Do programs actually care about volunteer experience?

[intubesteak]

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Current M1 on track to do ZERO volunteer experience in medical school. I volunteered my brains out in undergrad/high school and really would rather focus on academics in med school (which is going well). I'm also married and would rather hang out with my wife than homeless people (while I still have a choice). Am I going to shoot myself in the foot with applications? I looked at the NRMP program director survey but they seem to rank everything as "important".

I would love to hear some thoughts. If this is important, I can probably still get involved in some stuff and suck it up. Although, it is quite *competitive* to get a slot in the free clinic, and you kind of need to know somebody to get on the VIP list. But I digress...

 

[em2017plz]

MS4 here. I wouldn't say it's the most important thing, but my volunteering experiences came up during most of my interviews. If you're considering EM, I think they really just want to see that you are a well-rounded person--not just a standardized test taking robot. That being said, if community service isn't your passion, then don't do it just to put it on your app. There are plenty of other things to be involved in. You also don't need to do anything and everything. Pick one or two things you actually enjoy and stick to it throughout school. Also, you could make volunteering sort of a "date"--both you and your wife could volunteer somewhere together like once a month or something. Doesn't have to be medically related. Just a suggestion.

Current M1 on track to do ZERO volunteer experience in medical school. I volunteered my brains out in undergrad/high school and really would rather focus on academics in med school (which is going well). I'm also married and would rather hang out with my wife than homeless people (while I still have a choice). Am I going to shoot myself in the foot with applications? I looked at the NRMP program director survey but they seem to rank everything as "important".

I would love to hear some thoughts. If this is important, I can probably still get involved in some stuff and suck it up. Although, it is quite *competitive* to get a slot in the free clinic, and you kind of need to know somebody to get on the VIP list. But I digress...

 

[AlmostAnMD]

I didn't volunteer for ****

 

[Tenk]

I didn't volunteer for ****

You need to change your damn name on here.

 

[SeparationAnxiety]

I would try to do your schools free clinic once or twice at the very least. It's an easy win for your application and it it is pretty good prep for your clinical rotations. If it's anything like my schools free clinic it won't be competitive for spots all the time (closer to exams or near breaks they would be begging for volunteers)


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[intubesteak]

Thanks for the input everyone. I like the idea about volunteering with my wife...she is actually in PA school so that could work nicely with the free clinic thing.

FWIW, I would much rather talk about my hobbies and stuff than volunteering. I'm a pretty intense outdoorsman and spend most of my free time doing that (haven't bought red meat or fish from the store...ever.. I think). I probably should do something more mainstream to round things out. Its just interesting to see applicants report like 8 volunteer activities on NRMP. Where do people find the time/energy for that stuff??

 

[LilKangaroo]

I think it's important to keep in mind that "volunteer" activities on ERAS are just activities that you've done for free (i.e. not jobs). Most of my "volunteer" experiences were in organized medicine and it did come up at every single interview. You could probably easily sign up to be on a committee or two, either at your school or local medical society. It's generally around a once per month commitment. You could also start/join a wilderness medicine interest group or just an outdoors interest group at your school. All you really need is to get one or two lunch talks going a semester and it's is pretty easy. Community service is great and all, but I think a lot of programs are really looking for evidence of leadership and teamwork ability when looking at this part of your application. You might even have some things that you do all ready that fit into this category that aren't necessarily community service.

 

[Hamhock]

Current M1 on track to do ZERO volunteer experience in medical school. I volunteered my brains out in undergrad/high school and really would rather focus on academics in med school (which is going well). I'm also married and would rather hang out with my wife than homeless people (while I still have a choice). Am I going to shoot myself in the foot with applications? I looked at the NRMP program director survey but they seem to rank everything as "important".

I would love to hear some thoughts. If this is important, I can probably still get involved in some stuff and suck it up. Although, it is quite *competitive* to get a slot in the free clinic, and you kind of need to know somebody to get on the VIP list. But I digress...

God damn: medical training is so f*cked up!

HH

 

[Psai]

Why volunteer with homeless people?
You will do enough free work for them in the ed
Sandwiches for everyone

 

[intubesteak]

Why volunteer with homeless people?
You will do enough free work for them in the ed
Sandwiches for everyone

That's what I'm saying!!

Some other volunteer options at my school:

Pick up trash in a park for 4 hours.

Volunteer at animal shelter.

Spend 3000 to go on a volun-vacation experience in another country (instead of doing research this summer).

I must not be cut out for the competitive specialties.

 

[intubesteak]

I think it's important to keep in mind that "volunteer" activities on ERAS are just activities that you've done for free (i.e. not jobs). Most of my "volunteer" experiences were in organized medicine and it did come up at every single interview. You could probably easily sign up to be on a committee or two, either at your school or local medical society. It's generally around a once per month commitment. You could also start/join a wilderness medicine interest group or just an outdoors interest group at your school. All you really need is to get one or two lunch talks going a semester and it's is pretty easy. Community service is great and all, but I think a lot of programs are really looking for evidence of leadership and teamwork ability when looking at this part of your application. You might even have some things that you do all ready that fit into this category that aren't necessarily community service.

That is somewhat encouraging. I am involved in the EM interest group so that might help a little.

 

[MiamiViceAventura]

Current M1 on track to do ZERO volunteer experience in medical school. I volunteered my brains out in undergrad/high school and really would rather focus on academics in med school (which is going well). I'm also married and would rather hang out with my wife than homeless people (while I still have a choice). Am I going to shoot myself in the foot with applications? I looked at the NRMP program director survey but they seem to rank everything as "important".

I would love to hear some thoughts. If this is important, I can probably still get involved in some stuff and suck it up. Although, it is quite *competitive* to get a slot in the free clinic, and you kind of need to know somebody to get on the VIP list. But I digress...

volunteer experience is always better in something you are passionate about, otherwise i think is useless

 

[Lexdiamondz]

I don't think volunteering specifically is super important, but I do think it's important to have plenty of extracurriculars for your ERAS. I was almost exclusively asked about my extracurriculars and not about my grades, or anything academic at all.

 

[deleted109597]

I can say the number of times we've discussed volunteer work that wasn't EM specific was exactly zero.
But hey, you guys keep doing what you're doing.

 

[intubesteak]

I can say the number of times we've discussed volunteer work that wasn't EM specific was exactly zero.
But hey, you guys keep doing what you're doing.

This is more what I expected to hear. I can imagine students getting questions about their extracurriculars in an interview, but more so to make conversation than to assess some important quality in an applicant (other than the important quality of being normal and able to communicate). But who knows. Maybe Dr. McNinja's program will be my only interview 😉