Medical schools are interested in more than just statistics when reviewing applications. In particular, they are looking for students who display the 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students | AAMC. In this post, we will discuss Scientific Inquiry and how to display this competency in your application.
Here's how the AAMC defines scientific inquiry: "Applies knowledge of the scientific process to integrate and synthesize information, solve problems, and formulate research questions and hypotheses; is facile in the language of the sciences and uses it to participate in the discourse of science and explain how scientific knowledge is discovered and validated."
In simple terms, they want to see that the student is able to derive scientific explanations from the analysis of evidence.
As a simple example, say you went camping and the flashlight doesn’t work. Asked: Why is the flashlight not turning on? Hypothesized: The batteries might be dead. Tested: Try a new set of batteries and see if the flashlight turns on.
Basically, medical schools want people who are thoughtful, observant, self-reflective, quick-on-their-feet, creative, and open-minded. And generally, scientific inquiry is quite literally a significant part of the job as a doctor and in the day-to-day life as a medical school student.
It works out conveniently that these are qualities you should already want to hone and improve as a person and that is applicable in any field, regardless of ambitions in medicine.
One good way is to participate in research design where you formulate your own individual scientific inquiry and then develop a testable hypothesis, aim, and objective into a final research proposal. In doing so, you will learn and gain experience in the front end of research, discover how to formulate a line of scientific inquiry, and design an innovative research project.
The same learning and experience might be found by joining a robotics club and creating an advanced mechanism that revolutionizes the robot.
Another possibility is creating one’s own science camp for high school students, who aspire to be involved in the scientific field, to teach them skills and provide them with valuable experience. Additionally, asking professors and researchers to give lectures for the high school students would be a great way to improve on the idea.
Regardless of how, where, or why you're pursuing this competency, here are the general steps you need to follow:
If you follow these steps in your research, coursework, and extracurriculars, you'll be able to show your Scientific Inquiry to medical schools in various aspects of your application. Best of luck displaying your competency!
About the Author:
Suchitaa Sawhney is a second-year biomedical engineering student at Texas A&M. Inspired by her passion for science and helping others, Suchitaa hopes to pursue a career in medicine and restore the public's faith in the healthcare system by becoming an advocate for her patients. Suchitaa’s other interests include spending time with friends and family, listening to music, and watching puppy videos.
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