EC/ Volunteering Question

[SunsFun]

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[Scumbag]

I volunteer in the escort services

 

[thlaxer]

I volunteer in the escort services, which is basically helping people to get around the hospital and helping discharge patients. It is fun and I get to meet a lot of interesting people, but I don't feel like this is actual clinical experience. Should I be looking for something else? If so, what would that be given my already busy schedule? Do I need to get involved into some college club too to have leadership? I also plan to speak to my pre-health adviser to see if I can do some shadowing.

I think that you should have some other volunteering experiences on your application in addition to your escort service (that sounds wrong ). Is it possible to volunteer in a nursing unit? This'll give you the chance to have more meaningful long-term interactions with the patients there (the experience is what you make of it though). Also, while many schools want "leaders" in their classes, you do not need to be involved in a college club in order to demonstrate leadership. I participated in one of these premed clubs and it was a huge waste of time (YMMV). I didn't even bother listing it on my application. Organizing a charity event, recruiting friends to volunteer together at a soup kitchen, etc. are other ways of demonstrating leadership. Having said this, I applied without listing any leadership experiences and I still got in, so I don't think that it's an absolute necessity.

And definitely do shadowing, one interviewer said he was always suspicious of non-trad applicants who switched without having done some shadowing.. makes it seem like a rushed decision.

My thoughts exactly lol

 

[SunsFun]

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[thlaxer]

Thanks guys,

I know escort sound wrong but that what it is called officially. Yeah, I want to call the volunteer service and see if there is anything available like surgery waiting room or Emergency. Would that be considered clinical? I already have about 100 hours doing this and wouldn't want to leave the hospital showing some consistency but at the same time I don't want to have 300+ hours of "escorting" on my application. I also have given some thought to teaching a class of some kind, since I do have substantial amount of tutoring experience from my college years.

I enjoyed being a volunteer in the emergency department (my first clinical experience ). A few friends volunteered in the surgery waiting room and their experiences didn't seem that meaningful. The nurses there pretty much just told them to bring some reading/homework to do since most of the patients were either being prepped for surgery or just came out from one.. This might be specific to the hospital I volunteered at though.

And schools seem to love teaching/tutoring experiences. I was a bit surprised by this at first though it makes a lot of sense now.

 

[drewS21]

And schools seem to love teaching/tutoring experiences. I was a bit surprised by this at first though it makes a lot of sense now.

So being a teaching assistant for a course is considered to be really good?

 

[SunsFun]

I enjoyed being a volunteer in the emergency department (my first clinical experience ). A few friends volunteered in the surgery waiting room and their experiences didn't seem that meaningful. The nurses there pretty much just told them to bring some reading/homework to do since most of the patients were either being prepped for surgery or just came out from one.. This might be specific to the hospital I volunteered at though.

And schools seem to love teaching/tutoring experiences. I was a bit surprised by this at first though it makes a lot of sense now.

Thanks,

I will try to get some more info on the emergency department.

 

[Jlaw]

Well if you have 2 more years to finish your degree then you have some time to plan. The best way to get clinical experience in my opinion is to get your EMT certification. Could you fit the class in over a break or summer? This will open some doors in that you can volunteer as an EMT (take night shifts and use the free time to sleep and do your schoolwork). Alot of clinics will take EMT's as volunteers because they can take histories and vitals and help triage patients.

If this isn't possible then talk to your hospital volunteer coordinator and see what opportunities offer the most patient and doctor interaction. Most likely this will be in the ER.

 

[thlaxer]

So being a teaching assistant for a course is considered to be really good?

I think so. I was a TA for an introductory math course several years ago. My time commitment wasn't very significant as I only TA'd for seven months, but I did gain a lot from this experience. This was brought up very positively in most of my interviews. One of my interviewers said that good teachers often make better medical students, residents and eventually doctors.

 

[darmalee]

I think so. I was a TA for an introductory math course several years ago. My time commitment wasn't very significant as I only TA'd for seven months, but I did gain a lot from this experience. This was brought up very positively in most of my interviews. One of my interviewers said that good teachers often make better medical students, residents and eventually doctors.

I was a math and sciences after school tutor at a disadvantaged middle school for a year and this volunteer experience was brought up more than any of my other experiences in my interviews (and always in a very positive light). While health-related volunteering is of course important, I think it's advantageous to have some non-health related volunteering as well. It shows a willingness and interest in helping your community, aside from health-care volunteering that is basically a requirement. One of my interviewers actually thanked me for helping kids out.

 

[SunsFun]

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[darmalee]

Cool,

Thanks everybody. Juggling all these things can be tricky and spending time volunteering or shadowing takes time away that could be spend studying. So, I was wondering in your opinion how many hours of shadowing and clinical volunteering does an applicant need to have to be better than average. I've read here people say you need to shadow anywhere from 40 to 150 hours with most of it being primary care doctors. Obviously, I would like to do as much as possible but given the constraints doing too much may mean focusing less on GPA and MCAT thus sacrificing some of that. What number do you guys think is good/strong/above average? How about clinical volunteering? I hear from 150 to 300 + hours. Also I plan to continue to volunteer in non-clinical settings an have about 200 hours. Is that enough?

I personally think that people on this forum overestimate the importance of shadowing. I had less than 20 hours total shadowing 2 pediatricians and 1 urologist and called it a day. I got interviews at 5 of the 7 schools I applied to and not a single interviewer said anything about me not having enough. I don't know - maybe I'm the exception but that was my experience

 

[SunsFun]

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[darmalee]

Thanks,

If you don't mind me asking. How many hours of clinical and nonclinical volunteering did you do? Any more contributions are appreciated as well.

I had almost 300 hours of health-related volunteer hours and a little over 100 hours of other community service.