Can research be considered volunteering/community service?

[lobstermobster]

Hey everyone, I just have a question regarding research and volunteering. Last summer I was trying to think of what type of volunteering I could do before school started again. I didn’t want to just volunteer anywhere, so I tried to think of something I could really be passionate about. Well, I’ve always been interested in science and health, so putting these two together… I decided, why not volunteer in a health-related research lab? As a result, I ended up volunteering at a local medical school working on a project regarding a particular mental disorder. The doctor in the lab needed help with this project, and I ended up putting in ~350 hours over the course of the summer. I admit I didn’t make any huge breakthroughs, but I do believe I helped her discover some valuable information that will be useful in furthering her research. Anyway, looking back on all this, in my mind, these hours were my attempt at “volunteering” or “community service.” When it comes to volunteering, I’ve always heard from people that you should try to volunteer in something that you can really be passionate about. Well, this was it for me, and I was proud of the work I put in, as well as the decent amount of hours that I would now be able to put in the volunteering section of the dental application. Well… later on, during casual conversations with other pre-dents at my school, I started to get the impression that all my hours couldn’t really be considered volunteering, but merely research. I understand this point of view, because I was doing research, and I believe there is a specific section for research on the application… but my real intention behind all of this was to volunteer. Those 350 hours were my sincere attempt to volunteer in an environment where I could try my best to be productive and try to make a difference in the community. I know doing research isn’t exactly the same as going out in the community and volunteering at a soup kitchen or something, but I really felt that in doing HEALTH-related research I was playing my part (even if it’s a very, very small one) in contributing to a cure, or an answer, or better form of treatment for the particular disorder I was working with (thus impacting the community, even if it’s indirectly…?). I’m just worried, because although I do have SOME other volunteering, up to this point, this particular experience was really the highlight of my volunteering. I don’t want to sound selfish or inconsiderate, but I sacrificed most of summer to help out with this project. It’s kind of upsetting when I hear people say that I can’t even count it as a volunteering experience, because it was research… So I just wanted to get away from all the speculation I’ve been getting from my pre-dent friends and try to ask if anyone knew the correct answer to all this… Can I consider my research experience volunteering/community service on my dental application?

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[Extirpator]

dental schools don't have some minimum required hours of volunteer work you need to complete in order to gain acceptance... and since I'm sure you'll be listing it under "unpaid research experience," you're just going to look desperate if you also list it under the volunteer section. No need to put the same thing twice.

 

[punkin85]

No-this is considered research. You just didn't get paid. Volunteering/community service is def. different...like volunteering a homeless shelter or a dental clinic..or working with kids in local schools, etc.

 

[Blue Panther]

This will simply be considered as an unpaid research internship experience. You still have time until the next cycle starts to gain community service.

 

[schen140]

if its of any comfort, the 350 hours of research will help your application out just as much as doing community service would have

if ur application is good, u'll get the interviews...then at the interviews, u can explain to them what you were saying in this topic post...its a very good explanation, and you did the research for a very sincere cause...just remember to convey that sincerity during the interviews

 

[lobstermobster]

Alright, thanks for the responses guys.