Monthly Archives: March 2009

How to Have a Meaningful Volunteer Experience

There are a lot of reasons to volunteer your time. You can make a positive contribution to your community, help people who need it and learn about yourself and how to serve with others. However, too many people volunteer for the sake of making themselves a more “competitive” applicant. A lot of hospital volunteers do so only because it seems like everyone else is doing it. If you are one of these people, I would like you to consider NOT volunteering.

Now, I have previously talked about why people shouldn’t volunteer. Overall, I still believe volunteering is one of the most positive and beneficial activities a person can do. To make the best of your volunteering, there are some factors you should take into consideration, to make it enjoyable and rewarding.

  1. Find something you Enjoy Doing – If you’re going to give away your time without any monetary reward, you might as well choose an activity you enjoy doing. By choosing something you like, you will be less likely to think of it as a burden. You won’t feel as if you are wasting your time helping others. For example, if you like working with kids, volunteer with Big Brothers and Sisters instead of at an old folks home. If you like teaching, tutor someone instead of being a fundraiser organizer.
  2. Put your strengths and skills to use – If you’re good at public speaking, find an activity that takes advantage of that. If you are musically inclined, consider volunteering with music programs for disadvantaged or sick people. By finding a volunteer position that uses the talents you already have, you will find yourself to have a much more important role. Everyone likes to feel useful and that their actions matter. Choose an activity where your talents can be fully appreciated.
  3. Make it Fit with your Schedule – Volunteering is the giving away of your time and talents. Make sure you only give away the time you want to. If your evenings are your most productive study times, you will do a big disservice to your school work if you choose to volunteer at that time. Consider whether you would prefer volunteering in a large chunk of time once a week or several sessions of shorter periods. The secret is to pick something that works for you and is less likely to disrupt your regular routine. The more it fits with your schedule, the more you will stay committed and enjoy it.
  4. Location, Location, Location - The distance to your volunteering position matters. You don’t want to commute an hour just for a one hour volunteer session. Likewise, if you don’t have a car, an accessible venue is a must. A place that is convenient will make your volunteering sustainable for the long run. If you volunteer near where your parents work, you could catch a ride back home if the timing is correct.
  5. Work with Good People – A good supervisor can make such a big difference. It is the difference between doing mundane menial tasks and exciting, rewarding roles. If the organization is full of volunteers who are not friendly and open, it can make you dread your placement. Another suggestion, volunteer with friends that you know you can work and get along with or take the chance to meet new people. Almost all volunteer jobs work in teams. You might as well work in a good one.
  6. Choose a position where you can learn and grow - There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a repetitive and boring job. Pick something where there are things to learn, challenges to overcome and small variations. Whether that’s something where you talk to different people every time or a job where you constantly with changing responsibilities, new challenges and situations will keep you thinking and motivated. Really take advantage of volunteering to understand something you didn’t know before and pick up new skills.

And if you don’t enjoy, or even dread, your current volunteer position. Don’t do it. If you’ve made a minimum commitment, finish the end of your term and then drop it. I once applied for a research volunteering role which sounded good on paper. I was interviewed and accepted over several other candidates. However, when I showed up for my first shift,  it turned out I was doing data entry and filing paperwork. After my first 3 hour session, I dropped it immediately and never felt better. The hours weren’t flexible, their was no communication with the supervisor, it was out of the way, a monkey had the skills to do the job, and I was simply not interested in office work.

I went on to run teaching sessions with ESL international students and I loved it. The job was challenging, interactive and fun. I enjoyed preparing and running each weekly session. I was even kind of sad when the sessions ended.

Volunteer for the right reasons. Volunteer only when it works for you. If you feel like your current position is a drag, consider the factors above and see if you can change any of them to fit you better. After all, if you are going to give up your time and energy, you might as well do it on your terms.

Don't Choose a School Based on Prestige

It’s  a common mistake to think that going to the most prestigious university or medical school will lead to greatness. Often when we read the profiles of highly acclaimed scientists and doctors, it seems like an  Ivy League education or a degree at a top school is needed to achieve success. This idea of belonging to a prestigious and famous institution leads to success is in fact backwards. You won’t become a successful person just because you went to Harvard or the likes.

The reality is that these schools attract people who are already successful. Highly accomplished individuals will choose prestigious schools because it is often there that they will receive the resources and funding needed to continue their work. The faculty of the best universities don’t go there to become a successful person. They are there because they are already qualified and that happens to be the best environment for them.

In the long run, it’s much more important to find a school that will help you help you develop as a person. As Terence Tao, a world-famous mathematician, says “It is common to focus on the general prestige of the institution, but actually it is the specific strengths of an institution which should play a more important role in your decisions.”

At any institution, it’s much more important to find opportunities and positions that enrich yourself. The old cliche, “it’s better to a big fish in a small pond that a small fish in the ocean” should be in the back of your mind when you are choosing schools.  Everyone should find the place that fits them best, sometimes that happens to be a prestigious sounding university, but more often than not, it doesn’t have to be.

In medicine, you will get your prestige and respect regardless of where you graduate from. If you are a fully licensed doctor who is competent and good at what you do, patients won’t care where you did your training. A job well done is a job well done.

When you do end up choosing a school, the real factors you should consider are 1) location, 2) quality of program, 3) finances. Each school has a different fit for each person. A perfect school for you may not be for someone else.

If you understand the relative insignificance  fame and glory, and base your decisions on rational and personal reasons that matter, you will be much better off in the long run. After all, it’s not the credentials and degrees after your name that matters, but what you can do with what you have learned that matters.

The Road to Medical School [Video]

Getting into medical school is tough work. We often get so caught up with the whole rat race and the plethora of hoops to jump through that we forget to look at the humor and comedy involved. I came upon a video put on by the University of Alberta for their 2009 interview weekend.

The video is about the typical path a premed must journey through and the many types of people he will encounter along the way. I hope you enjoy it.

Links

U Alberta Medicine MMI Video 2009 (1/2)

U Alberta Medicine MMI Video 2009 (2/2)

How to Handle a Medical School Rejection Peacefully

Medical School Rejection

Every year, thousands of applicants are rejected from medical school. It may have been you or someone you know. I’m sure everyone can think of someone who had perfect grades, MCAT scores, great extracurriculars, plenty of research and a great personality that was rejected from medical school. This isn’t uncommon. In fact, not being accepted into medical school is the norm. It’s the expected statistical outcome; there are way too many applicants for too few seats. All applicants should have been aware of this.

However, it’s hard to believe that an admissions system run by smart and supposedly fair people can turn away amazing applicants year after year. We try to justify these seemingly arbitrary decisions in many ways. He must have bombed the interview and did poorly, she chose the wrong people to write her references, their grades just weren’t competitive enough. You application was poorly put together and there were just too many better candidates than you.

But that’s not true, you are still a good person.

Despite a rejection, I believe that if you worked hard during undergrad, maintained good grades and balanced activities, and know how to interact with people, you are still a good candidate. You would be just as good of a doctor as those who were admitted.

Obviously there will be applicants that did not stand a chance in the first place. These people usually know it; their grades are poor, they haven’t done anything to show their interest, they put together a sloppy application. But if your grades are above previous year’s admitted average and you have talked to medical students who have confirmed what you are doing is enough, you are still just as good as you were before.

It wasn’t your fault you were rejected

It truly isn’t. If you have done everything right and you were still rejected, don’t feel bad for yourself. There were factors that were out of your control that lead to that rejection. I know of friends with degrees from Harvard and Yale who were rejected from some medical schools.

Most medical students have rejections from medical schools.

If you sample any medical school, an overwhelming majority will have had at least one rejection letter. Only a very small number of people will have no rejections and all acceptances. A good number of medical students have applied more than once, some even twice or more. You are not alone.

Take advantage of setbacks, learn to grow stronger with them.

Realize that facing adversity and rebounding from failure in the long-term is good for you. Take the time you have from the rejection to re-evaluate your own personal goals and make yourself a better person. Don’t do it to improve your application, but do it for yourself. If you haven’t thought about your motivations for being a doctor seriously before, you have now been given one of the best times to do so.

Sooner or later, we will all encounter failure

And learning to deal with failures appropriately is the key to future success. Even if you get in on your first attempt, you will eventually make mistakes as a medical student. It is inevitable that you will slip up or make an error as a resident that might cost someone’s life. Your rejection now is just a glimpse of what is to come. Don’t feel dejected from it, it happens to everyone.

If you are dedicated and passionate enough, you will get it.

Whether it’s this year, next year, three years down the road or more, if medicine is something you truly want to do, you will eventually get it. If you are one of those stellar applicants who are in shock because they were missed this cycle, it’s only a matter of time before you get in. If you feel like you should have got in, you most likely will sooner or later. Take this rejection from medical school as fuel for your future endeavors.

Over the last few years, I have kept every acceptance and rejection letter I have received. All my university, scholarship, and job application letters are stored away in a box. From time to time, I empty out its contents and look over the successes and rejections I have accumulated. And time and time again, I realize it’s my missed attempts and failures and how I dealt with and overcame them that fill me with pride.

Why I chose Med School over Grad School

Credit: slight clutter

There was a time during undergrad when I wanted to pursue both medical school and graduate school. Both pathways appealed to me and I did not know what I wanted to do. As a biology and physics major, I was a devout science follower.  The chance of discovery new science and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge made a graduate degree in the sciences convincing. Similarly, I was equally excited over the idea that as a doctor, I could care for patients and help people during profound moments in life.

However, what made the decision easier for me was the significant overlap between the two choices and some special aspects that medicine had that pushed me to pursue med school.

Science – If I pursued grad school, I would have done scientific research. As a medical student, I would learn the science of physiology, pathology, pharmacology and the applied science of medicine. I love science, so either way worked for me because I knew I would find intellectually challenging work.

Research – For research, both pathways offered plenty of chances to do basic bench work or clinical research. The advantage of being a grad student is that you would have dedicated time to concentrate and become proficient at conducting research. You would have specified mentors that would train, teach and help you along the way. Yet, I knew that as a medical student, there were just as many opportunities to do research. In fact, the scope of scientific research might be enriched with the clinical aspect. Furthermore, with an MD, I could use it as leverage for better projects and funding.

Teaching – Another aspect that was important to me was the opportunity to teach. As a graduate student, you would start off as a TA or an assistant teaching undergraduates. With persistence and some luck, you might get an faculty position and begin to co-teach classes. And if you hopefully get tenured, you might be able to finally teach the classes you like in the way you like. On the other hand, as a medical doctor you get to teach all the time. Whether it’s through advising patients on their health or teaching new residents and medical students, the teaching opportunities are there. Furthermore, if you wanted to, you could always pursue academic medicine and have the chance to teach in the classroom.

Duration – The education time line for both were more or less equal. As a graduate student, you would spend around 3-6 years working your post-graduate degree while being paid peanuts. As a med student, you first spend 3-4 more years in med school followed with a 3-7 year residency where you are paid peanuts and a bit more. Both choices involved more schooling. To me, this was not the deciding factor. And if medicine didn’t work out, I could always get a PhD afterwards…

The reason why I chose a life of medicine over that of a scientist is the patient. Practicing medicine involves treating and helping people not diseases and I knew I wanted to work with people. The doctor-patient relationship is truly a special and unique partnership. I think that’s why a lot of med students and doctors are drawn to the profession in the first place. As a grad student, I wouldn’t have that same interaction. There’s something rewarding about being responsible for and caring for someone when they are vulnerable and need help the most.

Medicine exposes you to many of life’s most profound moments: Birth, Sickness, Death.

The chance for work with and serve patients, the sick and weak, is why I chose medicine. Besides, many of the other factors like science, research, teaching are also an important and integral part of medicine.

Playing the Admissions Game

I’ve almost forgotten how neurotic premed students can get. The first year of medical school has its own challenges that make you soon forget about last year’s worries. But with the Canadian medical school interview season in full throttle, the swarms of applicants have begun to show their stress and worry.

Talking to friends who have applied this year, applicants who have shown up at information sessions and posters in online forums, there are definitely a lot of misconceptions about the whole admissions process. There is a lot of guessing and speculation about how the admissions committee works. Absurd theories and weight formulas are postulated by premeds without any evidence. Almost any specific criteria that you find on the internet regarding the whole process turns out to be false.

As a few of you may or may not know, I am currently sitting on the admissions and interview committees for my medical school. Now due to confidentiality, I can’t reveal any of the behind the scene “magic” that is medical school admissions nor would I want to.

However, I want to say that your applications are in good hands and that each person is evaluated as fairly as possible. The old adages of having good grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, references and essays hold true. We aren’t lying to you when we give you the breakdowns. Every medical school has an assembly of dedicated adcoms that look at your applications carefully and thoroughly. We are all aware of how important an acceptance decision can be for someone. We take our job seriously.

In fact, the adcom members – if you can believe it – are even more neurotic then premeds applying. We hold long meetings to figure out the best weighting system, necessary prerequisites, and how even slight wording in the application form will affect you. Every conceivable situation, application, scenario has been brought up and discussed. Afterall, when you have a group of doctors, deans, admissions staff, and students who have been doing this for years nothing gets missed.

So relax. Don’t stress about how we do our job and instead focus on doing your own responsibilities well. So what if you know how we select applicants, does that make a difference? Probably not. Admissions is much like a game. We try to make this game as good as possible. There will be flaws and it won’t be perfect but we do care about the process and the people playing. And we are always trying to make it better.

So play the game to the best of your abilities.  The rules and ways we evaluate the players are simple and clear. Like most  good games, there is some luck involved. We (as admission committee members) are also playing the game too.  We trust our applicants, so hopefully you can trust us that we are doing our best too.

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