Bad experience w/ volunteering - still put on application?

[EquipedeFrance]

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To cut a long story short, I was volunteering somewhere. It took me a long time to travel to the said clinic. I had some family issues going on and was sick but was always prompt in letting people know about delays. When volunteering, I was really thorough, more so than the person who gave me the orientation who said she would skip off after an hour to go on her phone in the library.

I left for summer break and was still dealing with issues. In the last contact I had, I notified the supervisor that I would be gone, but it was an email about a separate issue. I also said it in person. So, I was gone for 3-4 weeks, and then I called to ask if there was any way to get re-started and the supervisor flipped out at me, saying that I had given no notice, disappeared etc. didn't show commitment. I was really hurt and taken aback by this, but I apologized profusely on my side over the phone and wrote a very, very apologetic email. This supervisor relented on the phone and said I could telephone the next week to discuss. Mind you, I was having a lot of trouble with some family illnesses and job losses, and I don't know, I was hurt by this, so I did not telephone the next week. This was a couple months ago.

My question is - can I include this experience on my application? I'm not sure if it will be possible for me to get a similar environment and I did like the experience. I enjoyed the patient interaction and it was meaningful for me. I am thinking of calling now and just apologizing again and thanking them for the experience and all their assistance and leaving it at that to provide reasonable closure, but then again, I might get yelled at.

I know I am not perfect, but I was very rigorous in my performance of my responsibilities and totally dedicated and I don't know, I just felt really bad about all of this. I can understand if they would rather not have me, and frankly, I don't think it's a good fit either, but I did sink hours of commute and orientation and other time to get there.

Advice? I am going for MD/PhD btw.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Ouch! That's rough. A lot of pre-meds end up alienating their volunteer sites by either being flaky, or trying to game the system. I'm not saying you did either, but given the reputation that pre-med volunteers have, I'm not surprised that they got angry the way they did. How long did you volunteer there for? I would ask the volunteer coordinator straight up what you start and end date was. Then I would put this on your AMCAS. No more, no less. It's unlikely that schools would call, but if they do, they would likely be verifying only your hours or start/end dates. They will not need your life story and will not know about your performance. I would get another hospital volunteer gig ASAP and then lump that into the same slot.

 

[EquipedeFrance]

Thanks @Planes2Doc There's no way to really game the system with the automated check in process, but I agree she might have been busy/had a bad day and been thinking I had intentionally flaked.

I had an elderly relative who was having some difficulties, and this was being passed on a lot to my immediate family/caretakers + I usually help but I was away, and then I myself had gotten sick a few times from the stress. I really liked my duties, but I think maybe it was just bad timing all around. I wasn't really there for that long, maybe 1.5 months to be honest, but I'm planning on applying to Canadian schools which have later deadlines as well as some MD/PhDs (late but whatever, c'est la vie) and I want to use the time there to introduce my desire to become a doctor. I'm also planning on doing some Red Cross clinic + Nursing home, hopefully in more clinical context stuff starting September. I don't have a lot of options as a foreigner without a SSN

Do you think calling to just apologize again would give some closure? I still feel kind of nervous about the situation.

 

[westbill]

Thanks @Planes2Doc There's no way to really game the system with the automated check in process, but I agree she might have been busy/had a bad day and been thinking I had intentionally flaked.

I had an elderly relative who was having some difficulties, and this was being passed on a lot to my immediate family/caretakers + I usually help but I was away, and then I myself had gotten sick a few times from the stress. I really liked my duties, but I think maybe it was just bad timing all around. I wasn't really there for that long, maybe 1.5 months to be honest, but I'm planning on applying to Canadian schools which have later deadlines as well as some MD/PhDs (late but whatever, c'est la vie) and I want to use the time there to introduce my desire to become a doctor. I'm also planning on doing some Red Cross clinic + Nursing home, hopefully in more clinical context stuff starting September. I don't have a lot of options as a foreigner without a SSN

Do you think calling to just apologize again would give some closure? I still feel kind of nervous about the situation.[/QUOT

It sounds like you're leaning towards inclusion of volunteer experience for any number of reasons, but you have concerns doing so might negatively impact your application. You further indicate you would like to get some closure on this experience, and we can assume part of doing so would be to cement a favorable response, or at least negate a negative response from this organization were they to be queried. Finally, you have some misgivings about a re-contact d/t "getting yelled at." Given these facts, try to be brave, call the coordinator, and at the conclusion of the call, you will likely know whether you should include them or not.