, playing an instrument, football, photography, blogging etc. Find something you genuinely enjoy and run with it.

Medical journals 

 I found it a bit difficult to find the time to read these journals but I would recommend the Student BMJ, I read this as much as I could. In addition, it helps build your vocabulary despite the myths that interviews (e.g. Multi mini interviews) often got reports from the BMJ. 

 Finally,
These are only extra things to boost your application, the most important things are getting the grades. 
Any questions? Feel free to ask me :)

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