I'm a premed student with a psych major, sociology minor, and zoology minor. I am stressing out about being competitive. I have done a lot of research in psychology as well as TA for classes. I have/am starting a couple organizations and hold the title of VP of psychology club. I also work at Disability Support Services on campus. This fall I will be working with children in the autistic spectrum, and have done much more. My question is what more do I need. Should I stress myself out over volunteering as much as I can? Who should I get letters of recomendation from? I have a couple of solid letters from psychology professors but I dont know if that's sufficient. Basically I need to know what is most important for acceptance, it seems so competitive. Right now I have a 3.3 gpa which I dont think will cut it. Is it a good idea to get a letter of recomendation from a physician? I need realistic acceptance advice even if its harsh. On another note, after all of your training does it get easier to deal with blood and other internal fluids/organs, I would think it does but what if you go to medical school and cant handle the real life situations, does that happen? Help!!!!!!!!!
It seems like you have definitely covered a lot of the "extra" activities that will help make your application look strong. When it comes down to it, though, I really think that GPA and MCAT scores are the most important factors. A 3.3 GPA definitely does not rule you out of going to medical school. Particularly if you do well on your MCATs. Also, was your GPA much lower in science as opposed to non-science classes? I think medical schools generally put more weight on your science classes as they will be more similar to what you'll experience in med school.
As for letters of recommendation - I don't think it matters too much who writes them, unless it happens to be from someone who personally knows someone on the admissions board where you are applying. I would definitely do my best to get a GREAT recommendation, even if it isn't from the most accomplished person in the college. I think I got letters from my chemistry advisor, my psychology research mentor, and then a religion professor. I don't really know what getting a letter from a physician would do for you, unless you did research with them or some other work that would give them an indication of your aptitude for medical school.
Regarding blood and body fluids - for some people it is extremely difficult. Basically, it is a type of phobia for some people like any other phobia. The best way to approach it is through systematic desensitization. If you have a particular fear, I'd suggest seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in anxiety disorders and phobia treatments. In general, the exposure you get during the regular course of medical school is sufficient to desensitize you to the blood, etc. For me, gross anatomy was the worst part of it. I did talk to a surgery attending before my 3rd year rotation and he let me scrub in on a few surgeries to get myself desensitized before I did my actual rotation - I was actually surprised that "live" surgery was not nearly as upsetting as gross anatomy. Surgery is also extremely exciting stuff and you quickly forget about being grossed out.
I would imagine that there are med students who absolutely can not overcome their phobia, and I can't say how a medical school would deal with that. Having said that, I've seen people with pretty serious phobias who were able to deal with them in tough situations - not easy, but it can be done. If your phobia is not real serious at this point, I definitely would not worry about it. If the phobia is pretty intense, I would seek out help, and make sure you have a plan of how you will address it during your rotations where you will be exposed to it.