Does it matter where you volunteer?

[Elliee]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I always thought that it doesn't matter where you volunteer, just as long as you seem like you are helping out the community in any way, but my friend made me doubtful. Does it matter where I volunteer? Right now, I'm committed to the SPCA, and am planning to volunteer at the hospital later this year. Although I'm enjoying my time at the SPCA, it has nothing to do with the medical field, so I was wondering whether I should focus more on volunteering opportunities that deal with my career interest.

 

[Ismet]

Volunteer wherever it makes you happy to volunteer. A lot of pre-meds think they NEED clinical volunteering. No. You NEED clinical exposure to show that you know what you're getting into, but there are ways to get clinical exposure other than volunteering in a hospital. It's also very beneficial to have some form of volunteering to show altruism, etc. Many people kill two birds with one stone by volunteering in a hospital, but you are by no means limited to only one kind of volunteering. If you really enjoy the SPCA, keep going with that. It's good to show commitment. You can add on volunteering at the hospital, or you can volunteer at a clinic, shadow doctors, work as a scribe, etc in order to get your clinical experience.

 

[Lord Osis]

When your time comes, you will have to report your volunteering experience to your application - clinical and non-clinical separately.
Then you will have to weave a story out of your life experiences, which inevitably include your volunteering experience, to stand out as a good candidate.
Having no non-clinical experience will become a major headache... so you are fine.