Volunteer Opportunities in NYC?

[adoctoralawyer]

Non-traditional, prospective post-bacc pre-med candidate here.

Any suggestions for volunteer opportunities in NYC with good patient contact or good opportunities to see and experience the inner workings of medical practice? I know that some hospital volunteer programs offer more involvement and interaction than others.

Any alternative ideas such as rehab, EMT or other creative suggestions (NYC-specific)?

Any information to share from personal experience?

Thanks!

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[Love4many]

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/chem/ghorowitz/PreMedResources.htm

 

[pageantry]

-Hospice of NY will take you and give you training.
-Planned Parenthood has positions in the recovery room if you're interested in women's health.
-WECARE at Woodhull in Brooklyn is often taking people too. I haven't done it but it looks like a great opportunity if you have the time. (Google: "Woodhull Emergency Clinical Aide, Research & Educational" and download the .doc that shows up.)
-If all else fails, there are always opportunities to volunteer in HIV clinics through New York Cares. If you do three volunteer things through them, you can then sign up to lead a volunteering site. Leadership is good.
-You could also start a care/medically-oriented group through MeetUp.com and look for an MD who'd be willing to act as an advisor, who could then give you a letter of recommendation (that's one thing I did.)

These are the easy ones. Otherwise, hard to say. My experience is that approaching hospitals in NYC for volunteerships through their websites is about as successful as looking for jobs that way. It really really helps to be in a post-bacc program (CUNY will get you in all kinds of places, you definitely don't need to spring for a fancy post-bacc to get fancy opportunities.) Or, tap your network for any doctors or anyone who knows doctors who might be able to get you into a research or clinical volunteering opportunity.

BTW, I don't recommend doing any EMT training unless you're doing it for a real program (Such as one where you're training directly into a job. College EMT programs can be good that way.) because those jobs (like everything else here) are extremely competitive. Also, for a lot of people, that's their food-on-the-table job, rather than fun pre-med experience, and those people get prioritized. And doooooon't get suckered into doing a phleb tech certification thinking you'll get a simple job sticking people all day. In NYC, you're really going to need to be a medical assistant to do that, and that's a whole expensive program which is most likely a waste of time for a post-bacc.

 

[y123]

There are plenty. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hospitals_in_New_York_City and check all the websites of the hospitals.

 

[pageantry]

Follow up: I spoke directly with an admissions advisor yesterday who said that she would definitely list an MD-advised project like mine as medical volunteering. You could do similar things by starting (for instance) health and nutrition initiatives in your neighborhood, if that excites you. Something to keep in mind.

 

[senzen]

@pageantry are you sure we can list something we didn't offer direct patient care as a clinical experience?

I get a little worried when sometimes I feel the only that counts is where you offered direct patient care (phlebotomy, medical assistant, EMT, etc.).

At my hospital, we have a strict "no hands-on" policy. My service is limited to offering conversation and food to the patients. I hope this counts.

 

[Love4many]

You can

 

[senzen]

I'm guessing you're in NY. Do you have any places where we can offer direct patient care without having a license?

Thanks!

 

[pageantry]

@pageantry are you sure we can list something we didn't offer direct patient care as a clinical experience?

I get a little worried when sometimes I feel the only that counts is where you offered direct patient care (phlebotomy, medical assistant, EMT, etc.).

At my hospital, we have a strict "no hands-on" policy. My service is limited to offering conversation and food to the patients. I hope this counts.

It might count!

I had to double check because my group is trauma support--more like psych than anything. But I did have to get into pretty intense situations where the MD advisor was genuinely important, so I guess that's why.

 

[senzen]

Why are people disinclined to list services like leading activities and board games with patients/residents as a clinical experience?
Even when its in a medical setting (hospital, nursing home, etc.).

 

[pageantry]

Why are people disinclined to list services like leading activities and board games with patients/residents as a clinical experience?
Even when its in a medical setting (hospital, nursing home, etc.).

Well, gosh, I don't know, now. I've often read that candystriping isn't supposed to count because you don't really get to see what the doctor's role is. I'd guess it's case by case, depending on the program or hospital? Maybe Google around?

Btw, that Woodhull thing says they let you assist on some pretty cool stuff.

 

[cadingcading]

Non-traditional, prospective post-bacc pre-med candidate here.

Any suggestions for volunteer opportunities in NYC with good patient contact or good opportunities to see and experience the inner workings of medical practice? I know that some hospital volunteer programs offer more involvement and interaction than others.

Any alternative ideas such as rehab, EMT or other creative suggestions (NYC-specific)?

Any information to share from personal experience?

Thanks!

Could you PM me? I might have some ideas but need to know some additional info about you...I'm also here in NYC.

 

[Bru]

I ended up at Bellevue for a fair amount of my clinical experience:
http://emergency.med.nyu.edu/education/undergraduates/pavers

I have friends who programs at Methodist in the Brooklyn, Columbia Presbyterian and I think Mt. Sinai. There are a lot of programs out there but many take a fair amount time to get things started paperwork-wise.

 

[adoctoralawyer]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to provide information.

 

[Snivellus]

There is a NY volunteer website for many different fields. Don't remember the exact name but you can find some creative stuff there.