Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities.
Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.
Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.
I am a first year at a great undergraduate university. I am doing well in school and am pretty certain on my class choices and what I have to do to keep this up. However, I don't know where to begin with volunteering, shadowing (how much you need), extracurriculars, etc. I'm creating this post in the hopes that you incredible people wouldn't mind sharing some of the things that made you successful. What are some good summer programs? What are some good ideas to do during the school year alongside classwork? What is necessary for physician shadowing/how do you find opportunities? This thread is intended to be a catch-all for brainstorming things that you can do outside the classroom that will help your medical career.