How Much Volunteer Work is Reasonable?

[dsprague12]

I accidentally posted this in re-applicant forum, but i meant to ask it here.

I currently volunteer at a temporary home for sick children while they participate in studies at NIH. However, I only volunteer for about 6-7 hours/month. I'm thinking this is not enough. I've tried finding opportunities at local hospitals but haven't had any success since I can really only do weekends. So, is 6-7 hours a month enough?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[clc8503]

I accidentally posted this in re-applicant forum, but i meant to ask it here.

I currently volunteer at a temporary home for sick children while they participate in studies at NIH. However, I only volunteer for about 6-7 hours/month. I'm thinking this is not enough. I've tried finding opportunities at local hospitals but haven't had any success since I can really only do weekends. So, is 6-7 hours a month enough?

If I were you, I would keep volunteering that 6-7 hours a month (maybe a little more) and try to shadow a physician as well. I can guarantee that that you probably shadow 6-7 hours more than most pre-meds. I strongly believe that humanitarianism can open many doors for you in life. I can not stress how important volunteering can be when it comes to standing out among your fellow peers, when applying to med school. It definitely gives you a chance to present a much stronger application. Having an excellent academic record and humanitarian contributions allows the admissions committee to see that you are a bright as well as compassionate individual. These are the kinds of doctors that med schools want to produce. I think you are fine at 6-7 hours a week. However, if you can make the time, a few more hours couldn’t hurt anything. Good luck and keep up the good work.


Yours,
Caraway

 

[nicholonious]

I accidentally posted this in re-applicant forum, but i meant to ask it here.

I currently volunteer at a temporary home for sick children while they participate in studies at NIH. However, I only volunteer for about 6-7 hours/month. I'm thinking this is not enough. I've tried finding opportunities at local hospitals but haven't had any success since I can really only do weekends. So, is 6-7 hours a month enough?

This is just an example. I interned at the ER department of our local hospital. It was for credits, and I did 4-8 hours a week. That amount seemed decent to me. Not too much, nor too little. It gave enough experience to allow myself to reflect on what I observed.

I would say that 6-7 hours a WEEK is more beneficial.

Good luck.

 

[dsprague12]

If I were you, I would keep volunteering that 6-7 hours a month (maybe a little more) and try to shadow a physician as well. I can guarantee that that you probably shadow 6-7 hours more than most pre-meds. I strongly believe that humanitarianism can open many doors for you in life. I can not stress how important volunteering can be when it comes to standing out among your fellow peers, when applying to med school. It definitely gives you a chance to present a much stronger application. Having an excellent academic record and humanitarian contributions allows the admissions committee to see that you are a bright as well as compassionate individual. These are the kinds of doctors that med schools want to produce. I think you are fine at 6-7 hours a week. However, if you can make the time, a few more hours couldn’t hurt anything. Good luck and keep up the good work.


Yours,
Caraway

I do clinical research during the week for my job, so I have a good amount of patient contact through that. I don't really shadow doctors in my volunteer position, I just get to play with the kids. But, I'm not particularly worried about needing to shadow a doctor at this point, just need to know what amount of volunteer work is needed for adcoms. I just want to have some free time. I think I'll see if I can boost my hours to 12-14 hours/month.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[superdavykinz]

I do clinical research during the week for my job, so I have a good amount of patient contact through that. I don't really shadow doctors in my volunteer position, I just get to play with the kids. But, I'm not particularly worried about needing to shadow a doctor at this point, just need to know what amount of volunteer work is needed for adcoms. I just want to have some free time. I think I'll see if I can boost my hours to 12-14 hours/month.

Thanks for the advice.

I may be wrong, but there is not a said x number of hours in order to look good or make the adcoms recognize you more. Just make sure you talk about your experiences and what you learned from it.

 

[AlterEgo]

Not that I am recommending anything devious... but there is no form on AMCAS that asks how many hours a week did you do this activity. It asks from what month/year to what month/year.

 

[ellia08]

It kinda depends on whether you are more research or clinical

but I would say that longer term is always good, even if you can only work a few hours a week during the school year.