Finding Extracurriculars?

[332884]

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Hey, just putting it out there to see if anyone has any ideas on finding extracurriculars outside of school that isn't volunteering at a hospital.

Basically, I decided to go to an out of state pharmacy school for undergrad. The school is pretty small and we don't have any clubs/organizations that I'm interested in.

Starting next year I'm going to be living in New York(state, not city) 'full time,' so I'll be able to commit to volunteer organizations/whatever I feel like joining. I'm going to be doing research, but I feel like I need something more and I don't know where to start.

Thanks, y'all.

 

[lstone13]

Hey, just putting it out there to see if anyone has any ideas on finding extracurriculars outside of school that isn't volunteering at a hospital.

Basically, I decided to go to an out of state pharmacy school for undergrad. The school is pretty small and we don't have any clubs/organizations that I'm interested in.

Starting next year I'm going to be living in New York(state, not city) 'full time,' so I'll be able to commit to volunteer organizations/whatever I feel like joining. I'm going to be doing research, but I feel like I need something more and I don't know where to start.

Thanks, y'all.

Are you looking for medically-related activities, community service, or other types of extracurriculars?

 

[332884]

I'm kind of open to anything - right now I feel like I'm wasting so much time by doing nothing but working (retail) for the summer.

I'm working to create a pre-med club/society with some other students, so all sorts of ideas would be helpful with this as well.

 

[Catalystik]

What you do would depend on the timeframe you have to work with before you will apply. You probably already have some clinical experience due to time you spent at the window counseling pharmacy clients, but you will also need some clinical environment experience dealing one-on-one with sick people. This does not need to be at a hospital. Also consider nursing homes, hospice, VA/family-planning/low-income/private clinics, rehab facility, etc where you'd volunteer time 2-4 hours per week.

Besides this, some regular nonmedical/noncampus volunteering is looked on very highly, examples being soup kitchen, homeless or womens shelter, Humane Society, crisis hotline, Habitat for Humanity.

Additionally, you'll eventually want to get in some physician shadowing of 2-3 docs (I'd aim for a total of 60-80 hours).

Don't feel that working retail is "useless." You gain important problem-solving and interpersonal skills with such a job. Be sure to list it also as past employment when you apply.

If you get the premed club up and running, that would be a good leadership opportunity. You could use such a group of people to accomplish a lot of good. Hands-on help is looked on more highly than fund raising. Consider contacting local places of worship to create a list of seniors who could use help with cleanup/home repair and maintenance (as one example).

 

[MossPoh]

How about doing stuff you enjoy?

Don't look for ECs with the goal of putting it on the application. Look at ECs that interest you and you want to do for personal growth.

 

[Shaq]

here's an idea. why don't you start a club you like? or do you not have the chops for that?

 

[Shaq]

wait sorry, i read that you are actually in the process of starting a club. power to you my friend!

 

[NickNaylor]

How about doing stuff you enjoy?

Don't look for ECs with the goal of putting it on the application. Look at ECs that interest you and you want to do for personal growth.

+1

If you join a club in an attempt to make it look good on your resume, you most likely won't enjoy it and it won't serve the purpose you want it to serve. Get involved with things that you're genuinely interested in and you'll be more likely to experience the enjoyment, growth, and development that comes with them.

 

[peaceandrelease]

+1

If you join a club in an attempt to make it look good on your resume, you most likely won't enjoy it and it won't serve the purpose you want it to serve. Get involved with things that you're genuinely interested in and you'll be more likely to experience the enjoyment, growth, and development that comes with them.

Agreed. Do what you enjoy. The longer the commitment and the more hours you put in, the more impressive the activity looks on paper. Thus, if you love what you're doing, the time will fly. However, if you're doing something you hate (just to put on your resume), you will have a tough time committing to it.

I also suggest pursuing activities that other pre-meds are less likely to pursue. By doing so, you'll be able to stand out from other students and possibly catch the attention of the admission committee members. Doing hospital volunteer work is just "baseline"--I mean, most every pre-med will have volunteered in a hospital at some point or another. Find something that a) you find interesting, b) is unique, and c) showcases your leadership ability.

 

[Bojangles85]

Does your school/whereever have a free clinic? The school I attend, has a med school that runs a free clinic at the local shelter. I volunteer there and get A LOT of real clinic hours. It is awesome. If we are able to, we are able to take pts vitals and go in with med students, while they listen to the pts.

 

[Danlee07]

It's getting annoying...the free clinic lady will not respond!!!!!!!!!! i've emailed 3 times without a response..............

 

[Kuune]

I second doing something that you enjoy that is not medically related. If you have any hobbies, build on them. Turn them from a casual hobby to something more involving.

 

[332884]

Thanks for all the replies, great ideas!

Karate is kind of my EC of choice, I did tae kwon do for years but can't afford to continue (Karate is free through my school 😀!).

Other than that I love video games, but I don't think that's very... I dunno 🙂.

Thanks though, everyone! It was a lot of help.