Alternative Volunteering Options

[arc5005]

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Hi all,

I'm pre-DO. I really need to improve my resume via volunteering and shadowing. Right now, I have no way to volunteer. I am taking 17 credits - 4 science/lab course prereqs, I don't have a car (& the hospitals are far away), I live in a "you need a car to survive town," and it's incredibly snowy/icy until probably april... and I'm often away on weekends to visit my BF in the DC/metro area.

So that basically leaves me from this summer until I apply next May to volunteer and really improve my resume. The problem I'm experiencing with trying to find hospital volunteer positions is that 1) it seems competitive and 2) I'm only going to be in DC for 2.5 months this summer, and then back to upstate NY for next fall (~4 months). This means I'm not really in one area for long, and it might be difficult for me to get a volunteer position in a hospital.

I'm looking for suggestions and alternative volunteering and/or experiences to beef up my resume in preparation for DO school. I'm looking mainly at ideas of something or some organization I could get involved in for 2.5 months in a Metropolitan area like DC that may not necessarily be in the hospital, but would also look well on DO applications.

My current Volunteering/Experiences (not much):

• CrossFit Coach, many fundraisers & events that coincide with fitness, wellness, health, etc...
• LGBT HIV Outreach, Outreach volunteer (not very often though)

Thank you!

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

So what type of clinical experience do you have? I ask that because if you have solid clinical experience you absolutely do not have to have clinical volunteering. The idea is to show on your app that you can A) Pass med school (grades and MCAT). B) Are altruistic (aka volunteering), C) That you like patients (volunteering OR clinical experience), and D) that you know what docs do for a living (shadowing and/or clinical experience). So however you make sure you can express those 4 things is up to you. Personally I had not one hour of clinical volunteering and I got into several schools. BUT I had clinical experience working as a medical assistant and I had volunteering hours at homeless shelters as a cook (I love cooking) - In a city near DC I will add. So you can mix and match various combinations of stuff to show those 4 traits.

So if you have clinical experience elsewhere then 100% just do any kind of volunteering that you are passionate about. The more passionate, the better, it will shine in your app better.

As for the summer, homeless shelters always need help, even if it is for just a couple months. Maybe do it with a friend or something because they can be sketchy sometimes and its safer to do it in numbers if the area is not safe. Other options for the summer would be a summer camp type of position. You not only can get volunteering hours doing that but those are also incredible areas to show leadership. There are loads of summer camps for kids with autism, troubled youths, kids in poverty, various other problems, that you could volunteer at.

 

[arc5005]

So what type of clinical experience do you have? I ask that because if you have solid clinical experience you absolutely do not have to have clinical volunteering. The idea is to show on your app that you can A) Pass med school (grades and MCAT). B) Are altruistic (aka volunteering), C) That you like patients (volunteering OR clinical experience), and D) that you know what docs do for a living (shadowing and/or clinical experience). So however you make sure you can express those 4 things is up to you. Personally I had not one hour of clinical volunteering and I got into several schools. BUT I had clinical experience working as a medical assistant and I had volunteering hours at homeless shelters as a cook (I love cooking) - In a city near DC I will add. So you can mix and match various combinations of stuff to show those 4 traits.

So if you have clinical experience elsewhere then 100% just do any kind of volunteering that you are passionate about. The more passionate, the better, it will shine in your app better.

As for the summer, homeless shelters always need help, even if it is for just a couple months. Maybe do it with a friend or something because they can be sketchy sometimes and its safer to do it in numbers if the area is not safe. Other options for the summer would be a summer camp type of position. You not only can get volunteering hours doing that but those are also incredible areas to show leadership. There are loads of summer camps for kids with autism, troubled youths, kids in poverty, various other problems, that you could volunteer at.

I don't have any clinical experience. I need to get the clinical experience/volunteering experience. Really the only exposure I have had to the hospital is that my stepdad is a physician and my mom is a nurse. They both have said I'd make a good physician or PA, but I would dislike nursing. I know that sounds silly to think I would want to be a doctor without having had the clinical experience, but I do think I'd make an excellent doctor. I do want to get some clinical exposure as well, though. I'm hoping to get this experience through shadowing/volunteering.

Is a homeless shelter a good option for shadowing? I was thinking maybe an HIV clinic/public health outreach may be more health-focused.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

look at YSOP in DC. I participated in that during spring break and loved it. They may have volunteering opportunities if you call them. If not, DC has tons of soup kitchens and other organizations where you can volunteer to help the homeless.
These are two I was part of (only for a day during spring break) and really liked them
http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/
http://streetsense.org/volunteer/

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Gotcha, sounds good. What year of school are you in?

Well then yea, as for a clinical position, I am stumped. You sort of said it yourself, not a lot of hospital gigs will let you volunteer for just a couple months; usually simply because the paperwork involved is hefty.

If I was you I would focus the summer on some other type of volunteering/work and also get some time to shadow some docs. I think both of those are pretty solid goals. Or you could also do research, which definitely can help your app, especially at some of the better/bigger schools. I would maybe try and focus on the clinical volunteering/work when you have a longer period of time in one place, but thats just me.

No homeless shelters are not clinical at all (at least the ones I have been at). But having volunteering like that never hurts your app. If you can find a clinic like you mentioned then that would probably be your best bet.

 

[arc5005]

Gotcha, sounds good. What year of school are you in?

Well then yea, as for a clinical position, I am stumped. You sort of said it yourself, not a lot of hospital gigs will let you volunteer for just a couple months; usually simply because the paperwork involved is hefty.

If I was you I would focus the summer on some other type of volunteering/work and also get some time to shadow some docs. I think both of those are pretty solid goals. Or you could also do research, which definitely can help your app, especially at some of the better/bigger schools. I would maybe try and focus on the clinical volunteering/work when you have a longer period of time in one place, but thats just me.

No homeless shelters are not clinical at all (at least the ones I have been at). But having volunteering like that never hurts your app. If you can find a clinic like you mentioned then that would probably be your best bet.

I'm taking post-bac classes to raise my GPA up. I'll be taking classes next fall 2015 (mostly re-takes that semester), but I won't be as busy as I am currently. So, I really only have from mid-June to May 2016 to work on my application/resume.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I'm taking post-bac classes to raise my GPA up. I'll be taking classes next fall 2015 (mostly re-takes that semester), but I won't be as busy as I am currently. So, I really only have from mid-June to May 2016 to work on my application/resume.

Ohhhh I see... Hmm that does add a challenge then... Yea your best bet then is to find a smaller, more specific clinic (like the one you mentioned) I imagine. I really cant think of much else in that time frame? You are bound by 3 distinct periods of time - summer, fall, then next spring - and it sounds like they are in different places? I would say shoot for the smaller clinics then.

I would really try for small clinic work this summer and then next fall (obviously at a different clinic). Then really bust your butt to get a hospital position next spring when you will have more time. Thats at least one way you could do it.

 

[arc5005]

Yeah. Well I'll be in DC for 2.5 months over the summer, and then was planning on coming back home to upstate NY to continue to utilize cheap community college tuition to take re-take courses. Part of me wonders if it may be more beneficial to instead stay in DC and find a clinical position at a hospital. However, then my GPA will be lower.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Yeah. Well I'll be in DC for 2.5 months over the summer, and then was planning on coming back home to upstate NY to continue to utilize cheap community college tuition to take re-take courses. Part of me wonders if it may be more beneficial to instead stay in DC and find a clinical position at a hospital. However, then my GPA will be lower.

What would your grades look like assuming you took the classes in the fall and did well vs did not take them?

Typically I would argue that grades >>>> volunteering, but if its a negligible GPA boost then staying put may be more beneficial.

 

[arc5005]

Retaking should bring me up to about a 3.45, whereas not retaking would leave me at about a 3.33 ish.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Retaking should bring me up to about a 3.45, whereas not retaking would leave me at about a 3.33 ish.

What is your MCAT? And what are the subsections?

 

[arc5005]

I'm planning on taking it April 2016

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I'm planning on taking it April 2016

Then I would say to stay the course and do the retakes in the fall. Just try and find something else up in NY. Otherwise you could find another community college in/around DC to retake courses. There are a couple very nice community colleges within like a 45 minute drive of DC.