The Importance Of Extracurriculars
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, extracurricular activities, whether they are volunteering; club; or research positions, have definitely taken a hit. Students have now been introduced to the virtual side of education and we soon followed suit with extracurriculars. There has always been quite an impactful notion that the involvement in these activities opens doors for post-secondary education and beyond — however, with this article representing the beginning of OYMS new series, Careers in Medicine, just how important are they to achieving a profession in medicine? That is, why should students go out of their way, particularly in times like these, to participate in them and what is the relationship between extracurricular involvement and the medical school admissions process? Along with some related topics, these are all things we will explore below.
What Benefits Can Students Gain By Participating?
There is a reason that the availability of these activities only seems to increase as students advance in their studies — participating in them has tons of advantages!
- Firstly, engaging in things like clubs, community service, research, and more has been proven to boost your GPA. In fact, there are many scientific studies that illustrate the correlation between participation in extracurricular activities and academic performance. They suggest that students who participate in activities like these demonstrate improved academic performance and are more likely to pursue a post-secondary education because of the skills they acquire during their involvement.
- While on the topic of skills, extracurricular activities provide a host of opportunities to develop new skill sets! From a general perspective, they provide essential skills such as leadership and communication skills, teamwork, time management (written from personal experience), commitment and perseverance, analytical and problem solving skills, as well as creativity. However, the provision of skills very much depends on the type of activity; for example, a member of student council or debate may develop excellent oral presentation/communication skills while a research assistant becomes proficient in critical analysis, data interpretation, and written communication. Tip: Consider the type of skills you want to acquire and align them with specific activities that provide opportunities to do so!
- Another benefit students participating in extracurriculars have to gain is that demonstrating involvement in various activities contributes to a more well-rounded personality — something admission committees are always looking for. These activities give students the opportunity to develop themselves in diverse areas and allow them to disunite from the academic aspect of school or university.
- In addition, getting involved in your school and community provides you with a sense of commitment and belonging; it allows you to be a part of something bigger than just yourself — boosting your self-esteem and confidence while engaging you through the people you meet, the connections you make, and the skills you develop! Lastly, extracurricular activities just give students something fun to do outside of school! They almost epitomize a healthy break from academics and give students the opportunity to explore their interests and engage in activities they find interesting without the pressure of due dates and competition.
- Also, finding like-minded individuals, especially in university, can be hard when students are buried under mountains of academic responsibility. Extracurriculars, however, unify people with common interests and goals; therefore being the perfect opportunity to find new people to hang out with.
Extracurriculars and Medical School
Despite what you may think, Ontario Medical Schools DO NOT just look at the GPA and MCAT score of applicants. They look for the their qualities and characteristics that are essential to being successful in a MD program and in a career as a physician such as passion, commitment, and self-motivation — traits that cannot be reflected through a transcript. One of the most common ways that medical schools assess these non-academic requirements is through the Autobiographical Sketch which 5 out of the 6 medical programs in Ontario require during the application process. The Autobiographical Sketch is a detailed, comprehensive list acting as a classification of the things applicants have done or achieved in their lives from when they were sixteen years old until their time of application. The activities are within the categories of employment, volunteer and extracurricular activities, awards and accomplishments, research experience, and “other”. All of these things are able to paint the admissions committee a picture of the applicant’s genuine values, passions, drive, and goals that will ultimately distinguish them from others and express their ability to become an empathetic and highly-skilled physician. Other ways medical schools choose to see past an applicant’s GPA and MCAT score is through the CASPer Test, supplementary questions, brief personal essays, and references/letters of recommendation. To check out the both academic and non-academic requirements for each Ontario medical school, visit the OMSAS website (the application service for individuals applying to the province’s six medical schools).
What Kind Of Extracurriculars Should Applicants Focus On For Medical School?
Now grasping the importance of extracurriculars in your journey to becoming a physician, we can assess the kinds of extracurriculars that medical schools tend to look for in applicants. It is also important to understand that these can be pursued in both the high school and undergraduate years — as the Autobiographical Sketch requires activities completed from when the prospective student was sixteen until their time of application.
Clinical Experience
To start, clinical experience is always a great thing to have when applying to medical schools because it shows that you are serious about becoming a physician and that you have taken concrete steps and initiative towards learning about the environment you want your career to thrive in. For those of us with stellar grades but little to no experience of this form, the former Dean Of Admissions at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Christine Crispen, stated in an interview that one of the biggest reasons that students were not admitted was because of their lack of clinical experience/exposure, despite having excellent GPAs. This thoroughly demonstrates how having this type of experience is crucial when applying to medical schools in the U.S and in Canada since the Autobiographical Sketch explicitly asks for activities of this nature as previously mentioned. Examples of great ways to build clinical experience are volunteering in a hospital or clinic, becoming a medical scribe, volunteering as an EMT, volunteering in hospice centres, and shadowing physicians. Physician shadowing is a particularly valuable opportunity as individuals are able to understand the day-to-day events of a physician’s life while asking questions, communicating with patients; residents; and other doctors, and making beneficial connections. In addition, a U.S Admissions Committee member also stated something about the “validity” of clinical experience: “If you’re close enough to smell the patient, that’s clinical experience.”
Research Positions
Similar to the previous activity, having research experience is also something very important to medical schools because it reflects many things on behalf of the applicant such as their ability to interpret research, desire to discover and answer questions, and their curiosity about the unknown. Research is also important because, as future physicians, students will need to continue learning and because it helps develop critical reasoning skills — something needed in both medical school and a career as a physician. If applying to an MD/PhD program, this is especially important as an enormous emphasis on research experience exists in the application process. Ultimately, med schools want to admit future physicians that have the ability to change the face of medicine, so demonstrating the skills and abilities learned through a research experience is a great thing to have on your application.
Hobby or Interest-Related Extracurriculars
Extracurriculars that fall outside of the typical “pre-med activities” including physician shadowing and research are really great to have in order for the applicant to show the admissions committee who they are beyond their grades such as their interests; hobbies; and motivators, what makes them well-rounded, and the skills they learned from these activities that can be applied in medical school and in a career as a physician. Having these kinds of extracurriculars also shows medical schools that, if admitted, you would be able to contribute more than just academics to the institution.
Tip: Try to make these activities illustrate the aspects of altruism, leadership (especially important), and character within their overall purpose or the role you had
Community Service and Volunteering
Altruism is intrinsic to any physician. Therefore, it is necessary as an applicant to demonstrate to admission committees a passion for serving others. One way to do so is through acts of selflessness by being active in community service. You can engage in community service by volunteering at food banks, shelters, schools, underserved communities, and in clinical settings etc. Other ways are going abroad on service/trips, joining humanitarian organizations, or volunteering with places like a public library — one experience does not necessarily outweigh the other. On the topic of volunteering abroad, it is generally suggested that students avoid including brief service/mission trips on their application because they could not have created substantial impact within a short period of time (some students spend their entire gap year involved in this). However, if met with the opportunity, feel free to explain what you learned from the experience and/or the skills you gained.
Concluding Tips:
- Check Out The CanMEDS Framework!
CanMEDS is a framework developed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada that has the primary purpose of establishing the “necessary competencies for all areas of medical practice and provide a comprehensive foundation for medical education and practice in Canada.” The framework explicitly states the abilities, which are grouped under seven roles, physicians require to satisfy the health care needs of the patients they care for. The seven roles are Medical Expert (known as the integrating role), Communicator, Collaborator, Leader, Health Advocate, Scholar, and Professional. Medical schools look for applicants that are able to demonstrate these seven roles within their experiences; therefore, something proactive to do is to begin aligning the extracurriculars you currently have/plan to pursue with these roles and the abilities listed within them. This way, your application will be able to reflect the entire framework and make you a more competitive applicant. To explore the CanMEDS framework further, visit www.royalcollege.ca/canmeds-framework
2. Learn How To Reflect On Your Extracurriculars
This is a particularly important ability to gain because the main reason medical schools request these kinds of extracurriculars is to learn about why they are important to you, and what skills these experiences provided. In order to meticulously depict this information in your application, taking some time to reflect on what led you to engage in an extracurricular and what you learned from your involvement is crucial. Then again, it is imperative that you stick to pursuing extracurriculars that you are passionate about so that when the time comes to cerebrate in the manner just mentioned, your application is authentic and fully encapsulates your goals, achievements, skillset, and motivation.
3. Commit, Commit, Commit
It is essential to understand that with all forms of extracurriculars, consistency is key. Medical school and undergraduate admission committees want to see that applicants demonstrate commitment towards the activities that they undertake and that they are not just pursuing them to check a box on their application. In light of this, it is important to join extracurriculars you are genuinely interested in so that you can create meaningful experiences and gain valuable skills. This also highlights how it is important to start building these kinds of experiences early — so that you have the opportunity to develop yourself within your involvement over long periods of time:
“If it doesn’t help you grow, let it GO”
In the final analysis, there are so many different ways to paint a picture of who you are through your extracurricular activities! If you are thinking about attending medical school, seriously consider the way you plan to spend the rest of your high school and/or undergraduate career outside of academics so that you have the opportunity to build valuable experiences; not just in the mindset of “This will make a great addition to my applications,” but also “How might this experience allow me to develop myself, my knowledge, and my abilities further?”
About the Writer: Hassan is a grade 10 student from Brampton, ON passionate about writing and STEM. With a strong commitment to helping others, he plans to pursue a career in medicine, specifically general surgery, and enjoys participating in activities related to the field. An interesting fact about him is that he aims to be fluent in French by the time he graduates high school. In his free time, you can expect to find him reading, planning his day, volunteering, or binge-watching The Office.
