What is Gap Year

Health professions schools eagerly look for applicants who demonstrate a commitment to service, the potential for leadership, and the ability to work effectively with others as reflected by their core competencies. While these attributes can be developed through clinical experience and research, there are myriad ways for students to gain these important skills in many other contexts as well. Health professions advisors are uniquely positioned to help students explore the activities they would like to pursue and guide them in identifying how their extracurricular endeavors and employment will positively contribute to their development as future healthcare professionals. This chapter offers the importance of community service, leadership, employment, and extracurricular involvement in creating well-rounded pre-health students and suggests strategies that pre-health advisors can use to aid their students and their own offices in these areas.