Preparing to Apply to Medical School

Other Activities Important in Admission

In addition to outstanding academic credentials, professional schools look for applicants with superior personal attributes. Desirable behaviors mentioned most often by schools include integrity and ethical judgment, responsibility, curiosity, initiative, motivation, perseverance, purpose, mentoring and interpersonal skills, self-management and coping skills, demonstrated ability to remain calm under pressure, compassion, good listening skills and breadth of interests. Also, it is expected that an applicant will be well informed regarding medical sciences and our health care system.

Medically-related Activities

A good way to learn about our health care system is to do hands-on work in a health field. A few UM students work as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT's) or Certified Nurse Assistants (CNA's), however, both these positions require formal training. It is also possible to volunteer at a local medical facility ( Community Medical Center or St. Patrick Hospital). Both facilities have individuals that coordinate and supervise volunteers. The best way to contact these individuals is to call the hospital and ask to speak to the volunteer coordinator. Most of the volunteer opportunities that are available include providing information to patients and families, visiting with patients and escorting patients to different areas of the hospital.

Volunteer/extracurricular Activities

 It is expected that applicants will have been involved in a number of volunteer/extracurricular activities as undergraduates. These should include off-campus activities.

How much volunteer experience is enough? Quality is better than quantity. Schools are not interested in a catalog of activities. Find some activity you enjoy and stick with it. However, hundreds of hours working with the same organization may not be the best strategy. Regardless, keep a record of your work and volunteer experiences. A small notebook with a record of volunteer or work activities, dates, name, address and phone number of supervisors, number of hours volunteered or worked, etc., will be helpful when you apply.

Research Experience

 While most medical schools do not require that you have research experience, such experience is highly valued in the admission process and will be helpful at schools that still have a research requirement for medical students (e.g., University of Washington School of Medicine). Getting involved in research will be a challenge and will only be possible if you are extremely proactive. Find out what faculty members are doing as part of their scholarly activities (departmental web sites are most useful here) and then make an appointment with these individuals to inquire about working in their lab or under their direction. You may have to approach a number of faculty members before finding one that has an opening in their lab. Consider faculty members outside your major department. Most faculty at UM welcome this opportunity, but have limited time so don't be surprised if you are not successful with the first person you approach. Perseverance pays off, so keep trying.