Entry to Medicine: Extracurricular activities - what ones to do?

We're not invincible. Had to go in for a blood test bright and early this morning. 

Remember to go in for regular blood tests! They can be your best bet at detection. 

But pizza for lunch makes everything better - especially on this gloomy, rainy day in Auckland City!

Pizza at Archie's in Newmarket! Delicious and affordable with their $15 lunch menu. 

Now, to the topic at hand.

You might know that extracurricular activities are important since they show that you are a well-rounded person that has developed attributes that interviewers seek in doctors. These can be activities within school and well as within the community or even online.

Right off the bat, your whole life should not revolve around Medicine. You NEED to have other interests. Therefore, the title of this post assumes that you have other passions aside from academia and the focus of this post is what ones to do.

When picking an activity, don't do something just to check off the list. Do something you ACTUALLY like. This is so, so important and I cannot stress enough that if you've only done something as a means to an end, people will be able to tell.

According to the University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (and I assume Otago is probably along the same lines), the personal attributes that they seek in applicants pursuing a career in healthcare are:

• Maturity
• Leadership
• Social responsibility
• A strong commitment to the study and practice
• Humanistic qualities such as empathy and sensitivity
• Excellent communication skills
• Fluency in English
• A strong academic background in sciences
• An enthusiasm for life-long learning
• A wide knowledge of New Zealand's multifaceted communities and cultures
• Awareness of prevailing health needs and community issues
• Awareness of the nature of the health profession
• Certainty about career choice
• Enthusiasm for people and their well-being
• All round abilities and interests across a wide variety of activities

You want to be well-rounded person; a person with many interests, so if you can, do multiple extracurricular activities. This checks the last bullet point and will also help with any scholarship applications. Just bear in mind that not all of these attributes are attained through extracurricular activities.

Through many extracurricular activities, you are also able to demonstrate leadership and social responsibility. This will increase your chances of being accepted into Medical School. 

If you do sports, consider being a sports captain. 

If you go to church events, consider being a youth leader. 

If you are in clubs at school, consider being part of the committee. 

These help with the above attributes AND demonstrating that you portray excellent communication skills and problem solving skills. Being a leader also prompts you to ask what sets a leader apart from followers. This is a question that YOU need to seek an answer to and be able to explain.

If you live in a multicultural community, then simply doing some volunteering or working will enable you to show that you have interpersonal skills and empathy. It also shows that you're working on improving your knowledge of the diverse cultures and communities that New Zealand is privileged to have. Just keep in mind that a culture isn't necessarily ethnicity - it's defined as a group of common people - this could be interacting with children when babysitting, working with the elderly at a rest home, being a part of a cultural group. 

As a guide, some extracurricular activities that I did and discussed in my application/interview include: -Debating - shows communication and teamwork abilities -Dragonboating - teamwork, problem solving, cooperation-Badminton Captain - leadership-House Committee at High School - leadership, teamwork, cooperation -Prefect - leadership -Volunteering at rest homes - awareness of the health profession, certainty about career choice, awareness of health needs and community issues, empathy and sensitivity -Volunteering at Stardome Observatory - interaction with different cultures, social responsibility, English fluency -Work as a piano accompanist - musical abilities, cooperation-Work at Auckland Council's contact centre - communication, English fluency, empathy and sensitivity

Regardless of whether you are in High School or starting Premed this year, you still have time to build on your extracurricular activities. As you can see, you are able to take the activities that you are involved in now and word them to show that you embody the attributes that they seek. 

I hope this helps some of you out and as per usual, leave any questions below or send me an email! 

-Diana