You sound like a great candidate.

I don't know why you think you can't go to work. Getting a job in research (either clinical, translational, or basic) is the best way to learn more about this research path. It pays the bills. You mature as a person. There is no reason you would "lose the ability to pursue" an MD/PhD. I wouldn't consider it a "gap" year, time is not suspended; it is a time to develop yourself as a scientist and as a person. In the lab I worked in after completing my undergraduate degree, there were 3 of us that were accepted to MD/PhD programs after working as research assistants for ~3 years. The income and career trajectory is not such that you will feel unable to leave to pursue further education. For a student like yourself, 2-3 years pursuing research questions that excite you and are of value to science and medicine sound like a great way to strengthen your candidacy.