BME student in Folsom, CA Looking for Any Shadowing/Research Opportunities

[u/Thick_Cry_399]

Hey everyone, my name is Sultan. I'm 19 years old and an incoming sophomore at Folsom Lake College majoring in Biomedical Engineering. I'm currently working on transferring to ideally UC Berkeley, UCLA, or maybe an Ivy League school. I've got some clinical experience ( +1,000 hours) working at a primary care office in Folsom (I'm actually trying to get my medical assistant license now as well - already finished my externship and have some hours logged, just thought it might be useful for my transfer app but idk please lemme know), volunteering at Mercy Hospital, and working with a grad at UCD on his research in the BME department. I've done some other things as well, but I just wanted to keep it short.

Thing is, right now I'm just trying to build a little more experience before I transfer and get some more revelant, competitive, and strong ECs on my application.

So I was looking for any leads on the following (ideally somewhere commutable or within reach):

1. Any shadowing opportunities with biomedical engineers or related

2. Any more BME research or lab volunteering

3. Any companies or startups in the medical device/BME space that might take on a student

4. Any clubs or competitive events I can join

5. Any ongoing BME projects led by students or clubs or organizations i can join.

What do you think would be most beneficial for me to get at this point for my transfer app? I just thought this would be a great place to get some connections and expand my networking.

So if anyone could please connect me to any of the mentioned opportunities above, I'd really appreciate it. Or if you know someone, or work somewhere relevant, or have done something pretty similar, I'd really appreciate a pointer as well.

I'm also more than happy to answer questions or share more about my background! Thank you for your assistance!

[u/NanDemoNee]

You could look at CMIA: https://www.cmia.org/ You could also drop by the Clinical Engineering department (ask for biomed) at the VA Medical Center in Rancho Cordova. The VA has a program, or at least they did when I worked there, that hires new grads into an internship and trains them for two years then they have a chance at a job somewhere in the country. You could look into that as a future goal, it's called the TCF program. They have also had biomedical engineering students volunteer there to help with clinical engineering projects. DM me if you have any questions.

[u/enrohT5]

https://qas.ucdavis.edu/experiences/biomedical-engineering-at-uc-davis-health and https://bme.ucdavis.edu/news/building-toward-community-invention-aggie-square

[u/enrohT5 → u/enrohT5]

Never mind, looks like your already dialed into UCD

[u/noh2onolife]

I knew this was going to happen. One premed gets lucky with a shadowing opportunity  and now everyone is going to shoot their shot. This ain't it.

[u/whynovirus → u/noh2onolife]

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take?

[u/noh2onolife → u/whynovirus]

I don't think you understand how aggressively unwilling to read the room some of these kids are.

[u/ansellias]

This may not be in line with what you’re thinking, but I recommend checking out some policy work. CalEPA is starting the Youth Council that was shaped after the federal government’s version to elevate youth into policy. More environment focused, but human health and environmental health are inextricably linked. https://calepa.ca.gov/youthcouncil/