Do you really need to volunteer??

[patelnb]

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I had a question about this because I think that it is stupid honestly. Because if I'm going to volunteer at a hospital I'm just going to push around a wheel chair and do menial jobs that aren't interesting and give me no insight on medicine. I was thinking I could do research for my college (chemistry research) or get an actual job working in the OR at the hospital. Volunteering at a hospital just seems like a waste of time to me. Do you agree or not?

 

[Raryn]

Yes, it is a waste of time. Yes, in most cases you should probably do it.

Working at the OR might give you the clinical experience necessary for most schools, it might not. All depends on the ADCOM.

 

[JDOC13]

I had a question about this because I think that it is stupid honestly. Because if I'm going to volunteer at a hospital I'm just going to push around a wheel chair and do menial jobs that aren't interesting and give me no insight on medicine. I was thinking I could do research for my college (chemistry research) or get an actual job working in the OR at the hospital. Volunteering at a hospital just seems like a waste of time to me. Do you agree or not?

I couldn't agree more. Legally, you can't do anything substantial as a volunteer. So I worked in a hospital instead of volunteering. I got do (and see) so much more stuff and get paid for it.

 

[riceman04]

I had a question about this because I think that it is stupid honestly. Because if I'm going to volunteer at a hospital I'm just going to push around a wheel chair and do menial jobs that aren't interesting and give me no insight on medicine. I was thinking I could do research for my college (chemistry research) or get an actual job working in the OR at the hospital. Volunteering at a hospital just seems like a waste of time to me. Do you agree or not?

Volunteering can be a waste of time. Try and find a place that will allow you to gain that experience you are seeking.

for e.g. I volunteered at Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles. Being that it is a smaller hospital I was allowed to get more hands on experience and interact with the patients in more meaningful ways that I would have had I volunteered a Kaiser Permanente for e.g

you just have to be more proactive in your search...that is if you really want to volunteer...but if you dont want to volunteer in a hospital then dont....just volunteer somewhere else and be sure to gain clinical exposure (i.e. close enough to smell patients...according to LizzyM) through another means.

Best of luck to ya!

 

[flaahless]

I had a question about this because I think that it is stupid honestly. Because if I'm going to volunteer at a hospital I'm just going to push around a wheel chair and do menial jobs that aren't interesting and give me no insight on medicine. I was thinking I could do research for my college (chemistry research) or get an actual job working in the OR at the hospital. Volunteering at a hospital just seems like a waste of time to me. Do you agree or not?

Then don't volunteer somewhere where all you do is push around wheel chairs. I recommend a hospice or an end-of-life facility. You get GREAT exposure to the more personal side of medicine, and really get to see it from the patient's perspective rather than the typical science perspective.

Also, if you can't find a way to get hands on experience... create one. Doctor's will let you do all kinds of stuff, from applying sutures to pulling axes out of people's heads. You just have to put in the wrench time. Don't settle for rudimentary work, YOU create your volunteer experience, not the facility.

 

[am9451]

i am currently volunteering in 1) a large university-affiliated hospital and 2) a smaller outpatient subspecialty clinic that is also part of a large hospital.

in regards to the first position, i couldn't agree more OP. all i do is clean up after people and i haven't talked to patients since the first day. very lame.

as for the second, it's been an awesome experience that has made me want to be a doctor even more. try to look outside the typical hospital premed volunteer positions. those are usually the lame ones.

 

[Monica Lewinsky]

Some people in my class claimed to not have ever done any volunteer work in their lives. I'm sure it made it harder to get in, but I honestly don't know if I should've have wasted the time I did in college volunteering. I got better insights into medicine by shadowing doctors and doing clinically-relevant research. I would spend more time on personal interests and hobbies more than volunteering. However, I would still recommend doing some just so you can say that you did it.

 

[Starbuck815]

I did the menial sit-around-until-there's-somone-to-push-out-the-door-in-a-wheelchair hospital volunteering. It sucked. It was pointless. I learned nothing at all about medicine, and spent the entire time looking at my watch every 5 minutes, praying that they'd close down early so I could go home.

I definitely suggest looking for something more substantial, whether its paid OR volunteering. I don't see why it would be that much of a negative if they paid you. Is it really that important that we work for free?

Oh, and I didn't know that's all I would be doing when I went to the hospital and asked for some "patient-oriented" volunteering. After I'd started, I'd already given them a minimum number of hours of commitment, so I couldn't just quit. Learn from my mistake and ask first what your job will be!

 

[jewjitsu]

Totally disagree. As someone who had minimal exposure to hospitals (visited older relatives who were ill, injured my head once, and accompanied a friend who had a concussion while snowboarding), spending 4 hrs in the ER every week gives me a great opportunity to observe hospital operation, and interact ith the patients and staff, regardless of the actual tasks im performing. Being that I dont intend on pursuing a career in mdical research my time in the research lab was a much greater waste of time. It also teaches you to respect the people who do menial labor later on when you are in a high-level position; kind of like people who have waited tables will not treat service staff like garbage.

 

[patekpremed]

I had a question about this because I think that it is stupid honestly. Because if I'm going to volunteer at a hospital I'm just going to push around a wheel chair and do menial jobs that aren't interesting and give me no insight on medicine. I was thinking I could do research for my college (chemistry research) or get an actual job working in the OR at the hospital. Volunteering at a hospital just seems like a waste of time to me. Do you agree or not?

In the end, you are absolutely right. I got a pretty cool volunteer position in my local hospital as a patient advocate where I would go around on the oncology floor, talk to the patients and their families and make sure they were being treated right.

It seems that adcoms care a lot less about where you volunteer. I think that they ultimately want to see you devoting your "volunteer time" to something you truly care about. It is just that volunteering in a hospital is the easiest way to get "patient contact" which is very important. If you really enjoy tutoring kids, you are better off doing that and getting your patient contact via other means (such as a job, shadowing, etc.) Hope this helps

 

[Dontae92]

Voulenteering shows great.initaitive on paper but try to get a job that doesnt make you do the things ppl are paid to do but dont want to.

 

[UVAbme2009]

It depends on what the volunteer work is. I volunteered at a dialysis center. It was amazing. All I did was talk to patients and get them things they needed. I learned how to just sit back and listen, something that seems to be pretty important for a doctor. Then there's the benefit of getting a dialysis patient's perspective on medicine. These are people who are in the hospital four hours a day, three days a week, for YEARS. Imagine going through that. It's their effort that makes me want to be there to help them as a doctor.

 

[Jolie South]

I had a question about this because I think that it is stupid honestly. Because if I'm going to volunteer at a hospital I'm just going to push around a wheel chair and do menial jobs that aren't interesting and give me no insight on medicine. I was thinking I could do research for my college (chemistry research) or get an actual job working in the OR at the hospital. Volunteering at a hospital just seems like a waste of time to me. Do you agree or not?

i hate to sound like an old timer, but did it ever occur to you that the purpose of volunteering is to serve others? many times that involves doing crappy jobs that no one else wants to do.

then, when you show that you are responsible and committed, people will take the time to show you the cool stuff.

i wouldn't write off "just being around" either. you can see a lot of stuff just being exposed to that environment.

 

[SayVYas]

i hate to sound like an old timer, but did it ever occur to you that the purpose of volunteering is to serve others? many times that involves doing crappy jobs that no one else wants to do.

then, when you show that you are responsible and committed, people will take the time to show you the cool stuff.

i wouldn't write off "just being around" either. you can see a lot of stuff just being exposed to that environment.

I agree. I think having volunteering on an app is a strong indication that you are dedicated to the service of others. If you want to get a job in the OR, that is great, but also try and have a volunteer job doing something you actually enjoy/care about...

 

[ACSurgeon]

I couldn't agree more. Legally, you can't do anything substantial as a volunteer. So I worked in a hospital instead of volunteering. I got do (and see) so much more stuff and get paid for it.

Actually I think if you have a skill, I am sure you can volunteer your time (as an EMT, a phlebotomoist, CNA ...etc).

 

[patelnb]

i hate to sound like an old timer, but did it ever occur to you that the purpose of volunteering is to serve others? many times that involves doing crappy jobs that no one else wants to do.

then, when you show that you are responsible and committed, people will take the time to show you the cool stuff.

i wouldn't write off "just being around" either. you can see a lot of stuff just being exposed to that environment.

yes i see where you are coming from but i forgot to make a point in my original post.

do med schools just want you to volunteer to show that you devote your time to helping people? then having a volunteer job anywhere will suffice. for example my friends and i built a house in new Orleans a while back and it was a blast, we had a great time. and that was a great time that i would never have in a hospital pushing a wheel chair around.

But if you truly enjoy pushing a wheel chair around all day then do a volunteer job like that, but there are many more ways to volunteer (that aren't as boring.)

But my question is: do med schools want to see you volunteer in a hospital or just volunteer in general. because i believe people should volunteer their time to what they are passionate about, not something that is going to bore them. Everyone has different interests so if everyone volunteers (in a perfect world!) then all of the volunteering opportunities would be occupied.

 

[patelnb]

and i forgot something else...

in the recovery area the nurses take care of that stuff without much trouble, so doing a volunteer job like that isn't actually helping anyone in a way that i feel is progressive

 

[JDOC13]

Actually I think if you have a skill, I am sure you can volunteer your time (as an EMT, a phlebotomoist, CNA ...etc).

Yes, but you have to actually acquire that skill (or become certified). I'm talking about an ordinary premed just volunteering without training. You generally can't do much in that case.

 

[Jolie South]

yes i see where you are coming from but i forgot to make a point in my original post.

do med schools just want you to volunteer to show that you devote your time to helping people? then having a volunteer job anywhere will suffice. for example my friends and i built a house in new Orleans a while back and it was a blast, we had a great time. and that was a great time that i would never have in a hospital pushing a wheel chair around.

But if you truly enjoy pushing a wheel chair around all day then do a volunteer job like that, but there are many more ways to volunteer (that aren't as boring.)

But my question is: do med schools want to see you volunteer in a hospital or just volunteer in general. because i believe people should volunteer their time to what they are passionate about, not something that is going to bore them. Everyone has different interests so if everyone volunteers (in a perfect world!) then all of the volunteering opportunities would be occupied.

i think they want a little of both. if i understand it correctly, adcoms want to see commitment to service of others and knowledge of the clinical setting. most people just do a clinical volunteering job because it kills 2 birds with one stone.

if you can get clinical exposure and find another volunteer position that interests you more, go for it. however, there's no way around the clinical exposure.

 

[pianola]

Menial or not, someone has to escort the patient out of the hospital in a wheelchair.

 

[Bacchus]

👍

 

[capn jazz]

i hate to sound like an old timer, but did it ever occur to you that the purpose of volunteering is to serve others? many times that involves doing crappy jobs that no one else wants to do.

then, when you show that you are responsible and committed, people will take the time to show you the cool stuff.

i wouldn't write off "just being around" either. you can see a lot of stuff just being exposed to that environment.

agreed 100%

If you don't want to volunteer your time to serve others, why are you going into medicine?

And that crap about not legally being able to do anything substantial: I volunteered in a children's hospital in the playroom playing with kids. If you don't think that's substantial, I don't know what you're looking to do.

 

[patelnb]

agreed 100%

If you don't want to volunteer your time to serve others, why are you going into medicine?

And that crap about not legally being able to do anything substantial: I volunteered in a children's hospital in the playroom playing with kids. If you don't think that's substantial, I don't know what you're looking to do.

that what you just said helps prove my point. what you're doing is helping a child emotionally and maybe physically. there is a possibility that you could actually make a difference in that childs life, no matter how small a difference, you made that difference.

but my friends got lulled into doing work that no one wants to do around the hospital such as pushing wheelchairs around. (keep in mind that this is just one example, there are more examples). pushing wheelchairs around probably isn't going to help someone the same way as volunteering in a childrens hospital to play with them in the playroom, it's just a menial task that will lighten the workload of the nurses a little bit..

i understand the concept behind volunteering, or maybe i just look at it differently than everyone else. here is an analogy: you give $100 to a homeless person only to have him spend it on drugs. you didn't know that but you donated your own money and you felt good about yourself. OR you donate $100 to a credible charity which actually helps solve the problem of homelessness. You still donated your money and felt good about yourself but donating to a charity was a better use of your money.

The same thing with your time and volunteering applies. that's just my opinion though. you could use your time more wisely and efficiently to help people out than to push wheel chairs around or do another useless task like that

 

[hopefuldoc87]

i hate to sound like an old timer, but did it ever occur to you that the purpose of volunteering is to serve others? many times that involves doing crappy jobs that no one else wants to do.

then, when you show that you are responsible and committed, people will take the time to show you the cool stuff.

i wouldn't write off "just being around" either. you can see a lot of stuff just being exposed to that environment.

I completely agree. As a doctor, you give up most of your time and life in service to others. IMO, adcomms want to see that, as corny as it sounds, you have given back to your community. I personally have been volunteering as an EMT for the past year, and that experience has taught me so much about patients. If you don't want to volunteer in a hospital, then don't. What you said about building a house...that's pretty cool. Just make sure you get some clinical experience.

Do you need to volunteer? Yes

Do you need to volunteer in a hospital? No

And if you say you rather do research because you will learn more...or rather get paid at a job...why can't you do both? Volunteering one day a week...even a month...still counts. Don't make it seem as if volunteering is preventing you from doing other things.

 

[Starbuck815]

If you don't want to volunteer your time to serve others, why are you going into medicine?

Well, to be fair, how many of us went into medicine to volunteer our time to serve others? Doctors get paid very well to serve others, its not the same thing. I certainly wouldn't do it for free. I do like helping others, absolutely, but I also dislike working without getting paid, especially when I'm a poor, in-debt student already.

Obviously the solution here is just finding some volunteering that is actually enjoyable for you. I mean, if you're getting nothing out of it, you wont be able to BS that much about it in interviews without it being noticeable. There are fun volunteer jobs, they might just be harder to find, especially at a hospital. Yeah, the point about someone needing to do the really boring, menial jobs is valid, but I know I would have never done such a job voluntarily if I didn't think I "needed" to to get into med school. Not a chance. I wish I had looked harder for something I actually could have enjoyed.

 

[hopefuldoc87]

that what you just said helps prove my point. what you're doing is helping a child emotionally and maybe physically. there is a possibility that you could actually make a difference in that childs life, no matter how small a difference, you made that difference.

but my friends got lulled into doing work that no one wants to do around the hospital such as pushing wheelchairs around. (keep in mind that this is just one example, there are more examples). pushing wheelchairs around probably isn't going to help someone the same way as volunteering in a childrens hospital to play with them in the playroom, it's just a menial task that will lighten the workload of the nurses a little bit..

i understand the concept behind volunteering, or maybe i just look at it differently than everyone else. here is an analogy: you give $100 to a homeless person only to have him spend it on drugs. you didn't know that but you donated your own money and you felt good about yourself. OR you donate $100 to a credible charity which actually helps solve the problem of homelessness. You still donated your money and felt good about yourself but donating to a charity was a better use of your money.

The same thing with your time and volunteering applies. that's just my opinion though. you could use your time more wisely and efficiently to help people out than to push wheel chairs around or do another useless task like that

stop complaining and just go get the proper volunteer experience you crave already.

btw, in your early years as a doctor, you're going to hate the scut work all beginners do.

 

[Druzie]

Totally disagree. As someone who had minimal exposure to hospitals (visited older relatives who were ill, injured my head once, and accompanied a friend who had a concussion while snowboarding), spending 4 hrs in the ER every week gives me a great opportunity to observe hospital operation, and interact ith the patients and staff, regardless of the actual tasks im performing. Being that I dont intend on pursuing a career in mdical research my time in the research lab was a much greater waste of time. It also teaches you to respect the people who do menial labor later on when you are in a high-level position; kind of like people who have waited tables will not treat service staff like garbage.

I had even less exposure to hospitals. Then I volunteered as a Patient Advocate. My *job* was to talk to patients and help them get what they wanted/needed. And in the meantime I helped staff and really came to see how a hospital operates. It was an eye-opening and completely worthwhile experience.

btw, the hospital I worked in was also fairly small, and the staff came to trust me immensely, which probably made quite a difference in my experience.

 

[JDOC13]

agreed 100%

If you don't want to volunteer your time to serve others, why are you going into medicine?

And that crap about not legally being able to do anything substantial: I volunteered in a children's hospital in the playroom playing with kids. If you don't think that's substantial, I don't know what you're looking to do.

I think we're all talking about a couple of different things here. No matter what you're doing as a volunteer, it still needs to be done (by someone) so in that regard, one could call it substantial. And playing with kids (non-sexually, of course) in the children's hospital sounds very substantial. But I used the word "substantial" to refer to getting experience that gives a good insight into what one would be doing as a physician. I don't think pushing people in wheel chairs or filing papers in the ER gives a good insight into the life of a physician. Therefore, I don't consider that "substantial," even though it still needs to be done. Certainly any volunteer work is great, but to me at least, it's only "substantial" if it gives real insight into what we want with our future.

 

[Livingapparatus]

i hate to sound like an old timer, but did it ever occur to you that the purpose of volunteering is to serve others? many times that involves doing crappy jobs that no one else wants to do.

then, when you show that you are responsible and committed, people will take the time to show you the cool stuff.

i wouldn't write off "just being around" either. you can see a lot of stuff just being exposed to that environment.

I agree with this, your volunteer experience is completly up to you.

The sense of entitilement that doing a "menial" job is a waste of time is gonna bite you in the ass in residency where theres gonna be a whole lot of **** you wont want to do.

 

[Jolie South]

I think we're all talking about a couple of different things here. No matter what you're doing as a volunteer, it still needs to be done (by someone) so in that regard, one could call it substantial. And playing with kids (non-sexually, of course) in the children's hospital sounds very substantial. But I used the word "substantial" to refer to getting experience that gives a good insight into what one would be doing as a physician. I don't think pushing people in wheel chairs or filing papers in the ER gives a good insight into the life of a physician. Therefore, I don't consider that "substantial," even though it still needs to be done. Certainly any volunteer work is great, but to me at least, it's only "substantial" if it gives real insight into what we want with our future.

To play the devil's advocate here, the way of the world is that you have to do "crappy" jobs when you're on bottom so that one day you can be on top. We don't just start there.

If you're having a hard time "playing the game" now, how will you do later when you're pimped or forced to do scut work as a resident or 3/4th year med student?

 

[JDOC13]

The way of the world is that you have to do "crappy" jobs when you're on bottom so that one day you can be on top. We don't just start there.

If you're having a hard time "playing the game" now, how will you do later when you're pimped or forced to do scut work as a resident or 3/4th year med student?

Oh don't worry, I'm at the bottom of the food chain of direct patient care. It's literally a "crappy" job and I love it. I'm not saying people should start at the top. I'm saying I think it's better to get a "crappy" paid job that exposes you to real clinical experiences rather than get a "crappy" volunteer position in which all you do is push wheelchairs and file papers.

 

[Handy388]

that what you just said helps prove my point. what you're doing is helping a child emotionally and maybe physically. there is a possibility that you could actually make a difference in that childs life, no matter how small a difference, you made that difference.

but my friends got lulled into doing work that no one wants to do around the hospital such as pushing wheelchairs around. (keep in mind that this is just one example, there are more examples). pushing wheelchairs around probably isn't going to help someone the same way as volunteering in a childrens hospital to play with them in the playroom, it's just a menial task that will lighten the workload of the nurses a little bit..

i understand the concept behind volunteering, or maybe i just look at it differently than everyone else. here is an analogy: you give $100 to a homeless person only to have him spend it on drugs. you didn't know that but you donated your own money and you felt good about yourself. OR you donate $100 to a credible charity which actually helps solve the problem of homelessness. You still donated your money and felt good about yourself but donating to a charity was a better use of your money.

The same thing with your time and volunteering applies. that's just my opinion though. you could use your time more wisely and efficiently to help people out than to push wheel chairs around or do another useless task like that

it's either you push wheelchair or the nurse does, and believe me, they know more about medicine than you do.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I'm hoping to interview applicants at some point, and volunteer experience will definitely be one of the things I'll ask about. The ones honest enough to tell me they learned absolutely nothing relevant in their volunteer experiences will earn mucho brownie points. I realize that there are volunteer opportunities that can be useful, but they are few and far between and usually take some pretty extraordinary effort on the volunteer's part to be even somewhat worthwhile.

If you want real, useful medical experience, get a job. Volunteers are there to do scut work and basically just eliminate the tasks a braindead goldfish could do so that the paid staff don't have to d*ck around with them. As a volunteer, you're free help, and your "employers" are happy to get out of you whatever they can. If you have a job, you're given responsibility and are trained to do whatever it is your employer needs you to do. In other words, you learn useful skills and get a taste of what working in healthcare is like.

 

[Raryn]

I'm hoping to interview applicants at some point, and volunteer experience will definitely be one of the things I'll ask about. The ones honest enough to tell me they learned absolutely nothing relevant in their volunteer experiences will earn mucho brownie points. I realize that there are volunteer opportunities that can be useful, but they are few and far between and usually take some pretty extraordinary effort on the volunteer's part to be even somewhat worthwhile.

If you want real, useful medical experience, get a job. Volunteers are there to do scut work and basically just eliminate the tasks a braindead goldfish could do so that the paid staff don't have to d*ck around with them. As a volunteer, you're free help, and your "employers" are happy to get out of you whatever they can. If you have a job, you're given responsibility and are trained to do whatever it is your employer needs you to do. In other words, you learn useful skills and get a taste of what working in healthcare is like.

Course, any premed who knows the game will talk about how much he learned from observing patient/medical professional interactions or something like that from his volunteer experiences. Not that I will of course.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Hence why someone saying, "Well, I got to see how an ER worked, but I didn't do much other than change beds" would be pretty impressive.

 

[GamjaXnamjA]

I had a question about this because I think that it is stupid honestly. Because if I'm going to volunteer at a hospital I'm just going to push around a wheel chair and do menial jobs that aren't interesting and give me no insight on medicine. I was thinking I could do research for my college (chemistry research) or get an actual job working in the OR at the hospital. Volunteering at a hospital just seems like a waste of time to me. Do you agree or not?

just like everyone else in this thread, i can't agree anymore. I HATE volunteering at hospitals because you can't do crap and you just waste time... but i still do it anyways since most schools require a decent amount of hours..

according to university of utah's website, the reason we volunteer is because...

"The medical profession is strongly oriented to service in the community. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to the community by involving themselves in service and volunteer activities."

 

[flaahless]

I think we're all talking about a couple of different things here. No matter what you're doing as a volunteer, it still needs to be done (by someone) so in that regard, one could call it substantial. And playing with kids (non-sexually, of course) in the children's hospital sounds very substantial. But I used the word "substantial" to refer to getting experience that gives a good insight into what one would be doing as a physician. I don't think pushing people in wheel chairs or filing papers in the ER gives a good insight into the life of a physician. Therefore, I don't consider that "substantial," even though it still needs to be done. Certainly any volunteer work is great, but to me at least, it's only "substantial" if it gives real insight into what we want with our future.

I agree with you. But not all volunteering is menial. YOU just have to go out and create an experience that you feel will be worthwhile to you. I quit a volunteer gig at the Red Cross because I was filing papers and didn't have the type of experience I wanted. So I went out into the community, called around and networked until I was able to do the stuff I wanted to do. And you will be surprised at how much a doc or a nurse will let you do if you take initiative and show a true interest in what you're doing. I saw a guy come into the ER with multiple gunshot wounds. I asked the doc... "Aye let me take one of those bullets out of him." Her response, "go right ahead." Moral of the story, if you want more action, open your mouth and take initiative. Complaining on an internet forum isn't going to change anything.

 

[JDOC13]

I agree with you. But not all volunteering is menial. YOU just have to go out and create an experience that you feel will be worthwhile to you. I quit a volunteer gig at the Red Cross because I was filing papers and didn't have the type of experience I wanted. So I went out into the community, called around and networked until I was able to do the stuff I wanted to do. And you will be surprised at how much a doc or a nurse will let you do if you take initiative and show a true interest in what you're doing. I saw a guy come into the ER with multiple gunshot wounds. I asked the doc... "Aye let me take one of those bullets out of him." Her response, "go right ahead." Moral of the story, if you want more action, open your mouth and take initiative. Complaining on an internet forum isn't going to change anything.

Good call. I was referring to the more menial volunteer opportunities, but like you said, there are some great volunteer opportunities. You just have to find them and use a little bit of initiative.

 

[Starbuck815]

I'm hoping to interview applicants at some point, and volunteer experience will definitely be one of the things I'll ask about. The ones honest enough to tell me they learned absolutely nothing relevant in their volunteer experiences will earn mucho brownie points. I realize that there are volunteer opportunities that can be useful, but they are few and far between and usually take some pretty extraordinary effort on the volunteer's part to be even somewhat worthwhile.

I've thought the same thing. I hope to get involved in interviewing at my school as well, and if there are applicants who can cut through all the BS and just be honest and admit that some of their experiences were not amazing or useful I will be seriously impressed. I felt so stupid having to BS my way through an answer in an interview when asked what I learned from my hospital volunteering (which consisted of mostly sitting and occasionally pushing patients out in a wheelchair). I wish I'd had the guts to be honest and say that I got little out of it. And I kept thinking, surely my student interviewer knows I'm just spewing crap at her? She's been in the same position, you've got to think they can just see right through you.

 

[patelnb]

yes i agree with the people that say doing the menial jobs at the hospital DO help out, but they aren't fun. i know this for a fact, there are many more volunteer opportunities out there that would please you more help society as a whole more than pushing wheel chairs around.

i think some of you were misconstruing what I said. i did type out the original post rather quickly. i'm only an undergraduate but if i was interviewing someone i'd rather see a trend in their interests and passions and see that what they volunteered for is what they actually cared for. if i saw an applicant that volunteered hours upon hours at the hospital i might think he or she was just doing it because "thats what med schools want," not because that he or she actually wanted to volunteer at a hospital.

 

[directdoc]

Well if you don't like volunteering at the hospital, don't do it. Simple.

Volunteering at the hospital doesn't mean you only push wheelchairs around. Many hospitals let you move up and do more after a certain number of volunteer hours. I know at my local children's hospital, after about 30 hours, you can work with patients.

Thats what I'm doing and I absolutely love it! There is nothing like spending time and playing with pediatric oncology patients. The words courage and strength mean so much more after you've met these kids. I enjoy my time and I feel like I'm doing something meaningful.


BTW...Volunteering hours upon hours doesn't necessarily mean someone is doing it for med school. In fact, I think it shows the opposite. If someone only cares about that med school "checklist", they would volunteer a little bit and get it over with. Others, like myself, volunteer many hours because they love doing it.

 

[hopefuldoc87]

I'm hoping to interview applicants at some point, and volunteer experience will definitely be one of the things I'll ask about. The ones honest enough to tell me they learned absolutely nothing relevant in their volunteer experiences will earn mucho brownie points. I realize that there are volunteer opportunities that can be useful, but they are few and far between and usually take some pretty extraordinary effort on the volunteer's part to be even somewhat worthwhile.

If you want real, useful medical experience, get a job. Volunteers are there to do scut work and basically just eliminate the tasks a braindead goldfish could do so that the paid staff don't have to d*ck around with them. As a volunteer, you're free help, and your "employers" are happy to get out of you whatever they can. If you have a job, you're given responsibility and are trained to do whatever it is your employer needs you to do. In other words, you learn useful skills and get a taste of what working in healthcare is like.

Dude you volunteered 35 hours/week for seven years (or that's what it appears to be).

I wouldn't put down volunteering, as what you did shows tremendous dedication, and probably helped you get into medical school.

And how would you know that the student who volunteered in the ER didn't learn something? I mean sure some pre-meds bs, but just because you or someone you know may not have gotten anything out of it doesn't necessarily mean they haven't.

 

[Starbuck815]

And how would you know that the student who volunteered in the ER didn't learn something? I mean sure some pre-meds bs, but just because you or someone you know may not have gotten anything out of it doesn't necessarily mean they haven't.

Well, for me, I wouldn't necessarily dock points off someone who got up and talked about how cleaning bedbans and pushing people around in wheelchairs was a valuable experience- unless I really, really thought they were hugely BSing (like, saying something about how it was "the most amazing learning experience evah!!!").

Its just that I (and perhaps MilkmanAl, anthough I don't want to speak for him) would look positively on an applicant who had the guts to actually say that something he or she did was largely useless. This is as opposed to the general perception that if you talk about how crappy your hospital (or other) volunteering was, you will be looked at negatively. I would see it positively that someone has the guts to be honest and not BS when something did genuinely suck. That doesn't mean they'd get more points that someone who seemed to genuinely enjoyed their hospital volunteering, but for me, they certainly wouldn't get less.

 

[hopefuldoc87]

Well, for me, I wouldn't necessarily dock points off someone who got up and talked about how cleaning bedbans and pushing people around in wheelchairs was a valuable experience- unless I really, really thought they were hugely BSing (like, saying something about how it was "the most amazing learning experience evah!!!").

Its just that I (and perhaps MilkmanAl, anthough I don't want to speak for him) would look positively on an applicant who had the guts to actually say that something he or she did was largely useless. This is as opposed to the general perception that if you talk about how crappy your hospital (or other) volunteering was, you will be looked at negatively. I would see it positively that someone has the guts to be honest and not BS when something did genuinely suck. That doesn't mean they'd get more points that someone who seemed to genuinely enjoyed their hospital volunteering, but for me, they certainly wouldn't get less.

Yea I see where you're coming from. What I got from him was that those who were "honest" and said they learned nothing were somehow better since they were truthful than those who said they did learn something. But how do you know that what they are saying isn't bs and they did honestly get something out of it (besides the obvious "it was the most valuable experience of my life" example you gave).

But I agree with your above post now.

 

[Starbuck815]

But how do you know that what they are saying isn't bs and they did honestly get something out of it (besides the obvious "it was the most valuable experience of my life" example you gave).

I would be cautious here. For me, what would affect how I marked the answer is not whether you had a good or bad experience, but rather the reasons you give for why it was a good or bad experience.

So, saying that your hospital volunteering was great for some vague, generic reasons like "getting to interact with patients was really rewarding" or something wouldn't really impress me (it sounds like possible BSing, but even if its not, it still doesn't tell me much of anything). Whereas if someone gave a specific example of a rewarding patient experience, or an example of something they saw that taught them something valuable, etc, I would be much more likely to think that they genuinely learned something and had a positive experience.

Similarly, if a student had a boring and useless experience, an example of a good answer for me would be to say why this was the case, what they wish they could have done more of, and how they might change this for future students if they were the volunteering coordinator.

Its not so much what your answer is, but how you back it up that matters the most. I would greatly prefer a well-backed-up answer that someone had a boring experience than a generic and vague answer that someone had a good experience, and vice versa.

 

[hopefuldoc87]

I would greatly prefer a well-backed-up answer that someone had a boring experience than a generic and vague answer that someone had a good experience, and vice versa.

How about a well-backed up answer for a good experience?? haha

Don't get me wrong - I volunteered one day in a hospital...realized it wasn't what I was looking for...and so signed up at my local rescue squad. That's what I've been doing every week for the past year (they even paid for my EMT cert).

For those who are complaining about volunteering at a hospital: I completely agree. But jeez, stop complaining already and go find some experience that is worthwhile.

 

[Starbuck815]

How about a well-backed up answer for a good experience?? haha

That would be good too, hence the "vice versa". 😉

For those who are complaining about volunteering at a hospital: I completely agree. But jeez, stop complaining already and go find some experience that is worthwhile.

Definitely a good idea, the only problem is that where I volunteerred you had to agree to do a certain number of hours/ months for them, so once you commit yourself you're kinda stuck. I could have quit I suppose, but would have felt badly about it. So, the lesson for others is just to make sure you ask beforehand what specifically you will be doing.

 

[Timus]

yes i agree with the people that say doing the menial jobs at the hospital DO help out, but they aren't fun. i know this for a fact, there are many more volunteer opportunities out there that would please you more help society as a whole more than pushing wheel chairs around.

i think some of you were misconstruing what I said. i did type out the original post rather quickly. i'm only an undergraduate but if i was interviewing someone i'd rather see a trend in their interests and passions and see that what they volunteered for is what they actually cared for. if i saw an applicant that volunteered hours upon hours at the hospital i might think he or she was just doing it because "thats what med schools want," not because that he or she actually wanted to volunteer at a hospital.

Dude, why are you so freakin stressed? If you don’t agree with concept of volunteering in hospital, then please don’t do it. This may give someone a chance who actually wants to sincerely help. Lot of times people volunteer in hospitals just to payback their dues to the society, have you ever thought of that?

While on the topic of menial jobs, I do agree that there are a lot of them in hospitals but that is when you need to be pro-active and find interesting stuff. I chose to volunteer in a dept. which was considered to be very "boring" for pre-meds. It just so happened that physicians/nurses/residents in that dept, were awesome and it just made my entire experience so much more fun. They would often tag me along during their consults in other departments, help me read a lot of charts and not to forget the cool procedures they were performing.

So yeah, do you need to volunteer? Nope I wont do it if I dint like it-why should I? Do what you like to do and while you are at it be a constant critic of yourself. Make sure you atleast give a damn about the whole thing. I was once a young man too and nothing in this world could have made me do **** that I dint want to. So I did a lot of other cool "stuff" in my life. When I was mature enough to understand the bigger picture and actually did want to help that is when I chose to do all this. Don't forget you just get one life so live everyday like YOU want to and not like you have to.👍

 

[footballrules]

Yes, it is a waste of time. Yes, in most cases you should probably do it.

Working at the OR might give you the clinical experience necessary for most schools, it might not. All depends on the ADCOM.

Yes, it is a waste of time. The only thing volunteering really shows is that you learned abou the profession. If you really want clinical experience, get an actual job in the clinic where you can get sputum on yourself.

 

[footballrules]

Some people in my class claimed to not have ever done any volunteer work in their lives. I'm sure it made it harder to get in, but I honestly don't know if I should've have wasted the time I did in college volunteering. I got better insights into medicine by shadowing doctors and doing clinically-relevant research. I would spend more time on personal interests and hobbies more than volunteering. However, I would still recommend doing some just so you can say that you did it.

I did some volunteer work at a phone crises line center for a FULL fricken year. It was the most depressing and boring crap that I have ever done (beyond taking Zoology my last semester of college). I had to sit their and listen to life story conversations and acted like I gave a crap. I had to sit their and listen to peoples religous views and had to look like I gave a crap. Close to 99% of the people that I had to help in a crises situation were f'd up families (divorced, dead beat mom or dad) and families with parents that were control freaks.

The dumbest and most pointless thing was this Wikipedia game. How on earth people would want to spend their time with this Wikipedia game is beyond me.