2024 AMCAS Work and Activities Ultimate Guide (Examples Included)
/How to choose and describe extracurriculars on your medical school application, with 30+ AMCAS Work and Activities examples and Most Meaningful Experience examples
(Note: This guide can also be found in our free, 102-page comprehensive guide to medical school applications, Get Into Medical School: 6 Practical Lessons to Stand Out and Earn Your White Coat, which includes additional Work and Activities examples that cannot be found anywhere else.)
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Part 1: Introduction to the AMCAS Work and Activities section
Part 2: AMCAS Work and Activities categories
Part 3: How to write AMCAS Work and Activities descriptions
Part 4: How to choose and write AMCAS Most Meaningful Experiences
Appendix A: AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience examples
Appendix B: AMCAS Work and Activities examples
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Part 1: Introduction to the AMCAS Work and Activities Section
Most applicants tend to give a ton of attention to their medical school personal statement but relax and cut corners on the all-important AMCAS Work and Activities section.
Many students are unaware that the Work and Activities section will actually show up ahead of the personal statement, and that most admissions committee members will get to know you through your extracurricular experiences before they even get to your main essay. As with anything else, first impressions are critical, so you’ll want to devote serious effort to your entries.
Whereas your personal statement allows you to describe the personal and professional experiences that led you to medicine at a high level, your Work and Activities section offers the opportunity to discuss your day-to-day work during undergrad and—if you took gap years before medical school—beyond.
The AMCAS Work and Activities section is where you’re supposed to describe all the details: whom you worked with, how many hours you dedicated, what you achieved, what you learned, and so on. And although some narrative-based writing and storytelling is helpful, you’ll have to write much more succinctly.
The reason is that AMCAS allows you to describe up to 15 experiences with only a 700-character limit for each (including spaces). That said, three of your experiences can be designated as “most meaningful” and further expanded on in a separate section with a 1,325-character limit.
We wrote this guide to cover every important aspect of the Work and Activities section, including a proven framework to write each entry and Most Meaningful experiences description, as well as to provide numerous examples.
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Part 2: AMCAS Work and Activities categories
There are 19 AMCAS Work and Activities categories from which to choose:
Artistic Endeavors
Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical
Community Service/Volunteer - Not Medical/Clinical
Conferences Attended
Extracurricular Activities
Hobbies
Honors/Awards/Recognitions
Intercollegiate Athletics
Leadership - Not Listed Elsewhere
Military Service
Other
Paid Employment - Medical/Clinical
Paid Employment - Not Medical/Clinical
Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation
Presentations/Posters
Publications
Research/Lab
Social Justice/Advocacy
Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant
You only get to choose one category for each activity, so you’ll want to choose wisely and make sure that you’ve covered all of the main extracurriculars for medical school: physician shadowing, community service/volunteering (medical and not medical), research, and patient exposure.
Patient exposure is unique because it doesn’t have its own category. However, it can still be captured by (medical or not medical) “paid employment” or “community service/volunteer,” whichever is most appropriate.
Social Justice/Advocacy
The 2024 AMCAS Application Workbook discusses the addition of a new experience category, Social Justice/Advocacy.
Based on feedback from the admissions community and a study conducted by an AMCAS-formed working group, it was decided that a category around social justice and advocacy would be beneficial to the application process.
AMCAS notes that, “This question is intended to further support schools in identifying applicants whose experiences align with their school’s mission and goals and help signal to applicants the importance of participating in social justice and advocacy work.”
What does AMCAS consider a Social Justice/Advocacy experience?
This new experience category covers a wide range of activities, so it’s helpful to narrow down exactly what it entails to ensure you’ve properly categorized your experiences.
Essentially, the social justice/advocacy experience category covers activities in which you work to enhance the rights of an underrepresented or marginalized group, support a cause, or work for the opportunities of others. Examples include addressing health inequities, advocating for an environmental cause, civil rights, or disadvantaged populations, or even registering people to vote. It does not, as AMCAS states, cover experiences campaigning for a political party or ideology.
How should I categorize my AMCAS Work and Activities entries?
Below we will answer the questions we most commonly receive about how to categorize and organize various types of Work and Activities entries.
Should I list all of my shadowing experiences in one entry, or split them across multiple entries?
If you have several shadowing experiences, whether in the same hospital or across multiple hospitals, it would make sense to list all of them within the same entry. For example, your entry in the Experience Description section could be written like this:
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Emergency Department (Summer 2019)
Attended patients consultations with multiple physicians around the emergency room
Primary contact: Melissa Johnson, M.D.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Neurosurgery Department (Summer 2018)
Observed neurosurgeries and attended patient pre-op and post-op consultations
Primary contact: Joseph Katzman, M.D.
And so on. On the other hand, if you've participated in fewer (i.e., 1–3) shadowing experiences, but for longer periods of time, you could write about each experience separately. In those cases, you should write about an interesting moment or what you learned from the experience.
How should I list my honors and awards? Should each one be given their own entry, or should they be combined within one entry?
If an honor or award resulted from an activity described elsewhere, mention it there (e.g., receiving the “Top Student Researcher” award could be included in your research experience entry). All other honors and awards should be combined within their own entry. If you reach the character limit, either shorten your descriptions or delete the least significant ones.
In extremely special cases, an honor or award can be “most meaningful” to you because it represents tremendous growth or overcoming a major obstacle. In that case, feel free to designate it as most meaningful and explain why.
A common follow-up question is: “How many hours should I enter for Honors/Awards/Recognitions, Presentations/Posters, Publications or Conferences Attended entries?”
In most, cases, enter “0.” However, the AAMC advises you to use your discretion if you spent a measurable amount of time on one of these activities, such as at a conference or event.
How should I list publications?
You should include as many publications as possible (including publications in press) using the AMA format. If there are 7+ authors, you will have to list the first three and then use “et al.” It’s not imperative that your name shows up in the list; you could also write “(8th author)” at the end of the listing. For more examples, see UC Berkeley’s AMA Style Guide for health-related research.
You might also wonder: “What if I can't fit all my publications in one entry?” In that case, use another entry, assuming you have the space. If you don't, make the space; it's unlikely that your 15th entry is more significant than more publications.
Finally, if you list a publication, make sure that you also discuss the associated research experience in a separate entry.
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Part 3: How to write AMCAS Work and Activities descriptions
The AMCAS application will let you designate the experience type, position, organization, location, contact name, dates, completed hours spent, anticipated hours spent, and list your most meaningful experiences.
Before we get into the details of how to write a great entry, let’s take a look at an actual AMCAS Work and Activities example so you can get a sense of how adcoms will see your work.
AMCAS Work and ACtivities example
About each of your AMCAS Work and Activities selections, admissions committees want to know:
How much time you spent
Your responsibilities and accomplishments
The impact you made
The qualities you demonstrated
For your “most meaningful” experiences—more on that in a moment—admissions committees additionally want to know:
What you learned and how you grew
Notice how none of these bullets say, “Simply state what you did”?
That’s because the AMCAS Work and Activities section presents an incredible opportunity beyond your personal statement to provide deep insights about yourself, however succinctly given the tight character limit.
Just like choosing which medical schools to apply to and choosing which of your great qualities to demonstrate in your personal statement, it’s up to you to decide which of your experiences to highlight in your Work and Activities section and how to discuss them.
Activities section character limits
Think about this carefully and list your most significant experiences only, prioritizing quality over quantity. Don’t list experiences just to fill up the section.
Your next step in writing your Work and Activities entries is to list every non-academic experience during your college and post-bacc years. Then, write very brief descriptions of each of the five areas listed above that medical schools want to know about. That way, you’ll ensure that your short paragraph will include each point.
Let’s take volunteering as an assistant cook at the Chicago Homeless Shelter as an example.
Time spent: 2 nights/week, 4 hours/night for 3 years
Responsibilities/Accomplishments: Prepared meals and served homeless individuals.
Impact: Developed lasting relationships with underserved individuals in addition to helping them meet their basic needs.
Qualities Demonstrated: Kindness, encouraging, interested in people from all walks of life.
Lessons/Growth: Gratitude, humility, human resilience.
Now it’s time to write out your experience, making sure to describe your responsibilities and accomplishments; impact; and demonstrated qualities. Let’s continue with the homeless shelter example to demonstrate what a strong entry looks like:
I started out as a volunteer dishwasher and porter and occasionally helped with cooking meals when the cooks were out for any reason (responsibilities). After about a year, the head chef asked me to transition to cooking only (accomplishment and responsibility). I was excited about the opportunity because cooking is one of my greatest passions. Two nights per week, I cooked and served various meals for the local homeless community. As a cook, I initially ate with the other kitchen staff after everyone had been served. Over time, however, I ate with the people I served, and encouraged other staff members to join as well (impact, demonstration of kindness, encouragement, and interest in others).
This example stayed well within the character limit (under 700 characters with spaces) and successfully discussed the three points mentioned above.
Examples of showing vs. telling in the Work and Activities section
Even though Work and Activities entries are relatively short, it’s still important to demonstrate strong writing throughout. One key concept to keep in mind is “showing vs. telling.”
A good rule of thumb is that “telling” involves describing what you did, whereas “showing” involves demonstrating what you achieved or learned from an experience. It’s important to include the latter because they allow admissions committees to understand the value you bring to your community and how insightful you are.
The following examples highlight the differences between telling and showing:
Telling: “I shadowed an emergency physician during rounds.”
Showing: “I supported emergency physicians during rounds by ensuring that patients were comfortable during their stays by offering adequate snacks, drinks, blankets, etc.”
Telling: “I observed neurosurgery consults.”
Showing: “I observed how physicians demonstrate good bedside manner by encouraging questions and providing reassurance to develop trust with their patients.”
However, some telling is not necessarily bad, given the need for concision here! We’ll discuss this further below.
Completed and anticipated experiences
The AMCAS Work and Activities section was updated during the 2022-2023 application cycle allowing students to differentiate between completed activities and anticipated activities. The 2023 Work and Activities guide states that this change “will allow applicants to distinguish previous, ongoing and planned new activities on their applications.”
Whereas past applicants could combine those hours into a single number, it’s now necessary to count the number of hours spent on an activity before and after submitting your application separately. While it may seem small, this can affect how you come across as a candidate. Not only will you be able to mention experiences you plan to engage in before matriculation, you’ll be able to show how some experiences that you’ve started will continue until you start medical school.
The addition of completed and anticipated experiences allows medical schools to get a fuller picture of you as an individual. By allowing you to categorize your activities in this way, they can better understand how you have grown during your time as a premed and where your interests are taking you.
Important things to note when completing this section
As in previous years, many of the practical considerations remain the same such as the limit of 15 experiences, each with a description of 700 characters. However, you will now see areas to enter data labeled “Completed Hours” and “Anticipated Hours.”
When entering this information, it’s important to ensure you’re inputting it correctly.
What is a completed experience versus an anticipated experience?
Understanding the way AMCAS defines these terms is critical to filling out the application. A completed activity is simply an activity that is finished and its end date is set in the past. AMCAS specifically says that its end date must be the “current month” or earlier, defining the “current month” as the month and year you submit your application.
An anticipated activity is something you plan to do after you have submitted your application. Its start date must be the current month or later and it must end by August of the matriculating year.
Anticipated activities can be totally new activities you haven’t engaged in before or continuations of completed activities, such as an associated shadowing or research opportunity. It’s important to note that anticipated activities cannot be a most meaningful experience and they cannot be any of the following categories:
Honors/Awards/Recognitions
Conferences Attended
A Publication
A Presentation
How to denote completed and anticipated experiences on the application
Entering your completed experiences on the form is straightforward. You’ll just need to input the month and year you started and finished the activity along with the number of hours you spent participating in it. If you’ve done an activity more than once, for example spending your summers volunteering at a community clinic, you’ll need to note that as a repeated activity on the form.
Inputting anticipated activities is a little different. First, you must fill out the completed section in order to add an anticipated activity. This is required whether your anticipated activity is a continuation of a completed one or an entirely new activity. For example, if you anticipate that you will continue working on a research project after you have submitted your application, you would note the number of hours already completed and the number of hours you anticipate completing before you would matriculate or until the anticipated activity ends.
If you want to input an entirely new activity, you must enter the current month for both the start and end dates in the completed section and then put “0” for the number of hours completed. This will bring up the anticipated activities section.
Completed and Anticipated activities as a reapplicant
If you’re a reapplicant, you’ll be glad to know that completed experiences from your last application will carry over into this year. However, be sure to thoroughly review all the information to check for accuracy. This means checking the date ranges for your experiences are correct and whether there are any anticipated activities that you need to enter. If there are errors on the form, the system will flag them with an orange symbol, alerting you to have a second look.
For an example of how the completed and anticipated activities information will appear in your Work & Activities section, see the screenshot provided at the beginning of part 3.
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Part 4: How to choose and write AMCAS Most Meaningful Experiences
Choosing your Most Meaningful Experiences
How do you decide which of your experiences were most meaningful or significant? Choosing your meaningful awards, honors, and publications is usually more straightforward than your activities, so we’ll focus on choosing activities.
Many students over-strategize when it comes time to choose most meaningful experiences. They think they shouldn’t select experiences discussed in their personal statement (you’re welcome to) or that they must select experiences from their personal statement (you could, but you don’t have to).
Our advice is simple: Select the three experiences that were actually most meaningful to you!
The only “rule” here is that you should select at least one medicine-related activity (e.g., research) as one of your most meaningful experiences. Otherwise, adcoms will question your commitment to becoming a physician. Beyond that, all experiences should be considered fair game.
How to write about your Most Meaningful Experiences
When you designate an experience as “most meaningful,” AMCAS will prompt you to complete the “Most Meaningful Experience Remarks” section, which has a 1,325-character limit.
This section provides the opportunity to write more in-depth about an experience and its impact, as well as discuss what you learned and how you grew from the experience (bonus points for linking the example to medicine, but no need to force this). We also advise you to use an anecdote when appropriate to really bring your experience to life.
Let’s continue with the homeless shelter example from above:
When I started volunteering at the homeless shelter, I was looking forward to accumulating volunteer hours doing something I enjoyed. However, serving some of our society’s most needy members and developing lasting relationships with them quickly trumped the pleasure of cooking. I recognized early on that my service could transcend spooning meals onto a plate. While our diners clearly needed nourishment, they were also looking for community. Simply asking many of them how their weeks were going, about their upbringing, and eventually, how they became homeless, got them to open up and share their stories. These stories stirred up feelings of gratitude and humility knowing that many of my blessings (e.g., growing up a in a nice neighborhood with an intact family) were unearned. In addition, I came to understand how resilient human beings are. Against great odds, many homeless individuals had developed and maintained a positive life outlook, and some were able to improve their housing and career situations. While I was always glad to learn about these developments, I was sad to lose touch with these friends. I suppose this experience parallels the goal of a medical doctor: to not be needed anymore.
This student's Most Meaningful Experience example builds on the description from the earlier section by getting more specific about their interactions with homeless individuals, what they learned and came to appreciate from the experience, and an insight they gained that applies to medicine.
Final thoughts
Take your Work and Activities section seriously. Beyond your demographic information and academic history, it is your first-impression opportunity. By getting a sense of how you spent your time outside the classroom, admissions committees will better understand what matters to you and how you will add to their student body.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.
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Appendix A: AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience examples
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 1 (Medical Volunteering)
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Take Charge Health Program
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: King County Department of Health Services
Experience Description:
Take Charge is a 6-month health program that uses wearable activity trackers, mobile messaging and data analytics to promote behavioral adjustments in patients at risk for lifestyle-related chronic diseases. The program developed into a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of trained undergraduate health coaches, mobile messaging and wearable health tracking devices to wearable health tracking devices alone in promoting sustainable lifestyle changes including increasing physical activity, improving nutrition and ultimately heightening patient outcomes. I am a coach for Take Charge and use motivational interviewing to troubleshoot obstacles precluding my patients from healthy living.
Most Meaningful Experience Remarks:
Stephen was my first patient. When we met, he weighed 260 pounds, 70 over the upper bound of healthy for his height. Over the next two hours, we developed an intimate trust, a trust that I’d accept his insecurities and respond with genuine interest in his success. Driven by disgust, he didn’t walk in the sun because he hated feeling sweaty. He lived a restrained life, and from my soccer injury, I knew how that felt. Our collective understanding drove us together and for 6 months, we worked hard. On Wednesday, he sent pictures of his meals; I responded with constructive criticism. On Friday, we troubleshooted all obstacles and discussed actionable goals. I realized how ingrained habit can be and consequentially, I learned how to effect change. By developing discrepancy between his lifestyle and his goals, I showed him what needed to change. I helped him associate watching the TV Show “The Office” with concurrent rock climbing on his machine. Instead of driving, he walked to work and took an Uber home. By the 3rd week, he lost 10 pounds and by the 10th, he lost 20. Stephen was always capable of reaching his health goals; he just needed someone to enable him. Because of Stephen, I want to be a physician, implementing effective motivational interviewing to enable patients to regain control over their own health.
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 2 (Non-Medical Volunteering)
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Not Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Difference Makers Volunteer Tutor
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: Difference Makers
Experience Description:
As a tutor for the Difference Makers program, I taught math and English to students currently incarcerated at King Correctional Facility. I worked one-on-one with my high-school equivalency exam students, structuring my lessons based around the standard curriculum. I modified lesson plans to fit the individual learning styles of students who needed extra help. For my screenwriting class, I encouraged students to write on their own but helped talk through their ideas, proofread their work, and provided stylistic suggestions.
Most Meaningful Experience Remarks:
I started volunteering with Difference Makers because I have a passion for ensuring the provision of quality education to disenfranchised populations. I am especially interested in those affected by the criminal justice system and the school-to-prison pipeline because extreme inequity in early education contributes to adverse outcomes. I quickly realized that not only was I able to prepare my students for the high-school equivalency exam, but I was also able to instill a sense of confidence in their abilities, which many had not been afforded before. Many of my students had not been treated with the respect they deserve as humans, rather as individuals who were permanently marked by their time in jail. By fostering an environment of trust and respect, I helped my students open up about their lives and goals for the future. It was incredibly rewarding when several of them expressed a desire to join the Difference Makers program upon their release because it showed that these students found value in my time with them. This experience left me humbled and grateful that I had access to the education and support to freely develop into the person I am and it pushed me to work harder on their behalf.
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 3 (Research)
Experience Type: Research/Lab
Experience Name: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: UVA Department of Neurology
Experience Description:
Fortunately, many stroke patients demonstrate limited spontaneous recovery, suggesting an endogenous repair mechanism exists in the brain. Under Dr. Richard Choi, I aim to understand the underlying synaptic and network mechanisms of neuronal plasticity after stroke. My project entails demonstrating functional learning in mice on a tactile (whisker) discrimination task, targeting a stroke to the barrel field, which receives whisker inputs, of the primary somatosensory cortex contralateral to the trained whisker pad and labelling remapped whisker responsive neurons post-stroke. I have experience with mouse behavior, optical intrinsic signaling, photothrombotic stroke and MATLAB.
Most Meaningful Experience Remarks:
I plan to supplement a career in medicine with research. To me, research is analogous to preparing, like basketball practice or film study days before the game. Research taught me to troubleshoot solutions in clever ways, to communicate both my findings and obstacles clearly and to pay extensive attention to detail. Research also informs medicine, giving clinicians better chances at prescribing optimal treatment plans. Even if I do not conduct experiments, keeping up to date with the scientific literature and contributing to discussions with my experiences in clinic will enable me to become a more effective physician.
I find my research interesting because it draws inspiration from many sources. Making progress requires pouring through the literature, discussions with lab members and other researchers I meet, and most importantly, an appreciation for why this project is relevant. My work attempts to model, and subsequently modulate, the human progression through stroke and it is this human connection that makes any progress so rewarding.
This experience has added nuance to how I wish to practice medicine. I wish to be a physician who employs the same skillset—collaboration through clear communication, attention to detail and inspiration from the human condition—that makes many researchers successful.
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 4 (Clinical Volunteering)
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: La Raza Health Treasurer
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: La Raza Health Organization
Experience Description:
With LRH, I realized that medicine is practiced in various settings, each with its own obstacles. I’ve translated for many Latino patients, learning of their inabilities to navigate the American healthcare system due to language, financial and cultural barriers inherent to their immigrant experience. I’ve applied for 6 funding bodies, earning $14,485.68. By tracking how we spend this money, I’ve realized that medicine is founded on more than disease pathology and drugs. Trust built by volunteers who speak their native languages, accessibility due to a venue within their home community and comfort offered by professionals who provide holistic healthcare all contribute to effective medicine.
Most Meaningful Experience Remarks:
I’ve also learned that health is a longitudinal battle. While we inform patients early of their risk for chronic diseases, our services are limited past the day of the health fair. To combat this, we implemented a patient outreach committee that follows up with and refers patients to relevant services, thereby continuing their care long-term. Not only has LRH confirmed my desire to become a physician but also has added nuance to how I wish to practice medicine. I wish to be a culturally-competent physician active at the community level and relevant in my patients’ long-term care.
Three students founded LRH with the aim to improve health for the community’s Latino population. Since my first day of college, I volunteered at quarterly health fairs and at biweekly health sites to mitigate health disparities faced by the underserved Hispanic communities. At our last health fair, the average annual income of our 150 patients was $10,000 - $30,000, over a third had no insurance and nearly half spoke little to no English. Many were at risk for hypertension, had abnormal hemoglobin levels or showed diabetic sugar levels. This updated health information, otherwise inaccessible to our patients, empowers them to take their health into their own hands.
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 5 (Non-Clinical Volunteering)
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Not Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Safe Horizon Mentor
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: Safe Horizon
Experience Description:
As a mentor at Safe Horizon, I worked with a young domestic violence victim suffering from depression and anxiety, to rejoin the workforce. To set her up with a position in her field of customer service, I connected with a local retail store that was looking for someone to work part time and coached her through the onboarding process. During crises, I would provide her with comfort and advice that lessened their impact. When certain aspects of her condition required professional intervention, I personally helped her find a therapist.
Most Meaningful Experience Remarks:
My experience at Safe Horizon was the direct catalyst that drove me into medicine. Specifically, it was my first insight into how trauma can have a profound impact on a person’s psychological state and it made me want to explore this further. Even though I was not her physician, I was confronted by the importance of the relationship between trauma and mental health This idea fascinated me and I was committed to learning more about this upon my return to the US to start my post-bac. I was able to harness this curiosity to fully immerse myself in the range of psychiatric illnesses I learned about on the inpatient units I worked on. It was also a valuable lesson in the fact that some diseases and comorbidities can only be managed, not cured. Ultimately, I was proud to learn that she landed a paying job and was doing well in therapy, but was sad to lose touch, knowing that my work with her was done.
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 6 (Research)
Experience Type: Research/Lab
Experience Name: Lincoln County Hospital Research Assistant
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: Lincoln County Hospital
Experience Description:
I conducted patient interviews for research and clinical purposes, providing the care team with qualitative assessments by establishing a rapport with patients during their admission. I also trained volunteers in the interview process. I set up the data collection for a retrospective study examining patterns of abuse-induced behavioral issues across our most complex young patients to better predict their long-term morbidity and likelihood of returning to the unit. I collect information such as diagnoses at intake and discharge, as well medications prescribed during hospitalization. We are currently in the early stages of data analysis and have begun writing a paper for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
Most Meaningful Experience Remarks:
Lincoln County Hospital offered me my first chance to dive into the research side of clinical medicine. Prior to starting work, I had only ever gotten an in-depth look at the clinical side of medicine. However, after this experience, I gained a newfound appreciation for the ability to synthesize findings from individual patients to improve our understanding of the field. My experience opened up an avenue of medicine that I am interested in pursuing as a future doctor. With the help of attending psychiatrists, I had many opportunities to refine my clinical judgment and improve my observational skills, while gaining a unique insight into psychiatric illness in children and adolescents. Throughout the course of my tenure, I have sat in on rounds and therapy sessions, where I learned how doctors gained the trust of their patients using a kind and warm bedside manner. I also observed how they persevered through and were ultimately able to manage difficult cases of non-verbal patients and those with extreme behavioral difficulties or backgrounds of abuse. Through this diversity of experiences, I was given a multifaceted view of the role of physicians, with intimate access into both the interpersonal clinical side and collectivist research aspects of the medicine that I hope to incorporate in my practice.
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 7 (Research)
Experience Type: Research/Lab
Experience Name: Fitzgerald Lab
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: UCLA Department of Radiology
Experience Description:
In the Fitzgerald lab, I have become proficient in various biochemical techniques, such as primer design, site-directed mutagenesis, competent cell preparation, sterile bacterial plating and selection, bacterial transformation, and SDS-PAGE gel analysis. The workflow of my project involves optimization of co-transformation to incorporate an unnatural amino acid (UAA) into DNA polymerase beta, purification of the protein with the UAA, site-specific labeling of the protein with fluorophores, an assay for protein activity, and finally, fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies of the labelled protein. I aim to complete these steps prior to graduation.
Most Meaningful Experience Remarks:
Through bleary eyes, I look at the shaker. I have been in lab since 6:45 this morning, and today I will find out if I finally have protein. Breath held, I pull the plastic container holding my gel off of the shaker and onto a white paper for contrast. Moving my eyes horizontally from the protein standard to the other lanes, I see faint bands, but not at the right position. This is my fourth time attempting to express the protein, and it didn’t work. Again.
I encountered failure five times in a row when I attempted to express polymerase beta with an unnatural amino acid (UAA). With each negative result, I waited for myself to feel disappointed. Surprisingly, however, I found myself even more determined to coax the E. coli into manufacturing my protein. Maybe I wasn’t feeding them right, or enough? Maybe the blueprint I gave them to make my protein wasn’t correct? I developed hypothesis after hypothesis, and finally, on the sixth try, my hands shot into the air in victory as I saw a properly located dark band in my experimental lane.
Orthogonal translation systems, which allow UAA incorporation, have many moving parts. By troubleshooting this procedure, I learned the system very well as I had to optimize each aspect to overcome my poor expression. I am ready for the next challenge the project presents.
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 8 (Research)
Experience Type: Research/Lab
Experience Name: Patel Cancer Lab
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: UCLA Comprehensive Cancer Center
Experience description:
At the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center, I participated in a ten-week program in the lab of neuro-oncologist Dr. Varshini Patel. The program included a cancer "bootcamp" in which faculty gave talks to the undergraduate students during the first two weeks. Over the course of the summer, I learned various techniques, such as cell culture, Western blotting, RT-qPCR, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry. Additionally, I processed patient blood samples collected before, during, and after surgery for a separate longitudinal study requiring a biobank. I isolated cell-free plasma, white blood cells, serum, plasma B, platelets, and DNA.
Most meaningful experience remarks:
My lab mentor hands me a micropipette. “This handles microliters and you’ll be using it every day.” My mind races for a few seconds: what is a microliter? He then opens the fridge and amidst the whoosh of cold air rushing from behind the door, he grabs a box covered in small ice particles. From inside of the box, he pulls out a small, clear tube. “This is the protein inhibitor—you’ll be using it for your Western blot this week.” Did I hear that right? Only a few minutes later did I learn that he actually said protease inhibitor, which made much more sense once I learned that the purpose of a Western blot was to analyze protein levels.
The summer I spent at UCLA Cancer Center was transformative in many ways. My vocabulary expanded to include “methylation,” “epigenetics,” and “immunohistochemistry," to name only a few new terms. More importantly, however, MD Anderson introduced me into the world of research. Instead of following pre-determined rote procedures as I did in my academic lab courses, at MD Anderson, I learned how to develop my own hypotheses and analyze experimental results in the context of my larger scientific questions. I enjoyed the responsibility of having my own project, and that summer experience served as the first moment that I knew I wanted to pursue an MD/PhD degree.
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 9 (Community Service)
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Not Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Co-Head of Development, Camp Reach for the Stars
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: Camp Reach for the Stars
Experience description:
Camp Reach for the Stars is a free, week-long summer camp for kids whose parents have cancer. I began volunteering with Camp Reach for the Stars during my first semester of college on the Development committee, which is in charge of raising the money for camp via social media campaigns, a color run, and partnerships with local businesses. During my sophomore and junior years, I served as a co-head of the Development committee and on the executive board, which oversees the day-to-day operations and logistics behind the year-long planning for camp. I also volunteered as a counselor for two summers, and during the second summer, I served as a unit leader in charge of over twenty campers and sixteen other counselors.
Most meaningful experience remarks:
Mooky sits to my left and Stripes sits to my right in the big circle. A cool, heavy air settles as fifty kids and counselors somberly sit down on the concrete floor of an open-air pavilion. Tonight is Empowerment—the one day of camp where each child has a chance to share his or her story. A few minutes in, Mooky moves closer to me, saying, “Monkey, I don’t want to talk about mine right now.” Stripes hears and tells me the same thing. I nod and give them both hugs. For the next hour, tissue boxes constantly circulate as everyone listens and cries.
Back in the cabin, I lead the nightly cabin chat with our eight campers and three other counselors. After the heaviness of Empowerment, I try to balance the tasks of both debriefing the campers while not ruining the fun games we always play before bedtime. Suspecting that Mooky and Stripes might want to share in the smaller group setting, I call for “feet-on-bed” and designate a water bottle as a talking stick. Every kid in the cabin ends up sharing by the end, and the love and compassion of these resilient nine and ten year old boys surprises me: after each story, they hop off of their beds to go hug the storyteller.
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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Example 10 (Social Justice/Advocacy)
Experience Type: Social Justice/Advocacy
Experience Name: Environmental Justice Scholar
Most Meaningful Experience: Yes
Organization Name: CEEJH 17 for Peace and Justice
Experience description:
As a paid intern environmental justice scholar at 17 for Peace and Justice, I researched issues of air quality within marginalized communities in Maryland and mapped the spread of particulate matter through these communities. My research helped illuminate the prevalence of respiratory infections and chronic respiratory issues among people living near industrialized areas and was used to inform policy decisions. Working with the community, I was able to make recommendations of actions to take on days with particularly high levels of pollution improving health outcomes for residents long term.
Most meaningful experience remarks:
It was a chilly autumn morning as I made my rounds in the neighborhood, knocking on doors and interviewing residents about their experiences living next to a paper mill. As I knocked on the door at house number 8 Green Lane, the irony of the street name began to sink in when Ms. Jones answered, oxygen tank in tow as she opened the door.
She struggled to respond to my questions, taking deep breaths each time she spoke even for short answers. She had lived her entire life in this area, and had never smoked, but was diagnosed with emphysema a few years ago.
I had always believed in the cause of environmental justice, but here was the human side of the consequences of not fighting back. She contracted an illness through no fault of her own, based solely on where she was born. I explained to her how my measurements would allow residents to breathe easier and be used to petition the city government for limits on the emissions of the paper mill due to the harm the pollution is causing residents.
Our petition is still in consideration, but stories like Ms. Jones’ add an urgency to their decision. Here, I learned the importance of speaking up for the vulnerable and how access to clean air, can have real world impacts on the lives of individuals—not to mention the eventual strain on the healthcare system at large.
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Appendix B: AMCAS Work and Activities examples
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 13
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 14
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 15
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 16
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 17
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 18
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 19
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 20
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 21
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 22
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 23
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 24
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 1
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 2
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 3
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 4
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 5
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 6
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 7
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 8
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 9
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 10
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 1
Experience Type: Paid Employment - Not Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Sales Analyst
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: North One Bank
Experience Description:
At North One Bank, I rotated across four fixed income products as a sales analyst, including credit bonds, government bonds, emerging market bonds, and foreign exchange. I traded with clients in English and Mandarin based on my proposals and ideas in addition to their inquiries. Thanks to my language skills, I wrote pieces in English, and Mandarin to disseminate research and trading desk axes that integrated the views of researchers, strategists, trading desks, and salespeople from across the organization. When I was unfamiliar with a topic such as corporate credit, I would approach the subject from the bottom up to efficiently integrate it into my workflow.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 2
Experience Type: Research/Lab
Experience Name: Gerontology Research Assistant
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: VCU Department of Gerontology
Experience Description:
Recently hospitalized elders exhibit high morbidity and mortality rates. They possess intricate medication regimens with the fewest social and economic resources and the least physiologic reserve. To address this, our team created a toolkit of practices to improve medication management for recently hospitalized elders. I systematically reviewed literature concerning medication management: post-discharge medication reconciliation, polypharmacy, and medication adherence. This experience demonstrated that medicine concerns more than pathology & drugs. To enhance the efficacy of medicine, I wish to continue to be conscious of and further explore the inefficacies within the healthcare system.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 3
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Psychiatric Volunteer
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Franklin Center for Psychiatry
Experience Description:
As a volunteer, I worked with a variety of patients across all age groups conducting nurse’s rounds, which involved bringing patients toiletries, snacks, and other necessities. In between therapy sessions, I spent time getting to know patients on a personal level to comfort to them during their admission. Lastly, I participated in professor’s rounds, in which residents presented complex cases to expert physicians, to learn about different approaches to and treatments for the varied neurological and psychiatric illness that were managed on the unit. Learning about how the unit physicians approached these conditions improved my ability to advocate for patients.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 4
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Not Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Lake Oswego: Youth Basketball Coach
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Lake Oswego Parks and Recreation
Experience Description:
I started playing basketball as a 9-year old at the Lake Oswego Community Center and so, it was only fitting that I’d return 11 years later to coach. As a break from MCAT studying, I held weekly two-hour practices and coached the “Shooting Stars,” the name for my team of ten players, ranging from 6-8 years old, to a 12W-1L record and an eventual championship. This experience taught me the unique dynamics of working with youth, the benefits of partaking in sports at a young age, and the gratification that comes with giving back to a service that made me who I am today. Volunteerism enhances my life experience, equipping me with the flexibility necessary to address the needs of a wide range of patients.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 5
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Not Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Mentor/Tutor for detained youth
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Mentor Me
Experience Description:
As a volunteer with Mentor Me, I regularly tutored detained youth for the SAT. I worked with my high school students to raise their SAT scores, especially in math, which helped them to gain acceptance into some of their first choice colleges. Many of the individuals that I worked with were left with a sense of confidence in their abilities so they could eventually reintegrate successfully. My time with Mentor Me cares led me to expand on my passion of working in the criminal justice system by working as a tutor with the Boone Program.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 6
Experience Type: Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant
Experience Name: WSU FLM Program Supervisor
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Freshmen Learning Mentor (FLM)
Experience Description:
I lead discussions in introductory cell and molecular biology for ~20 WSU students biweekly. I also serve as a mentor for students from low-income, first-generation or underrepresented minority backgrounds. In April 2018, the department recognized me as FLM of the Month for outstanding student evaluations. In May 2018, I was promoted to be supervisor, where I evaluate current FLMs, hire and develop new FLMs, and act as a liaison between the administration and FLMs. I learned to effectively communicate complex concepts, gained an appreciation for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and leveraged my experience to constructively develop other FLMs.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 7
Experience Type: Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant
Experience Name: High School Tutor
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: A+ Tutors
Experience Description:
I worked as a STEM subjects tutor, with a focus on ACT and SAT test preparation. In the classroom, I focused on approaches to learning and studying that allowed my students to better learn the material and improve their grades. I enjoyed the opportunity to pass on my love and excitement for the subjects I taught. Over time, I represented the company on a national platform by writing a promotional article about ways parents can get their young children interested in STEM subjects. I also contributed to a video about how to best approach the SSAT, in which I emphasized the importance of empowering students by providing them with the sense of autonomy needed to feel invested in their education.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 8
Experience Type: Honors/Awards/Recognitions
Experience Name: Young Scholars Research Program (YSRP)
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: NYU Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs
Experience Description:
For my project investigating functional recovery in an experimental mouse model pre- and post- ischemic damage targeted to the barrel field (which receives whisker inputs) of the primary somatosensory cortex under the NYU Undergraduate Research Committee selected me as an Young Scholars Research award recipient. Criteria for selection include quality of research proposal, academic progress and GPA. As a requirement for the program, I presented my research at NYU’s Poster Day and completed a comprehensive research paper. I appreciate the recognition for my work and plan to continue to parlay the skills obtained in research to my medical career.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 9
Experience Type: Paid Employment - Not Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Healthcare Analyst
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Discovery Health Consultants
Experience Description:
In my upcoming role, I will work as a healthcare analyst for a technology start-up that uses quantitative models to analyze large swaths of data to make predictions about healthcare outcomes. I will guide our quant team by deciding what topics in healthcare are relevant and important, while using both medical and non-medical data to provide the most holistic predictions possible. My project will look at the relationship between availability of psychiatric care and drug use in poor, rural populations. We hope to refine preventive testing guidelines for this population.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 10
Experience Type: Honors/Awards/Recognitions
Experience Name: Benjamin P. Walker Outstanding Leadership Award
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: UCB Community Service Association
Experience Description:
This award recognizes individuals who have elevated past their role as students by incorporating outstanding leadership in service as a component of their UCB experience. For my work with Boulder Community Health, serving to minimize healthcare disparities in the Boulder County immigrant populations, and for my work with the Young Leaders Program, supporting underserved students in their pursuit of higher education, I am one of 20 award recipients for the 2017 class. I met Ben Walker at the reception and he jokingly told me that the scholarship money would be rescinded if I stopped my service work after UCB; I promised him I’d practice medicine while remaining community-conscious.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 11
Experience Type: Other
Experience Name: Medical Translation Certificate
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: UC Davis Extension
Experience Description:
I am currently working towards my medical translator certification, which will allow me to formally translate for Spanish and Mandarin-speaking patients. I am required to prove fluency in Spanish and Mandarin through a national organization that sets fluency standards. In class, I learn how to appropriately and ethically communicate medical information and to promote a sense of trust between patients and doctors, while I act as an intermediary. As part of my training, I practice translations of mock interactions with simulated patients in a variety of different healthcare settings.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 12
Experience Type: Leadership - Not Listed Elsewhere
Experience Name: Undergraduate Research Mentorship Program Supervisor
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Undergraduate Research Council
Experience Description:
Joining a lab as an undergraduate student can be intimidating. This program helps transition students into this formidable experience by pairing over 30 mentors and mentees based on major, research interest and other factors. We provide a platform where experienced student-researchers can impart their knowledge and guide mentees through lab responsibilities, time management and coursework among other topics. I create the survey forms, generate mentor-mentee pairings based on select criteria and mentor two students myself! I learned organizational skills but more so, the value of a mentor-mentee relationship. I plan to partake in and contribute to similar relationships in medical school.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 13
Experience Type: Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation
Experience Name: Physician Shadowing - 4 Different Experiences
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Kansas City Regional Hospital
Experience Description:
I experienced different types of medicine in inpatient, outpatient and operating room settings. I observed four different physicians’ approach to the physician-patient relationship and witnessed their respective lifestyles. I learned that medicine employs extensive teamwork: everyone from the office staff to the hospital social worker played vital roles in the patient’s care. Lastly, I saw insurance, post-discharge housing and decision-making capacity issues with homeless, cognitively impaired and noncompliant patients.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 14
Experience Type: Research/Lab
Experience Name: Undergraduate Research Supervisor for the Athletic Performance Research Lab
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: FSU Department of Kinesiology
Experience Description:
This experience combines my passion for sports and medicine. I supervised undergraduate researchers in the athletic performance research lab. This group of students was tasked with baselines, which are student-athlete assessments measuring balance, eye-tracking, and reaction time, etc. to serve as benchmarks should the player receive a concussion. Because baselines are seasonal, I started additional projects including a mentorship program with the FSU College of Medicine, concussion lesson plans for neighboring high schools and research proposals with baseline data. I learned how to lead and delegate appropriately, keep individuals accountable and develop infrastructure for long-term projects
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 15
Experience Type: Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation
Experience Name: Physician Shadowing
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: St. Anthony Medical Center ENT department
Experience Description:
I shadow several ENT surgeons to learn about the various illnesses of the throat and nose. I have observed how physicians scope the nose and vocal chords to examine for pathology. I have learned about common complaints, such as runny noses, coughs, and difficulty swallowing, as well as various treatments that doctors recommend to manage these conditions. I have also observed multiple interventional procedures such as a steroid injection into the throat to reduce swelling in a patient after a subglottal stenosis surgery. I have learned how surgeons establish trust with their patients both inside the clinic and in a preoperative and postoperative setting.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 16
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Volunteer Medical Assistant
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Phoenix Medical Clinic
Experience Description:
I processed appointments by running insurance, measuring vitals and documenting the reason for visit. Majority of patients are elderly Latino individuals with Medicare coverage. I scheduled follow-ups, referrals and provided clear instructions in Spanish so that patients could receive appropriate long-term care. My time here gave me considerable experience with primary care at the community level, namely the intense workflow. I helped see ~20 patients in the morning and spent afternoons phoning insurance companies to process claims. These patients exposed me to difficulties in healthcare accessibility and inspired me to practice medicine with the underserved in mind.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 17
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Not Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Curriculum Developer
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Kids First NJ
Experience Description:
This program supports underserved students through high school and prepares them for higher education. I developed curriculum addressing racial diversity, post-secondary schooling, and time management. I also helped coordinate an event where college bound students gained first-hand experience into life as a Princeton student. Growing up in Baltimore, MD I understand educational inequality; my school’s science-project budget was suboptimal. Because patients hail from diverse backgrounds, it is essential to minimize this educational disparity so that more students from these populations, who are better equipped to manage culturally-ingrained health issues, can become providers.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 18
Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer - Medical/Clinical
Experience Name: Panthers Health Volunteer
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Panthers Health Volunteer Program
Experience Description:
This program provided me with clinical exposure at the Rosa Parks Medical Center in the following departments: Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Medicine, and Pediatrics. While I connected calls to staff, maintained “high-touch” areas and assisted low-mobility patients, I learned most when interacting with patients more intimately, feeding them, hearing their experiences and my favorite, passing their time with card magic. Over time, I began to understand what it meant to be a patient with acute or chronic disease. Working in a Trauma 1 hospital showed me many components of day-to-day medicine: the teamwork, red tape, long hours and above all, the satisfaction this field provides.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 19
Experience Type: Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant
Experience Name: Leadership International
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: Leadership International
Experience Description:
Through Leadership International, I work with a China-based non-profit on science curriculum development for 8th grade students in rural China. My responsibility primarily includes assisting in brainstorming ideas, activities, and content to help encourage student engagement in a variety of subjects, ranging from water management to optics. The lessons are specifically designed to foster discussion between the students in the classroom. Additionally, I also help film and produce educational videos that are incorporated into the lessons. These videos have demonstrated topics such as groundwater and lake water use, optics, visual processing, and acid/base chemistry.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 20
Experience Type: Presentations/Posters
Experience Name: Poster presentations
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Experience Description:
I presented the results from my research at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center as the lead author on two occasions:
1. American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting (2018, Chicago): "Efficacy of the protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 inhibitor GSK591 in glioma stem-like cells." Student and Experimental/Molecular Therapeutics Sessions.
The department heads at the UCLA Free Clinic presented a poster that I wrote the abstract for:
2. Society for Student-Run Free Clinics (2018, Omaha): "Methods of Determining and Minimizing Patient Wait Times at HAVEN Free Clinic."
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 21
Experience Type: Research/Lab
Experience Name: Review article on repurposing antipsychotics to treat cancer
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: USC Keck School of Medicine
Experience Description:
I prepared a manuscript entitled "Repurposing antipsychotics of the diphenylbutylpiperidine class for cancer therapy" that is currently under review at Seminars in Cancer Biology for an issue on drug repurposing that Dr. Chang and I pitched to the journal. In our specific project, I investigated a class of FDA approved antipsychotic drugs that have been widely studied recently as potent anti-cancer agents. One important finding of the study was that the drugs act synergistically with many existing chemotherapeutic agents. Through this project, I learned how to observe patterns and organize experimental findings from a vast body of literature.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 22
Experience Type: Research/Lab
Experience Name: Clinton Lab
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: UCLA Department of Biochemistry
Experience Description:
In the Clinton lab, I studied SFPQ, which is a human tumor-suppressor protein that interestingly contains both a DNA binding domain and an RNA binding domain. MALAT1 is a RNA that can inactivate SFPQ, potentially leading to tumorigenesis. Our project aimed to develop a procedure to detect levels of MALAT1 RNA in a patient's blood as a potential early predictor for the presence of circulating tumor cells. Using blood samples, I helped with the PCR optimization protocol, finding that magnesium could reverse inhibition of PCR amplification caused by unknown factors in the plasma.
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AMCAS Work and Activities Example 23
Experience Type: Teaching/Tutoring/Teaching Assistant
Experience Name: Guest Teacher
Most Meaningful Experience: No
Organization Name: UCLA BEAM
Experience Description:
Through UCLA BEAM, I provide hour long science classes to elementary school students in a low-income area. The goal of each class is to convey interesting concepts in science, such as acid-base chemistry or chromatography, in a way that the students both understand and enjoy. The inquisitive natures of the children allowed my teaching skills to improve as their constant questions helped me refine my communication style to emphasize clarity, concision, and analogies.
AMCAS Work and Activities Example 24 (Social Justice/Advocacy)
Experience Type: Social Justice/Advocacy
Experience Name: Healthy Food Financing Intern (HFFI)
Most Meaningful Experience:
Organization Name: The Food Trust, Philadelphia, PA
My experience working for The Food Trust allowed me to advocate for the health of underserved communities by exploring ways to improve access to quality food and reduce the prevalence of food deserts.
I began interning in my sophomore year, researching policy initiatives and reaching out to retail entities while exploring ways to alter current distribution systems that would lessen the impact of the social determinants of health on these communities. I sharpened my leadership skills and supported long term solutions that would lessen the strain on the healthcare system while improving the quality of life for these communities.
THERE'S NO REASON TO STRUGGLE THROUGH THE MED SCHOOL ADMISSIONS PROCESS ALONE, ESPECIALLY WITH SO MUCH ON THE LINE. SCHEDULE YOUR COMPLIMENTARY CONSULTATION TO ENSURE YOU LEAVE NOTHING TO CHANCE.