If you are a high school student who is interested to work in the field of medicine, look no further! This post will show you how to clinch more pre-med extracurricular activities for medicine related field.
The admission standards for medical schools are high and strict, requiring students to spend a lot of time, energy and money. Therefore, you need to determine whether you are truly interested in medicine by participating in some pre-med extracurricular related activities in the early stage before making the final choice in university.
In addition, participating in these pre-med extracurricular activities can provide you with valuable skills, knowledge and experience. It also proves that you are serious about medicine and helps you enhance your competitiveness streak among the thousands of applicants. Here are some ways to gain the required experience from pre-med extracurricular activities.
Volunteer in local hospitals
One of the best ways to gain experience in the medical field is to participate in volunteering activities at the local health clinic or hospital. Of course, volunteers do not assume the responsibilities of medical professionals, but you can be responsible for chatting with patients, providing customer service, answering phone calls, and filling out documents. Volunteering allows you to communicate with doctors, observe the doctor’s work, and stay with patients. Transform yourself into the role of a healthcare personnel and immerse yourself in the environment. These can help you determine whether you really like working in the medical field.
How do you find volunteering opportunities?
1) Check the websites of your local clinics and hospitals to find information about volunteer projects.
2) Call the health clinic or hospital and ask if they are looking for volunteers and whether they can accept high school students to participate in their volunteering activities.
Volunteer at welfare homes or nursing homes
As a doctor, you must have compassion, empathy, and be able to communicate and serve people from all walks of life. Therefore, any experience of volunteering to serve others is useful. Even if your experience is not directly related to the medical field, you can still develop the qualities needed to become a successful doctor through practical activities. If you want to devote yourself to serving areas with inadequate medical services in the future, then volunteer at the orphanages and nursing homes. You can experience the medical conditions in these areas, understand the basic situation, and observe and record local conditions. To find these opportunities, you can contact community welfare homes and nursing homes directly through the internet or by phone. They will welcome you!
Participate in medical summer programs
Summer medical programs are also a good choice. Compared with medical research internships, there is less competition. High school students can participate in seminars, face-to-face communication with medical students or professors, participate in simulation laboratories and research surveys, learn basic medical examination methods and surgical techniques, and so on. Through such programs, you get to meet many like-minded high schoolers!
Apply for a pre-med extracurricular internship program
Currently, many medical associations, colleges and universities are recruiting high school interns. For example: National Institutes of Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, American Cancer Society, University of Chicago, etc. Most of these projects are carried out in summer, and most of the work internships are skills learning or practical research with scientists and medical professionals. Applying for a pre-med extracurricular research internship program can add value to your medical path. What do you need to do to apply for a medical research internship program? Search for relevant information on the internet and list the items of interest. Consider all factors such as cost, travel and living arrangements.
Apply for an online research program
If you are unable to travel right now especially due to COVID-19, there are still many online opportunities for high school students to work directly with professors from selective universities. Online mentoring is gaining more and more traction now and it is more prevalent than ever. An online research program allows you to deep-dive into different concepts, get to know the working style of university professor and prepares you for university. Find a medicine professor to work with you on a pre-med extracurricular research paper.
No matter which program or activity you chose, it can not only strengthen your mentality as a healthcare personnel, but it also provides an early exposure to the medical field. In this way, you can also establish a connection between knowledge, skills and experience to help you become an excellent doctor in your future career.
Next, you may be interested to explore this student’s pre-med extracurricular research mentorship program.
