Must say that I really appreciate how you have taken the time to write these artciles for prosepective students. They really serve as a great guideline to things such as writing personal statements.

Thanks a lot

I love this series. One thing I really likes was focusing on how the relevant experiences that helped you decide medicine, and how you would make a good doctor. One thing I've noticed is that alot of candidates think that research is an absolute must, even though most of them do not continue their undergrad research in medical school. When I talked about research, I talked about only one incident in my lab, and how that helped me become comfortable in seeking help from authority/peers. I think this sort of thinking (thinking in terms of stories/incidents, and what they've taught you, and how they've shaped your med school journey) is more effective than just saying "I did research, I love science, it demonstrates my intellect, etc.".

Just my two cents though.

In terms of research, I believe research is valued by some medical schools because: 1.) doing research often means you have someone who can give you a letter of reference commenting on your academic skills, and 2.) many faculty and staff in medical school are academic physicians, meaning that they are doctors who do research. As you can imagine, like attracts like – doctors who like doing research themselves will like applicants who do research. No, as an undergrad you might not be doing medical research, but even doing any research shows you might be open to doing some sort of medical research later on.

I know you said most things extracurricularly you do should relate to your motive for being a doctor, but many people out there say that research experience in undergrad helps you get into med school. But say if I do volunteer for a plant professor's lab or something, that's really not relevant to anything related to medicine… so I'm not really clear on why everyone says to do research in undergrad?

You're right, it can be difficult to understand what it means to be a doctor before getting into medical school. I still don't know completely myself.

The closest you can get is to trying to shadow a doctor. Learn what they do in their work, and learn how it affects their personal life. Ask lots of questions. Try imagining yourself in their shoes and see if it makes you happy.

So for sure, I think getting a shadowing experience would be most beneficial for you.

Best of luck!

I know you said you hated it when people asked what extracurricular activities one should do to enter medicine… but what if you don't have that motivation or reason or driving reason that compels you towards medicine… Like what can we do to learn what medicine is truly about, and try activities where we can find out whether that is really for us… I volunteer at a hospital now, where I talk to patients which is important, but I feel like there's more to a doctor's disposition. So can you recommend a starting point from where I can learn more about what medicine truly is… and whether it is right for me.

Thanks for the help.

Thanks dude.

Thanks a lot, I'm glad you're finding these articles helpful =)