For those of you pre-meds seeking clinical experience, I recommend getting started early. Although you might think free clinics would be thrilled to have a pre-med volunteer, many understandably require one-year commitments.
Getting good advice early (freshman or sophomore year) can make a difference in your medical school candidacy. Contact me early to schedule a Strategy Session.
How can a pre-med get clinical experience that demonstrates to admissions officers that the applicant knows what being a practicing doctor entails? Here are three ideas:
1. Work in an Emergency Department, particularly one that is academically-associated. (Doing so can offer the opportunity to get a letter of recommendation from a better-known physician. See my blog entry called “Selecting Your Letter of Recommendation Writers.”)
2. Volunteer at a clinic. Volunteering at a low-income clinic often affords the opportunity to take vital signs and patient histories and assist those in need.
3. Work at a veterinarian’s office (a client’s great idea): This is an excellent way to get real hands-on experience that you cannot get with humans as a pre-med.
Please consider contacting me early for your med school applications. Remember the admissions are rolling at most institutions.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
