best place to volunteer? job shadow? get experience?

[alleyez]

as a pre-med student... I want to start volunteering.

I recently took advantage of a "undergrad research opportunity" for science majors... and basically all i did was volunteer at a museum, putting old fishes into little jars and labeling them.. and putting them into the database...etc. I'm already tired of it.... haven't been there in a two weeks....
I started there at the beginning of this semester... but beginning of next semester, I want to volunteer someplace else.

There's a hospital that many students volunteer at.... will that be a good place to start? I want to do something exciting.. not just sit around and clean things. Something that will stand out on my record and maybe help me get into med school. hahah.....

any recommendations?

also, where do I go to get job-shadow information for psychiatrists? and maybe even start volunteering there?




what about extracuricular clubs? I'm not in any clubs and it's my sophomore year. I want to get involved. thanks guys.

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[TTSD]

Well, first of all.. you have to start somewhere.

I'm sure at least 90% of us spent time time doing menial work as a hospital volunteer.. delivering charts, flowers, pushing patients around or working the desk.

Have you thought about doing research? Does your school have a Medical School attached to it? do you know any doctors? Any friends in medical school? And friends who knows doctors? Start hitting them up for an opportunity.

 

[indo]

humane society, redcross.org, homeless shelters on thanksgiving, read to kids, sperm donation

 

[prmd4555]

I would really reccomend volunteering at a camp for children with life threatening illnesses if you have any affinity for children at all. Its a fun way to spend the summer, stay human and learn about living with serious disease on a personal level. plus most of my med school interviewers have really loved talking about it. You can find a bunch on line.

 

[roja]

I have always advised shadowing instead of standing around or pushing patients in an ER to my premed students. If your school has a program that works with an ER (like Columbia) then this can be a good thing. When I interviewed medical school canidates, I was always a little more skeptical of those that volunteer in ER's than in clinics.

I personally volunteered at Scottish Rite in Dallas. This hospital had very few premeds (almost none) so I got sucked up by an attending very quickly. This was a much better experience because 95 per cent of med students will go into some kind of non ER medicine, so find oiut what it is like.

One student reallly impressed me because when I interviewed him he told me about just sitting and talking with a critical patient. The key is not to check off the volunteer box. It will be apparant to most if the experience was meaningful or not.

Do what you love. If its working with teens to quite smoking or feeding the homeless, the key is helping and sincerity. I do advice that shadowing be <i>seperate</b> activity to volunteering.

 

[ddmo]

you want to get a hands-on experience that the adcoms know is not b.s., get a job at a nursing home. the plus is that you get paid too

there is no doubting your commitment to medicine if you choose to be elbow deep in feces and undergo the very uncomfortable situation of bathing an adult

 

[gary5]

The best experience I've heard of is at public health clinics. You'll get to do things there that you'd never get to do in a hospital.

 

[jlee9531]

help out at a childrens hospital!!

they need all the volunteers they can get. all the kids never get enough interaction because there are never enough volunteers to satisfy the demand.

but then again if you arent good with dealing with kids then dont do it.

might as well check out that hospital near you and see what you feel about it.

 

[bosox03]

If the hospital you are near has a website, they probably have a web page about different volunteering opportunities, or at least the phone number of someone that can help you out. Hospitals are always looking for volunteers and they usually have a lot of great programs.

Good luck

 

[English Chick]

If you speak any useful foreign languages, I recommend volunteering as a medical translator. I did this for a couple years a low-income clinic and it was awesome experience. You get to be right there in the exam room, plus when the doctors learned I was planning to apply to medical school, they really made an effort to teach me stuff.

 

[roja]

There is a lot of good advice. I think the key point is to get some medical exposure in something that you are interested in. Or think you might be interested in.

You not only need it to get it, but you need it to make sure medicine is really what you want.

It is a rough trail and one you want to make absolutely sure you want.

 

[XCanadianRagwee]

Best place = Jo' Mama's

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by XCanadianRagwee
Best place = Jo' Mama's

you've been there too? but then again who hasnt?