Will 11 months of shadowing and nonclinical volunteering look like box checking?

[katespade99]

Hi everyone, I intend on applying June 2016 (most likely first day the app service opens).

I have my clinical volunteering down:
Nursing Home volunteer- 4 years (by the time of application)
Hospital Volunteer- 1.5 years (by the time of application)

I ideally would have liked to start shadowing and volunteering this month but it looks like I probably won't be able to get started until July. I know the typical time period to show longevity and commitment is 1-2 years but would 11 months look bad? Will it look like box checking?

I will hope to have 11 months of shadowing and 11 months at a homeless shelter by June 2016.

I would appreciate any insight, especially from the adcomms @Catalystik @gyngyn @Goro

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[nwts]

I could be wrong on any of this, so someone please correct me if I am.

I don't think longevity is all that important for shadowing. Shadowing is not supposed to be a long-term commitment because it is not a service you are doing or an activity or organization you are becoming a part of. The purpose of shadowing is for you to come to understand what physicians do and determine if that career is right for you. You just do this for as long as you need to. If you get 80 hours of shadowing in 6 months and feel like you understand what you're getting into, there's no reason to keep shadowing just to show longevity.

As far as the homeless shelter, how often are you going in? If you only go once per month, 11 months doesn't really show a ton of dedication. However, if you're going in every week, 11 months is a long time. That would mean you went back 48 different times. That shows commitment. That combined with the fact that you will have volunteered at a hospital for a year and a half and at a nursing home for four years seems to indicate that you are the type of person who is committed to his/her activities. I think the people who are the big red flags for lack of commitment are the people who have a bunch of activities that they did for not a ton of hours over a very short time period. That really looks like box-checking.

 

[katespade99]

I could be wrong on any of this, so someone please correct me if I am.

I don't think longevity is all that important for shadowing. Shadowing is not supposed to be a long-term commitment because it is not a service you are doing or an activity or organization you are becoming a part of. The purpose of shadowing is for you to come to understand what physicians do and determine if that career is right for you. You just do this for as long as you need to. If you get 80 hours of shadowing in 6 months and feel like you understand what you're getting into, there's no reason to keep shadowing just to show longevity.

As far as the homeless shelter, how often are you going in? If you only go once per month, 11 months doesn't really show a ton of dedication. However, if you're going in every week, 11 months is a long time. That would mean you went back 48 different times. That shows commitment. That combined with the fact that you will have volunteered at a hospital for a year and a half and at a nursing home for four years seems to indicate that you are the type of person who is committed to his/her activities. I think the people who are the big red flags for lack of commitment are the people who have a bunch of activities that they did for not a ton of hours over a very short time period. That really looks like box-checking.

Yes, I will go every week with exception of midterms and finals week and the week I take my MCAT. I expect to accumulate around 150 hours or so.

 

[nwts]

Yes, I will go every week with exception of midterms and finals week and the week I take my MCAT. I expect to accumulate around 150 hours or so.

Then you should be fine. Going in over 40 different times shows commitment, especially since you have a pattern of commitment to service.

 

[Catalystik]

Hi everyone, I intend on applying June 2016 (most likely first day the app service opens).

I have my clinical volunteering down:
Nursing Home volunteer- 4 years (by the time of application)
Hospital Volunteer- 1.5 years (by the time of application)

I ideally would have liked to start shadowing and volunteering this month but it looks like I probably won't be able to get started until July. I know the typical time period to show longevity and commitment is 1-2 years but would 11 months look bad? Will it look like box checking?

I will hope to have 11 months of shadowing and 11 months at a homeless shelter by June 2016.

I would appreciate any insight, especially from the adcomms @Catalystik @gyngyn @Goro

Average shadowing listed is about 50 hours. Do more if you're having fun or don't yet have a clear idea of what a doc's day is like and the challenges that are faced. Ideally much of it will be with an office-based primary care doc so you get a good view of longitudinal care, as opposed to episodic care (ED, OR, subspecialty care).

You've already shown excellent longevity with the 4 years of nursing home volunteering. No one expects every activity to last greater than a year. Do you have the opportunity to help those in the skilled-nursing care area or do you have another role that you'd consider nonclinical?

 

[katespade99]

Average shadowing listed is about 50 hours. Do more if you're having fun or don't yet have a clear idea of what a doc's day is like and the challenges that are faced. Ideally much of it will be with an office-based primary care doc so you get a good view of longitudinal care, as opposed to episodic care (ED, OR, subspecialty care).

You've already shown excellent longevity with the 4 years of nursing home volunteering. No one expects every activity to last greater than a year. Do you have the opportunity to help those in the skilled-nursing care area or do you have another role that you'd consider nonclinical?

Thank you so much for replying. For the past 4 years, my roles have ranged from transporting them from place to place, talking to them and providing conversation, and doing arts and crafts with them.

 

[Donald Juan]

I think 11 months is a long time for a volunteer project, even if you're only going one day a month. Hell, most of my volunteer experiences were a day or two here and there at various projects.

And as for shadowing, like said above, you're supposed to shadow enough to get an idea what an average day is like for a physician, and to decide if it is what you really want to do (a lot of people forget this part).

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you so much for replying. For the past 4 years, my roles have ranged from transporting them from place to place, talking to them and providing conversation, and doing arts and crafts with them.

Wheelchair transportation is certainly "clinical" and the rest might be viewed that way too if you emphasize the socialization skills that conversation can enhance and the improved fine and gross motor skills resulting from with Arts and Crafts activities.

 

[katespade99]

Wheelchair transportation is certainly "clinical" and the rest might be viewed that way too if you emphasize the socialization skills that conversation can enhance and the improved fine and gross motor skills resulting from with Arts and Crafts activities.

Would there be a way the nursing home volunteering would be considered both clinical and non clinical? The singing and arts and crafts are more non clinical in my opinion and I would like to highlight that.

 

[Catalystik]

Would there be a way the nursing home volunteering would be considered both clinical and non clinical? The singing and arts and crafts are more non clinical in my opinion and I would like to highlight that.

If that's what your application needs to be more balanced, then you can spin it that way instead and tag it as such. I'd still mention the wheelchair transportation/ambulatory assistance/whatever, too, as some adcomms will mentally consider that portion clinical despite the tag you pick (which will be to your benefit if you have only 11 months Medical/Clinical, when 1.5 years is about the average listed).

If you want to be sure both elements are noted, you could split the activity and list each component separately, if you wish, and if you have the space, taking care not to double count the hours

 

[ChrisMack390]

Average shadowing listed is about 50 hours. Do more if you're having fun or don't yet have a clear idea of what a doc's day is like and the challenges that are faced. Ideally much of it will be with an office-based primary care doc so you get a good view of longitudinal care, as opposed to episodic care (ED, OR, subspecialty care).

Hey Cat, I see you post this a lot, and I had a quick question for ya. The majority of my shadowing will be with a medical oncologist. I shadow the same oncologist at the same time every week, which means I end up seeing many of the same patients time and time again. I personally would argue that this counts as longitudinal care and a good insight into the patient-doctor relationship, almost regardless of the fact that it is in light of a chronic/deadly disease (in most cases - some people I see every couple months just for surveillance). Do you agree?

 

[Catalystik]

Hey Cat, I see you post this a lot, and I had a quick question for ya. The majority of my shadowing will be with a medical oncologist. I shadow the same oncologist at the same time every week, which means I end up seeing many of the same patients time and time again. I personally would argue that this counts as longitudinal care and a good insight into the patient-doctor relationship, almost regardless of the fact that it is in light of a chronic/deadly disease (in most cases - some people I see every couple months just for surveillance). Do you agree?

Yes.