Need Gap YR advice!!!

Hi everyone, I’m a recent grad trying to decide between med school and PA school, and I could really use some advice from people who’ve been through this.

I graduated with about 90 hours of clinical experience as a Spanish medical interpreter at a free clinic. I know that’s something, but I’m starting to realize it’s probably not enough—especially for PA school, which needs more hands-on hours. I’ve also done wet-lab research during undergrad (about 3 years), but no publications or anything major (just a poster).

Right now, I’m in a city where I could try to volunteer at a hospital while being a clinical research assistant (which is so boring and mainly administrative, will even more research help???, patient interaction is just administering surveys)—but I’m not sure how much experience I’d actually gain. On the other hand, if I go back home, I could live rent-free and either get certified as a CNA or try to find a job and work full-time in a more hands-on clinical role. That would help me build hours for both MD and PA and maybe make a decision with more confidence.

My main questions are:

• Would it be smarter to just go home and focus on getting real clinical hours (especially for PA)?
• Does medical interpreting + a bit of volunteering even look competitive for med school?
• For anyone who’s done it—how did you go about finding shadowing opportunities post-grad?
• Any tips for making the most of a gap year if I’m still unsure about MD vs PA?

Furthermore, I also need to take the MCAT/GRE so not sure how full time working will fit with that. Would really appreciate any thoughts, advice, or if anyone’s been in a similar boat. Thank you in advance!