First Volunteer Opportunity?

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Hi all,

What kind of volunteer opportunities would be best for a nontraditional student looking to apply for a post-bacc/med school? I don't have any experience volunteering or working in a healthcare setting, but since I'm interested in emergency medicine, I was considering volunteering either in the ED at a major city hospital or as an EMT.

Additionally, when considering volunteer EMT opportunities, what should I look for as far as the service/organization? Since I work for a university in the city, I have the option to volunteer with their EMS, in addition to different suburban services (and possibly the city EMS, but I would have to confirm this).

Happy to answer any questions as well. Thank you! :)

Edit: Please advise if this type of question would be best posted elsewhere!

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Do you have your EMS certification? If yeah that’s a great idea
 
I can't speak to post-bacc but I'm in the middle of applying to medical school. Always remember that anything you do should be in lock step with demonstrating your worthiness of being accepted to medical school. This holds true when considering volunteering opportunities. The particular volunteering you do will need to fit into the broader story of why you should be accepted to medical school over someone else and how you're sure medical school is the right career for you. You will ultimately need to reflect on how this experience provided you with certain perspectives that impacted your decision to pursue medicine when you inevitably write about it on your primary and secondary applications. Additionally, you will want to pursue an opportunity that could lead to a meaningful letter of recommendation.

If you are years away from applying to medical school, then it's important to ask whether you intend for this volunteering to be for a few weeks or for the duration of your pre-med experience. The answer to that question will guide how you address developing the relationship with people that may write you a letter of recommendation while performing the volunteering.

I volunteered in a local ED because it was one of the few places that had hours that fell outside my regular day job. It didn't take very long for me to be given the flexibility to stop in anytime, 24/7. Several years passed before I was ready to apply to medical school but I kept track of my hours and the Volunteer Coordinator wrote an awesome LOR for me when the time came.

Others will tell you to 'get your hands dirty' by volunteering with underprivileged / underserved communities. I did this as well and can tell you it will be more valuable than volunteering in the ED. Not only are you seeing the more difficult but very real aspects of the profession you're signing up for, but nearly every medical school will ask you about your experience with diverse / underserved populations on their secondary application. You should do yourself a favor and look to begin volunteering in these areas as soon as possible.

Having as many insights as you can to support your decision to pursue medicine is paramount, especially for a nontrad. The best thing would be for you to discover this path isn't for you before you're eight years older and $450,000 in debt.
 
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I'm not sure about EMS. Folks with more experience would do a better job answering that. If you work odd hours and not during the day, you could consider a free clinic. At least the ones around here will take EMTs for more involved roles like that of a medical assistant. You could call and ask!

As a nontrad in general, I highly recommend hospice volunteering. I have found it to be very emotionally rewarding work. Additionally, scheduling is flexible because you plan with the patient and family. You will find a mutual time that works and it doesn't necessarily have to be the same week depending on what the request is for.
 
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