Experience requirements for medical school admission
Getting into medical school is not just a matter of getting good grades and high MCAT scores. Medical schools invest huge amounts of time and resources training future doctors, and they want to be sure that you know what you are getting into. Too many people think they want to be a doctor based on what they see on TV shows, and have a very unrealistic idea of what it is really like to go into this profession. For this reason, medical schools require that applicants have a significant amount of experience outside of the classroom, generally in some medically-related setting where they are resonsible for someone else's care. Many UMM premed students volunteer or work at nursing homes and hospitals, and some get Nurses Aid or EMT training and experience. It can also be a very rewarding experience to shadow a physician for a period of time. Also, you are strongly recommended to consider participating in an overseas educational experience - some information is provided below. Finally, you can make use of your family and hometown community resources to find other opportunites for experiences outside of Morris during breaks from school.
It is important to begin getting these types of experiences early, preferably in your first year of college, so that you will have a number of diverse experiences under your belt by the time you apply to medical school.
Morris links:
You should also contact Carol McCannon (phone 6083) at the Student Activites Center: she has lots of information about volunteer opportunities in Morris and elsewhere.
Research programs:
Overseas opportunites:
Yes premed students can have overseas experiences! Medical school admissions committees place a high value on overseas experiences, particularly if they are health related and if they help you to learn a foreign language. If you are absolutely determined to complete your undergraduate preparation in four years and go straight into medical school, it may be difficult (but not impossible with careful planning) to take a semester or year abroad. But if you are willing to take an extra semester or year, the opportunites are virtually endless. Consult your advisor, and stop by the study abroad office to get started.
Summer experiences overseas
A good option if don't want to take time off from your premed program is to participate in a summer-only program. There are many opportunities all over the world - most of these are unpaid and will cost you some money for travel expenses, but considering the cost of a medical education this will be a drop in the bucket and well worth it. The best place to start looking is the study abroad office at UMM: there is a book there called "Short Term Study Abroad" published by the Institute of International Education that lists thousands of summer possibilities, with cross-references to areas of interest, including health care, health educations, etc. You should also check out the site for the University of Minnesota Learning Abroad Center at the Twin Cities campus.
Here are just a few representative links to volunteer databases and specific programs:
Other academic opportunities:
The Minority Medical Education Program (MMEP) is a great summer program for minority premed students.
One Year Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Programs allow you to do all of your premed courses in a single year after you have already graduated with a bachelors degree.They are popular with students who decided late in their undergraduate careers to go to medical school. However, they tend to be pretty expensive.
Bioinformatics and Bioengineering Summer Institute at the Virginia Commonwealth University.