Help deciding between non-clinical and clinical volunteering!

[PremedHopeful123]

Hi all, looking for some advice on deciding between two types of volunteering for this upcoming summer.

Some context:
I am a second-year undergrad looking to apply to med school in 2025 (no gap year). So far I have around 400 hours of clinical experience working as a medical assistant, 100 hours of research with a lab at my school, and 50 hours of shadowing. I also have around 40 hours of non-clinical volunteering. This summer, I secured a full-time paid research position, and would like to volunteer a couple hours of week as well. I am currently in the process of finalizing the documents to be able to volunteer at a local hospital. However, I have become aware of the 150-hour minimum and have realized that I may want to prioritize increasing my non-clinical hours. I have accrued the 40 hours I have already volunteering at a local learning center specialized for underprivileged populations. I volunteer 1.5 hrs/week and plan to continue this role until I graduate. Should I ditch the clinical hospital volunteering and look to find some non-clinical volunteering this summer?
Thanks!

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[chilly_md]

Yes, especially if you can still work time to time as an MA. Volunteer at a food bank, soup kitchen, homeless shelter or something similar.

 

[PremedHopeful123]

Yes, especially if you can still work time to time as an MA. Volunteer at a food bank, soup kitchen, homeless shelter or something similar.

Ok, I'll look into that, thanks. Although, I'm not sure I'll be able to work as an MA again. The position I held was sort of a summer internship. I keep in touch with a doc I worked closely with through this position, and he's suggested I scribe for him. I would probably do this during the summer of 2025 (when I am applying). Does this alter your advice at all?

 

[AJS59]

Ok, I'll look into that, thanks. Although, I'm not sure I'll be able to work as an MA again. The position I held was sort of a summer internship. I keep in touch with a doc I worked closely with through this position, and he's suggested I scribe for him. I would probably do this during the summer of 2025 (when I am applying). Does this alter your advice at all?

I'd still recommend focusing on the non-clinical; your hours through MA are enough but you need to get up to at least 150, ideally 250, hours of non-clinical.

 

[PremedHopeful123]

I'd still recommend focusing on the non-clinical; your hours through MA are enough but you need to get up to at least 150, ideally 250, hours of non-clinical.

Got it. Thanks for your response.

 

[chilly_md]

Ok, I'll look into that, thanks. Although, I'm not sure I'll be able to work as an MA again. The position I held was sort of a summer internship. I keep in touch with a doc I worked closely with through this position, and he's suggested I scribe for him. I would probably do this during the summer of 2025 (when I am applying). Does this alter your advice at all?

Projected hours don't count. Focus on getting 250 hours of non-clinical though in an area like I suggested.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Highlighting the point: food distribution, shelter volunteer, job and tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation. Every premed student tutors or teaches, and it won't help you stand out here.

 

[PremedHopeful123]

Thanks for all the responses. Are my clinical hours (~400) just from the MA position sufficient? I was under the impression that I needed to add to those as well. Regardless, I'll look to connect with a food pantry for this summer.

Also, don't know if this will make a difference at all but I'll clarify: I don't tutor or teach at the learning center. The kids I work with are 3-6 years old, and I help with afterschool childcare. The school is designed for ESL.

 

[chilly_md]

Thanks for all the responses. Are my clinical hours (~400) just from the MA position sufficient? I was under the impression that I needed to add to those as well. Regardless, I'll look to connect with a food pantry for this summer.

Also, don't know if this will make a difference at all but I'll clarify: I don't tutor or teach at the learning center. The kids I work with are 3-6 years old, and I help with afterschool childcare. The school is designed for ESL.

Seems you were working full-time for that summer for the MA job. That should be enough in-depth clinical experience, but do try to get the scribing job for summer 2025 to show you are continuing activities and you have something to add to your app if you must reapply.

Doing childcare instead of teaching does not make a difference imo.

 

[LizzyM]

@premedhopeful04 it sounds like you are volunteering in a pre-school/datcare geared toward the needs of ESL tots. That is great but a higher value, if you will, is given to activities that bring you face-to-face with adults (and/or adolescents) who are experiencing tremendous economic difficulties and seeking assistance to obtain food, shelter, clothing, tax preparation assistance, and so forth. Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just trying to let you know what schools seem to place a higher value on.

 

[PremedHopeful123]

@premedhopeful04 it sounds like you are volunteering in a pre-school/datcare geared toward the needs of ESL tots. That is great but a higher value, if you will, is given to activities that bring you face-to-face with adults (and/or adolescents) who are experiencing tremendous economic difficulties and seeking assistance to obtain food, shelter, clothing, tax preparation assistance, and so forth. Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just trying to let you know what schools seem to place a higher value on.

I understand and absolutely agree, and am definitely appreciative of all the feedback I've gotten. I didn't realize the nuance surrounding non-clinical volunteering, i.e. working face-to-face with adults vs. children, tutoring vs. food/shelter/clothing etc.

 

[quintapov]

As someone with poor clinical with an excellent research background and pretty decent volunteer experience ... focus on clinical. I got two interviews from public schools and one was usf, who loved my high stats and research background.