As you begin to navigate medical school, you may be wondering how to get involved as a medical student. Even if you haven’t started yet, you may still have this question. With board exams going pass/fail, residencies have to find other things in your application to look at. This is why it’s important to find something, in addition to your grades, that sets you apart. Your personal statement will definitely give them a look into who you are. But you’re going to want some activities or positions that also help define who you are, and how you spent your time in school. Here are my five tips for how to get involved in medical school.
1. Sign up for organizations
The easiest way to get involved as a medical student is to sign up for organizations. There are plenty of organizations that you can get involved in. The important part is to find one that interest you. Medical school is so busy and time consuming. If you are going to get involved in something, then you’d better make it worth your while.
I am currently apart of Student National Medical Association (SNMA), Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA), and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. My school has a variety of organizations, and I’m sure your school (or future school) has them as well. Some useful organizations may actually be interest organizations.
Interest organizations are those that cater to specific interests or specialities. Some of those include Pediatrics, OBGYN, Surgery, Internal Medicine, and Psychiatry. If you are interested in some of these organizations, then you can either see if your school has a chapter, or look into their national website to start a chapter. In this organization, you will be able to put on events for you school, volunteer, shadow and interview physicians who are in that profession.
2. Volunteer
Another way you can get involved is to volunteer. Volunteering is one of the best ways to make your application stand out. As physicians, service is inherent in the profession. When you’re in medical school is the time to start volunteering. In fact, volunteering before medical school is the way to go. That way, you are used to performing service and you have a lot to put on your application.
Your school has plenty of volunteer opportunities, making it really easy to get involved as a medical student. If you have trouble finding them, then you can see if your school has volunteer organization. Also, if your school has student council, they may have some chair of volunteering. Even if your school doesn’t have someone over volunteering (which would be very odd) check with local and national organizations. Normally, they have some events or things you can sign up for.
Whatever it is that you do, however, make sure you enjoy it. Volunteering should be fun. It should be something that you don’t dread. Otherwise, spending your time on it won’t be worth it and you’ll soon find yourself no longer volunteering.
3. Do Research
Aside from your test scores, research is one of the top things residency programs are looking for. I love research because it I can apply it to everyday life. Sometimes, studying and reading feels like I’m not actually doing anything. However, research is different. Many of my research projects are interventions. Interventions are different than surveys because you’re actually doing something instead of just observing it.
So, if you have an interest, find out if someone in your school is already doing research in that area. If you don’t have any interest, but would like to get into research, then look to see what different professors and students are doing at your school. Maybe you don’t have a specific research interest. But, if you like a certain professor, and would like to work with them, then familiarize yourself with their project.
Research may be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. When I was an undergrad, I was not a fan of research. I worked in a psychology lab, and it just seemed so slow and complicated. However, I was just a research assistant. I also was trying to get into medical school, so I couldn’t really dive into research how I can now. But now that I am in a position to initiate my own projects, I love research. I think it’s so important and initiatives don’t happen without them.
With research, you also get to present and publish your findings. I have presented at two conferences virtually. I hope to present at two more this year and work on getting some of my projects published. In one of my Motivational Monday emails, I wrote that this was the year of results, and getting published is a part of that.
4. Become a Tutor or TA
If you really enjoy teaching, then you should consider becoming a tutor or a teaching assistant (TA). Professors are extremely busy in medical school and could use some help. Get involved as a medical student and become a peer tutor so you can interact with your classmates. If there is a subject you understand really well, then you can help others understand it too. Some schools even pay their tutors, so you can get a little money on the side.
You can also become a TA, which also may be a paid position. Teaching assistants have different roles at different schools. At my school TAs do a lot of the extracurricular learning sessions. These are individual sessions that focus on different parts of the class. For example, in anatomy, TAs led sessions over embryo, osteology, and histology. These subjects are difficult and require extra time outside of class. Professors don’t have time to do that, so they rely on TAs.
I taught during my gap year and tutored in college so teaching is something I really enjoy. I am a TA for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. As a TA for this class, I help in lab and ensure first year students are diagnosing and performing techniques correctly. There are faculty that walk around and help, but TAs are like an extension of them. We provide extra support where they can’t.
Tutoring and being a TA has personal benefits too. You can review material that you may have forgotten while teaching others. I get a good review of the first-year material when I have to re-learn it to help the first years. This is perfect as I am currently preparing for board exams. If you want to get the most bang for your buck in an extracurricular activity, tutoring or being a TA may be the way to go.
5. Shadow
If you’re looking to get involved as a medical student while also networking, then you should consider shadowing. Shadowing is when you follow around a physician that works in a specialty that interests you. You get to see what their patients are like and their day-to-day life. Many physicians love to have students. They like when students ask them questions. You can also use that time to build a great network. These physicians may write you a recommendation letter later. The earlier you can establish a relationship with them, the better.
You may have too busy of a schedule to shadow whole days, but you can work with their staff to arrange half-days. Also, if you have any time off from school, then those are great days to shadow too. Be patient when trying to set up shadowing days. Sometimes, their offices get busy and you fall to the bottom of their priority list. It’s not personal, they are doctors! You may have to try and try again, or even switch to a different physician. I once waited three months for a doctor to email me back and it was the best shadowing experience I’ve ever had.
Be persistent, and once you arrange the days, be prepared. Have some questions in mind, know what to wear, and remember that this is a professional environment. It’s important to be punctual. Even if the doctor is late, you don’t get to be. You will be standing a lot so wear comfortable shoes. Also, have some snacks and food handy as your eating schedule may be thrown off. When you’re done, follow up with a thank you email or letter. I like a nice gift card, so I normally listen to some of the things they like while I’m shadowing so I know what to get.
Go get involved!
These are my tips for how to get involved in medical school. It is easier to get too busy that not be busy enough, so find things you enjoy doing. My schedule is insane, and probably overloaded. But I am enjoying everything I’m doing. This makes the missed activities, early mornings and busy days totally worth it. Let me know how you get involved in the comments below!
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