You don't have to volunteer at the hospital

[gerido]

I don't know why people complain so much about volunteering. The impression I'm getting is that the admission committee just want people to have some experience in dealing with other people outside of your academic environment.. wether it be volunteer, work, internship, co-ops, etc..

I know some people get into unsatisfying volunteering experiences like filing stuff at the hospital or running drugs to the floors and they b*tch about the hoops they have to jump through... if you don't like it, don't do it. Of course, at some point you're going to have some exposure to clinical environment, even if it is boring (or you can just work)... It's just stupid to decide to go into medicine without actually seeing what it is like, and I'm sure most adcoms would agree.

Am I wrong about this?

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[DrBowtie]

The purpose of volunteering in a hospital is to get clinical experience. It is just the easiest way to go IMO. However, IMO shadowing gives you a better idea about the profession.

 

[disheveled_dave]

I don't know why people complain so much about volunteering. The impression I'm getting is that the admission committee just want people to have some experience in dealing with other people outside of your academic environment.. wether it be volunteer, work, internship, co-ops, etc..

I know some people get into unsatisfying volunteering experiences like filing stuff at the hospital or running drugs to the floors and they b*tch about the hoops they have to jump through... if you don't like it, don't do it. Of course, at some point you're going to have some exposure to clinical environment, even if it is boring (or you can just work)... It's just stupid to decide to go into medicine without actually seeing what it is like, and I'm sure most adcoms would agree.

Am I wrong about this?

I agree, and when I started I got to choose from dozens of different positions available. Volunteers are encouraged to find one they like. They know that most of us are premeds trying to get experience and they want us to get the best fit.

 

[Quynh2007]

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[medstylee]

some schools, unfortunately, have a hard time accepting that you, the applicant, has had no clinical volunteering experience, even though you may have had some really beneficial and meaningful non-medical volunteer involvement. at one school in particular (coughsuny downstatecough) my interviewer scoffed at my non-clinical activities even though i feel like i did some really great stuff. i explained how i chose a non-medical position over a run of the mill ER volunteer position because i thought i would get more and give more with the former, and my interviewer basically told me that i was wrong in my decision. too bad. i'm glad i did what i did and i think that i made an impact (i mean, that's the point of volunteering your time, right!?). but, unfortunately, it didn't fit the admissions "checklist." so, while it may not be necessary for some schools, it's definitely necessary for others. i agree that it's really important for applicants to have clinical experience, but i think there are also other ways of figuring out that medicine is right for you. so many applicants out there pledge 100 hours of their time and do jack and don't gain anything from the experience. however, they are then able to list "100 hours at XXX hospital ER" on their AMCAS and that gets a thumbs up from the adcom. oh well.

 

[jammin06]

actually, the cornell med school dean of admission said that shadowing isn't that great in his opinion because it's passive.

i wholeheartedly agree. While i think its great to shadow a physician to "see what being a physician is like", that only takes you so far. To get the most meaningful experience, YOU have to be the one interacting with people, not standing in the corner watching someone else do it.

*gets off soap box*

 

[45408]

i wholeheartedly agree. While i think its great to shadow a physician to "see what being a physician is like", that only takes you so far. To get the most meaningful experience, YOU have to be the one interacting with people, not standing in the corner watching someone else do it.

*gets off soap box*

yeah, but if you're doing the interacting, you're probably not doing much of what a doctor does, and the point of shadowing is to see what a doctor does so you can decide if you want to do that too. If you're a CNA/EMT/pharmacy tech/phlebotomist, you're not doing much of anything that's very close to a doctor's job. One dean saying he doesn't like shadowing much doesn't mean that many others don't think it's very useful.

 

[jammin06]

yeah, but if you're doing the interacting, you're probably not doing much of what a doctor does, and the point of shadowing is to see what a doctor does so you can decide if you want to do that too. If you're a CNA/EMT/pharmacy tech/phlebotomist, you're not doing much of anything that's very close to a doctor's job. One dean saying he doesn't like shadowing much doesn't mean that many others don't think it's very useful.

That's fair. But on the other hand, I guess I'd just like to consider my internship in the operating room where i retracted and ran cameras for laproscopic surgeries to be a bit different than the run of the mill 'shadowing experience'

 

[g3pro]

If you're tight with the people you're shadowing, you can give some tries at interviewing patients on past medical history, family history, symptoms, etc. If you go on rounds, it can really help when interacting with the other residents when discussing patients. You can offer your own ideas, and they'll give you feedback.

Shadowing is all about what you put into it. Don't be shy, be active!