November 11, 2013
Article by Global Pre-Meds
Hospital doctor shadowing & global health experience programs.
Not everyone is born with leadership qualities but you can definitely work towards being one. Your sophomore year is the perfect time to involve yourself in some significant activity that will showcase your leadership activities.
There are a number of volunteer activities you can participate in. Regardless of what you do, the important thing is to make the experience a meaningful one. Everything you do teaches you something and you have to be open-minded enough to accept and learn from the different experiences you go through.
Try to conduct some volunteer work in a healthcare organization or a local emergency center. It will provide you with exposure to the healthcare domain and make your application stand out from the rest. Apart from this, it is also a good way of seeing if you actually enjoy working in the healthcare field. You can network with people who share the same interests and also build your leadership potential.
Take up a job wherein you can conduct some research. Though it is not mandatory, it give you an edge when you are applying to medical schools. Since you are in a pre-med phase, it also gives you the chance to get some practical experience based on what you have learnt in college. Students who aspire to go in for a PhD or an MD program are benefited even more from a research job.
Plan On Studying Abroad
If you are planning on joining medical school right after you graduate from college, consider a stint on studying abroad. It is always a good idea to gain some experience and exposure to medical knowledge beyond the classroom and this is an excellent way of doing it.
Medical school admission committees look upon very highly on candidates who have had some experience with working abroad. To a certain degree it shows them how sincere and serious you are about your chosen career and that can be a clincher. The important thing is to go all out and be experimental. Don’t leave any stone unturned when it comes to making maximum use of your sophomore year.