Help on the Road to Med School

Off Topic
1

Hello everyone. I need some help/guidance.

I plan on applying to different medical schools and taking the necessary classes/tests. I’ve been volunteering at the oncology nursing unit in a hospital as well.

My life/physical science teachers have told me to get more involved into the field by looking for part-time jobs in research labs, volunteering at other places in addition to the hospital, etc.

How can I go about looking for a job in a research lab? I’m actually not very familiar with any. Also, assuming I were to be accepted into medical school, I hope and plan to become involved in orthopedics or sports medicine. Should I look into job/volunteer opportunities in physical therapy/sports medicine clinics? If so, how can I go about finding places as well?

What else can I do to become more involved in this field? I am quite sure I want to pursue this field, so I’d like to get to know as many aspects of it as possible.

Also, I took an EMT accelerated course through CPC about 1.5 years ago. I passed the course and field tests, but I never actually took the LA county test to become certified. If I would like to take it now, does anyone know if I have to retake the entire EMT course again? I will do it again (and I actually know I’ll get more out of it this time…the last was just hell…too many problems at the time)if I have to. But if I don’t have to do it again, do I just need a refresher course?

BTW, I live in Los Angeles, California. Any help is greatly appreciated.

-ton

2

Here is a list of priorities:

1.) Good MCAT score > 28
2.) Good GPA > 3.5
3.) Recommendation letters
4.) Work experience

You don’t need multiple sources of volunteer work. You can find research lab type stuff by checking university web sites for professors and emailing them. And tell them you are volunteering, so don’t expect to be paid. Do this in the summertime when you don’t have classes.

Getting a good MCAT and good grades while are different things, doing well in your science classes will help. Focus on your schoolwork.

beef

3

[quote]beefcakemdphd wrote:
Here is a list of priorities:

1.) Good MCAT score > 28
2.) Good GPA > 3.5
3.) Recommendation letters
4.) Work experience

You don’t need multiple sources of volunteer work. You can find research lab type stuff by checking university web sites for professors and emailing them. And tell them you are volunteering, so don’t expect to be paid. Do this in the summertime when you don’t have classes.

Getting a good MCAT and good grades while are different things, doing well in your science classes will help. Focus on your schoolwork.

beef[/quote]

Agreed. It’s not to have so good experience to show them. Not to the point that it’ll take time away from studying and focusing on the MCATs