Do I really NEED to volunteer?

[haleyrockx]

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I'm a CNA and will be working as a Patient Care Tech part-time while attending undergrad full-time. Plus, I'll be working as a scribe part-time with one hospital and hopefully part-time with another hospital- both in the Emergency Department. Since all that I am doing has tons of patient/doctor interaction, do I really need to volunteer?

Everything I've ever read concerning med school is that they want you to volunteer just so that you can get exposed to medicine and make sure this is really what you want to do. I've seen some people say that med schools want you to do it, basically, to show you care about people (or something along those humanitarian lines). What's really the reason?

I'm almost 30 and have worked a lot of crap jobs in order to be able to go to school. I don't need volunteering to KNOW that I want to be a doc. I've always known that. Isn't working as a PCT and scribe enough? Or do I really need to get less sleep in order to fit in a few hours of volunteering? Besides, the hospitals seem to want volunteers just so they don't have to pay someone to change sheets, etc. I've basically been discouraged from trying to see or experience or learn anything while volunteering with the hospital.

Any advice on whether or not I really need to volunteer along with everything else? 😕

 

[Pemulis]

No, you don't need to volunteer. You have medical experience, and you are older than the average applicant. Hence, med schools aren't going to look at you and ask "does this person really know what they are getting themselves into, or have they just watched a lot of episodes of ER and Grey's Anatomy?" That's the real reason that schools like to see volunteer experience, especially in younger applicants.

 

[haleyrockx]

Thanks for the advice. That's exactly what I was thinking. I just started doubting it cuz I keep seeing people say you need to volunteer even with clinical work experience. The SDN ebook about getting in to med school at http://www.studentdoctor.net/downloads/medshort.pdf even says that clinical work experience doesn't make up for volunteering. There is just so much discrepancy in the info. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. 😀

 

[r0b0tafflicti0n]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I disagree. I think schools also want to see that you're willing to give of your time freely to others. . .perhaps if they see that your situation is extraordinary, it won't matter. . .but perhaps it will.

There are volunteer positions you can do as little as once a month or once in a while (look into rape crisis, for example--you usually only have to commit to be on call once or twice a month). Since my schedule is pretty grueling, I'm making sure not to make volunteer commitments I can't fulfill. Something's better than nothing.

 

[blee]

I volunteered at a hospital for a little while in high school, but that was something like 12-13 years ago. I've since managed to volunteer only for a couple of hours at a time, like a charity walk or some other such thing. None of those made it to my AMCAS application. I figured my time was better spent shadowing and getting other forms of clinical exposure, and it worked for me.

 

[dara678]

I think you'll be okay without volunteering. 🙂 Just be sure in your interview to also talk about your other hobbies/interests/etc. besides medicine.

 

[medicalbound]

I think you're fine without volunteering. You have enough clinical exposure, and more so than others I know that have been accepted. Best of luck and take care!

 

[haleyrockx]

All this advice is really helpful. My only concern is that I'm just beginning all of this so I'll only have a few months of experience with all of this by the time I start doing apps. Should I volunteer just to make it look like more and kind of "distract" them from focusing on the fact that I don't have years of experience?

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I really don't know if there is a definite answer to this question. I asked something similar a few months ago (search for "To Wait or not to Wait" in the title.) My own opinion is that doctors don't necessarily give their time freely to their patients, so requiring people to volunteer to show how much they are willing to give to the community is somewhat silly. Obviously, I would never say something like that non-anonymously, though! 🙂

I do, however, agree with volunteering as a way to gain clinical exposure to augment your studies. In medical school, there is both a classroom and a clinical part of your education, so having clinical experience in addition to your college courses is sort of a "mineature" version of medical school, the way that I look at it.

In the end, unfortunately, it probably comes down to the opinions of the individuals that make up the admissions committee in question. Just like we all have different opinions about the subject, I'm sure that different ADCOM members also have different opinions about the subject. Therefore, if you have the time, it probably wouldn't hurt to hedge your bets and do some volunteer activities.

For me, I am an older applicant with LOTS of responsibilities. I have a full-time job, I have my own "business" on the side, and I have a family (a wife, a son, and a VERY sick father) that all demand my time. This, in addition to pre-med classes that I have been taking, leaves no time for non-clinical volunteer work. The lack of volunteer work may end up being a weak point in my application, but so be it -- I have other unique attributes and achievements that may compensate for this weakness.

I guess what I am trying to say is that every application is individual, and every ADCOM is "individual." Do your best to cover all of the bases in your application, but have a reason for doing everything (besides just improving your application.) In the end, you are trying to convince an ADCOM that you are intellectually and emotionally ready to be not just a medical student, but ultimately a doctor. In the end, the idea I get from a lot of the threads, is that "dumb luck" plays a factor in your admission to any particular school, in such a competitive environment as medical school admissions.

Sorry for the long, rambling post

Jota

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

All this advice is really helpful. My only concern is that I'm just beginning all of this so I'll only have a few months of experience with all of this by the time I start doing apps. Should I volunteer just to make it look like more and kind of "distract" them from focusing on the fact that I don't have years of experience?

The only reason I might start doing it now is to hedge your bets for a future application cycle, in case you don't get accepted this cycle (let's assume for a minute that the reason you don't get accepted is for lack of volunteer work.)

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

All this advice is really helpful. My only concern is that I'm just beginning all of this so I'll only have a few months of experience with all of this by the time I start doing apps. Should I volunteer just to make it look like more and kind of "distract" them from focusing on the fact that I don't have years of experience?

I agree with previous posts that you don't need volunteer time in a healthcare setting - you've been there and done that. I would suggest getting some shadowing time in with a physician because they'll want to see that you got some personal exposure to medicine at the physician level (as well as have a chance to talk to a doc one-on-one about physician careers) - and I don't think your previous employment will cover that.

As far as non-healthcare volunteering... well, it's difficult to find the time, but it can be a real boost to your application to show that you're community-minded and willing to serve without compensation (although I'm sure plenty of people get in without significant volunteering). If that sounds like a game - well, perhaps it is, but that's how the game is played. By the time I applied to med school, I had been volunteering for the Alzheimer's Association for nine years - I kinda got pulled into it (long before med school seriously crossed my mind) and could never get away from it and my hospital employer put a big premium on some volunteer service in the community. Certainly looked good on the app, though.

 

[efex101]

There are *two* types of volunteering that "most" medical schools admissions committees are looking for. The first type is volunteering in a health care setting so that you *know* (to a certain extent) what you are getting into and can intelligently make this choice. It seems that you have covered or will cover this aspect. The second type of volunteering that adcoms look for is volunteering done in your community in something that you "care" about. It can be anything really but they are looking for those individuals with altruistic streaks. Call it what you like...a waste of time, jumping through hoops, whatever...but this is the reality and you can either play their game or not. Most folks applying to medical schools have BOTH of these experiences and hence are expected regardless of your age or non-trad status. There are many non-trads juggling family/full time employment/school/shadowing *and* volunteering. It can be done! albeit you will not have much time for nothing else but non-trads *are* doing it. Now, you do not have to volunteer a TON of hours but just some...also doing it for one month is not going to cut it either...(not saying this is your case btw). So pick something you LOVE and start getting involved. Good luck!

 

[onephile]

You ought to think about volunteering in a non-medical position, something that interests you. It can't hurt, and helps to show you are a well-rounded person. Also, if they ask you during interviews about not having very much time behind the position, just talk about why it interests you and the importance of volunteering your time for the cause. They love that crap 🙂

 

[mj1878]

I'm a CNA and will be working as a Patient Care Tech part-time while attending undergrad full-time. Plus, I'll be working as a scribe part-time with one hospital and hopefully part-time with another hospital- both in the Emergency Department. Since all that I am doing has tons of patient/doctor interaction, do I really need to volunteer?

Everything I've ever read concerning med school is that they want you to volunteer just so that you can get exposed to medicine and make sure this is really what you want to do. I've seen some people say that med schools want you to do it, basically, to show you care about people (or something along those humanitarian lines). What's really the reason?

I'm almost 30 and have worked a lot of crap jobs in order to be able to go to school. I don't need volunteering to KNOW that I want to be a doc. I've always known that. Isn't working as a PCT and scribe enough? Or do I really need to get less sleep in order to fit in a few hours of volunteering? Besides, the hospitals seem to want volunteers just so they don't have to pay someone to change sheets, etc. I've basically been discouraged from trying to see or experience or learn anything while volunteering with the hospital.

Any advice on whether or not I really need to volunteer along with everything else? 😕

If you don't mind a big 'ol blank spot under "Volunteer Experience" in the application, then by all means don't bother.

Seriously, though, you need to show that you're committed to helping your fellow man, or at least helping without financial compensation as a requisite quality. Volunteering shows that you are selfless with your time, and it really shows your committment to being a humane person that's interested in going into a humane field. I would disregard all the posts telling you not to bother. What are you going to say if they ask in interview why you've never volunteered anywhere?? Yes, clinical exposure is important, but EVERYONE has it. Everyone also has volunteer experience, an MCAT score and a GPA. I would be suspicious of anyone lacking in any category.

 

[PineappleGirl]

Seriously, though, you need to show that you're committed to helping your fellow man, or at least helping without financial compensation as a requisite quality. Volunteering shows that you are selfless with your time, and it really shows your committment to being a humane person that's interested in going into a humane field. I would disregard all the posts telling you not to bother. What are you going to say if they ask in interview why you've never volunteered anywhere?? Yes, clinical exposure is important, but EVERYONE has it. Everyone also has volunteer experience, an MCAT score and a GPA. I would be suspicious of anyone lacking in any category.

I agree with this post entirely. I think it is important to have some volunteer experience just to show that you are good, caring person who has an interest in helping out in the community. It doesn't have to be much. And besides, volunteering is fun. Do something you care about, like raising awareness on health issues, serving up food at a homeless shelter, doing a food drive, doing some of the various health walks. And a lot of places give you tons of free stuff when you volunteer with them: shirts, bags, pens and stuff, so it's not like you're totally not compensated. 😀

 

[blee]

I would disregard all the posts telling you not to bother. What are you going to say if they ask in interview why you've never volunteered anywhere??

I was asked this a few times, and each time I said exactly what I said here: I gave my time whenever I could, but I hadn't been involved in a sustained volunteer effort since college. My interviewers were more interested in my motivations for medicine and my clinical exposure.

Lest the take-away message from this thread get lost, let's make it clear that volunteer experience is definitely a "good thing," an important activity in any life, and probably an asset to one's medical school application. Unlike bad grades, low scores, or utter lack of motivation, though, lack of volunteer experience is NOT going to sink anyone's hopes for acceptance.

 

[QofQuimica]

I think that volunteer experience (non-medical AND medical) is very important to most medical schools. I got asked about it quite a bit at my interviews. There were several where the interviewer flat-out said to me, "Tell me about your volunteering activities." I basically had four major ones: volunteering as a co-investigator and project manager of a clinical trial, three years as a Big Sister for BBBS, a year in the surgery waiting room at a hospital (the least important to me personally, but surprisingly important to several of the med schools), and doing the SDN MCAT subforum. Like efex said, you don't have to volunteer for several hours per day or week. I spend one hour per week as a Big, and did two hours per week at the hospital. I had to go from 6-8AM to fit it in, and that sucked majorly, but in retrospect I am very glad that I did it. Time spent for the other two activities varied; sometimes I spent lots of time on them (like right before each MCAT!), and sometimes I would go days or weeks without doing them at all.

I do think that blee is probably right that volunteering is not *required* for anyone. However, don't ever forget that you are competing against thousands of applicants at most medical schools, many of whom have done some incredible volunteering and other activities. How do you think you are going to stack up to them in the interviewer's or adcom's mind when they ask you about your volunteering activities and you say, "I don't have any, because I was too busy to even give one hour per week?" If getting into medical school is your priority, then volunteering is something you should seriously consider making the time to do. (The irony that I'm suggesting volunteering for self-serving purposes is not lost on me here. 😉 )

 

[efex101]

Well, *nothing* is really required per se...except to take the MCAT and have "some" GPA. The point is that because most folks DO indeed have "some" volunteering and wse are not saying here 14 years of volunteering 8 hrs /week but maybe one-two hrs/week during some time....if you do NOT have it it "might" come to haunt you. No, not having volunteering will not automatically mean a rejection *but* it might...again you ARE competing with folks that have TONS of stuff from research to peace corps *and* a good MCAT/GPA *and* they are nice to boot! so think about what will make YOU STAND OUT. But hey if you do not want to do it no sweat...we are just giving advice and I am talking from SEEING the applicant pool and not just blowing smoke up anyones anal sphincter.

 

[QofQuimica]

Well, *nothing* is really required per se...except to take the MCAT and have "some" GPA. The point is that because most folks DO indeed have "some" volunteering and wse are not saying here 14 years of volunteering 8 hrs /week but maybe one-two hrs/week during some time....if you do NOT have it it "might" come to haunt you. No, not having volunteering will not automatically mean a rejection *but* it might...again you ARE competing with folks that have TONS of stuff from research to peace corps *and* a good MCAT/GPA *and* they are nice to boot! so think about what will make YOU STAND OUT. But hey if you do not want to do it no sweat...we are just giving advice and I am talking from SEEING the applicant pool and not just blowing smoke up anyones anal sphincter.

Actually, you don't have to have a GPA, although it does help to have one. 😛 But with that caveat, efex is the woman, and you guys should listen to her. 👍

 

[efex101]

He he, yup Q you did get in w/o a GPA you go girl! sorry for hijacking guys...

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Well, *nothing* is really required per se...except to take the MCAT and have "some" GPA. The point is that because most folks DO indeed have "some" volunteering and wse are not saying here 14 years of volunteering 8 hrs /week but maybe one-two hrs/week during some time....if you do NOT have it it "might" come to haunt you. No, not having volunteering will not automatically mean a rejection *but* it might...again you ARE competing with folks that have TONS of stuff from research to peace corps *and* a good MCAT/GPA *and* they are nice to boot! so think about what will make YOU STAND OUT. But hey if you do not want to do it no sweat...we are just giving advice and I am talking from SEEING the applicant pool and not just blowing smoke up anyones anal sphincter.

Would getting involved this late in the game (assume primary application is submitted 1st of June-ish) have any effect on an application this cycle? Would it HURT?

(My guess is that it would neither help nor hurt the application at this point, but might help a future application -- i.e. next year, should the OP, for example, not be accepted anywhere this year.)

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Would getting involved this late in the game (assume primary application is submitted 1st of June-ish) have any effect on an application this cycle? Would it HURT?

(My guess is that it would neither help nor hurt the application at this point, but might help a future application -- i.e. next year, should the OP, for example, not be accepted anywhere this year.)

It absolutely is not too late to help your application for this year. Does AMCAS say anything about not listing future activities? I tried to follow most instructions to the letter - that's the only way to survive the application process - but I did "free-form" a little in my "activities" blocks without paying too much attention to the rules in order to communicate all of my activities - and it absolutely didn't hurt me. There is nothing wrong with saying something like "Signed-up in May, 2006 to volunteer with the Heart Association through the Summer months." To my mind, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that - gives your interviewer an opportunity to ask a question like, "well, how did the Heart Association work out for you?"

Caveat: Don't try this little future-activities trick unless you actually plan to follow-through. You'll look very silly at Fall interviews if you have to say, "oh, that didn't work out and I never did it."

 

[Doctor Bagel]

One thing to look into is volunteer opportunities through your employer. Lots of big employers do things like allow employees to volunteer a few hours a month and still get paid for it! For example, we have a program where you can go help kids with reading during work hours, and we also do things once a year like stock a food bank, etc. My company also organizes things every few months outside of work hours like habitat for humanity, beach clean-up, etc. Honestly, if you do stuff like that, you're volunteering a few days a year, and it still gives you things to put down. One big strength of your application is going to be your clinical experience, so you don't need to devote tons of time to volunteering to just round out your application a bit.

 

[haleyrockx]

So, basically, volunteer at least a little bit. I can do that. I just really want it to be with something that makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something, not just doing it for self-serving reasons.

I'll see what is around me. Some of the activities I looked into last year required a class before beginning, and they all conflicted with school. So, it's not like I'm just now trying to do all of this. I just haven't gone about it all that well. Unfortunately, I'm new to this whole thing and my pre-med advisor is not good at all. I'll try the YWCA. I know I need as much as possible to put on my apps.

Thanks for all the great advice. You've given me many different perspectives. 🙂

 

[efex101]

Jota, volunteering at any point will not hurt you at all and more than likely will actually look great! it is also good to start this just in case....God forbid! you get no love this cyle. Always focus on something you LOVE and are willing to do for free...if it does not rock your world it will be hard sticking to it. Remember, the volunteering can be 1-2 hrs/week and this is nothing compared to how much time we fart around on SDN or watch tv...🙂

 

[dasta]

Remember, the volunteering can be 1-2 hrs/week and this is nothing compared to how much time we fart around on SDN or watch tv...🙂

Does one need recent volunteer work? I have about 16000 hours of past medical volunteer work (not including 9 years of paid medical work experience). Now that I'm premed, I don't have any time to volunteer like I once did (20-30 hours /week). I'm wondering if adcomms will hold it against me that I've significantly reduced my volunteerism to go back to school. Will adcomms wonder why I didn't keep up the volunteer work?

 

[efex101]

It is "better" to have recent volunteering...and it does NOT have to be in healthcare. I think that 1-2hrs/week is totally doable for most folks. It can be something as simple as becoming a big brother/big sister this does not take much time at all...Pre-meds that I see applying and remembering from when I was pre-med will make time to do these things....

 

[vtucci]

While it is true that many students use the volunteering requirement (I mean suggestion) to demonstrate an interest and dedication to the field of medicine, I would recommend volunteering anyway even if you have the background.

There are former nurses, EMTs and paramedics in my class who had volunteer work in addition to their obvious career experience. This can be big brother/big sister program, tutoring to high school or college students. Teaching and research is an idea as well. You can get in some clinical research.

Good luck!!