Teamwork

Not only does teamwork make the dream work…but it’s also important to show in order to make yourself a strong applicant to medical schools. 

Medicine is a team sport. You won’t work alone as a physician, regardless of what specialty you choose– not during your training or in actual practice. Nurses, receptionists, therapists, mid-level providers, techs, even the housekeeping staff are all essential to the care of the patient…not just you as the physician. So you have to be able to work with people and as part of the team. Preferably, without everyone else on the team hating your guts.

And because medicine is a team effort, you’ll be assigned to team/group activities in medical school from the very beginning. In the first years of medical school, you’ll be put into small groups for anatomy dissections, clinical medicine introductions, small group learning topics, etc. In the later clinical years of medical school, you’ll be a part of the medical team with interns, residents, and attendings. 

In medical school, we used to call the folks who did not work well as part of a team “gunners.” You never wanted to be in a dissection group, rotation, or even a small group with a gunner. Because, just as the name implies, they were gunning for everyone on the team in order to make themselves stand out as superior. They’d show up to anatomy lab early and dissect the group cadaver by themselves, or would review all of their patients and yours before rounds and would point out things you left out or missed to make you look bad. Unfortunately, they’re easy to spot because they’re so ruthless. The other medical students know it, the residents know it, and the attendings know it. It’s not cute. And, they didn’t just become that way in medical school. You may know some gunners in your pre-med circle. Peers who deliberately don’t share service or clinical opportunities even when there are plenty of open spots, or who take the full length of the professors’ office hours knowing you and others have questions (if so, avoid this by making an appointment with your professor!) or who are impossible to work with on class projects or assignments. These people are the worst. Don’t be one of these people. While they’ll still slip their way into medical school and a strong specialty, we both know they won’t succeed in life. I’m convinced that God doesn’t like gunners. Be a strong student, of course, but also be a team player with a good attitude—that will take you far in life. 

Before you ever get to medical school, admissions committees want to know that you’re not a jerk and that you can function as part of a team. I admit that they (read: we) miss some and still let in jerks all the time…you’re welcome. But there are several ways admissions committees try figure this out. The question of how well you work as part of a team may come up on secondary applications or during your interview. You may be asked if you prefer to work alone or with a group. Or to describe a time when you worked as part of a team or group and what you learned from this that will affect you as a physician and part of a medical team. Or you may be asked what role you usually take on when working as part of a team. There are lots of ways to ask these questions; the goal is to figure out how professional you are and if you can work well with others. So answers like: I prefer to work alone instead of with a team, or I only work on teams when forced to, or I’m always the leader on every team/group I’m on…those are not the answers you want to give or that they want to hear. 

Of course, we want physicians to be leaders and you have to have some examples of leadership as a pre-med student, but you also need to show that you know how to fall back and work as part of a team or group without getting any recognition or glory behind it. Because as a medical student on the medical team in your short white coat, I can almost assure you there will be little to no glory! Those days are about learning and doing your part to help the team be successful in taking care of patients. I mean, somebody has to do the rectal exams!!! 

In order to be prepared with examples to back up your responses to prompts or questions about how you work as part of a team, you should start considering this as a pre-med student and be very deliberate in your preparation to respond these questions. There are several pre-med opportunities to work as part of a team.

In the clinical setting

A great way to show you understand the importance of being a part of a medical team is to be a part of a medical team! Scribing or being a medical assistant (MA) or certified nursing assistant (CNA) are great ways to do this because it really inserts you into the team. You may do these jobs part-time as a student, during the summers, during a gap year, etc. You may also volunteer consistently enough in a clinical setting that you get a good grasp on the functions and importance of a strong medical team. Seek out these opportunities!

As part of a research effort 

Being part of a research team is a great opportunity. I think this is a unique experience because, as an undergraduate student, you’re not going to be the leader of the research team but your role will be essential in the success of the team…similar to as a medical student. As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, engaging in research is so important, not just for the experience of learning how to conduct formal research, but also to be part of a scientific and technical team.

In extracurricular activities

You may be a member of the band, an athletic team, a Sorority or Fraternity. You may be a member of the pre-health organization (you’d better be!) or other interest groups at your college. Being an active participant (not just having your name on the roll) in any of these types of groups/organizations is a great way to gain some experience as part of a team.

Service projects

Established service organizations that you volunteer with will almost certainly require you to work as part of a team to fulfill the goal of serving the community. These are the types of projects and group activities that are truly impacting lives. When you do things like this, be sure to jot down stories or experiences you have as part of the team.

There are many, many other examples you can use from your pre-med experience to show that you have worked as part of a team and understand the importance of teamwork. The question will come up, I can almost assure you of that, so you want to be prepared with examples from your experiences. So start thinking about these things now. And if, for some reason, you’re going through your pre-med journey as a party of one…turn that around now and start engaging with others to work towards a common goal.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to include them below or to send me a private email!