6 Benefits to Joining a Club in Medical School
Being a great medical student is about more than acing your coursework and studying for exams; your extra-curricular matter too. More than just an excuse to socialize, joining a club can help you become a better physician in several ways:
Enhance Residency Applications
Showing you have a healthy work/life balance will improve your chances at landing a residency. Want to stand out even more? Take on a leadership role with a nationally recognized organization such as the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) and Phi Delta Epsilon.
Learn Leadership Skills
To gain the trust of patients and colleagues, a good physician should be authoritative without being authoritarian. Develop those skills by leading club-sponsored initiatives and working on team projects.
Improve People Skills
As a Basic Sciences student your focus might be on your individual grades, but as a physician you’ll need to be a team player. Master teamwork now by joining a club. Constant interactions with others will help you learn communication strategies that you can use throughout your medical career.
Practice Medical Skills Early
Clubs like AMSA, the Emergency Medicine Interest Group, Glaucoma Awareness, and the AUA Sickle Cell group host health fairs throughout the year where members provide health services to Antiguan residents. You can learn the basics of medical testing while working with licensed physicians and your colleagues.
Succeed Academically
Numerous studies prove that club membership correlates with academic success. Students involved with extracurricular activities tend to have better retention and graduation rates and are likely to maintain better GPAs than non-involved students.
Network
All those skills you beefed up on? Your fellow club members have been working on them too. By joining a club, you’re getting a chance to bond with the next generation of hotshot physicians. If you decide to change your residency or need to find a place to work after you obtain licensure, you’ve got an amazing group of peers to help you out.
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