Hate volunteering

[Apparition]

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I really hate volunteering in a hospital. Though it does provide me with some exposure to medical environment, I think it's a waste of time. All I do is bring water to patients, change beds, run to the lab, stock shelves. I am not even helping patients, I'm helping techs do the work they get paid for doing. I realize that I am not qualified to do anything else in a hospital but this whole experience is totally irrelevant. This brings me to a couple of questions. (1) If I take 1-2 months breaks from volunteering, do I have to indicate it on the application? Can I say I volunteered June-December if I took September and October off?
(2) If I hate volunteering in a hospital, does that mean I will not be a good/happy doctor?

Anyone else feel this way?? Thanks.

 

[Biodude]

Apparition, sounds to me like you're in my situation. I do have some advice to give you though, and here it is:

1) I really don't think that it's a big deal to take a month off if you commit to volunteering in the hospital. As for indicating that on your application, you'll have to ask somebody else...I'm not in the application phase yet, sorry! It's mainly to gain clinical exposure, and if you like volunteering in other areas I would say commit to those areas! 🙂

2) I think that volunteering in the hospital isn't all that great for most people, since all we lowly volunteers do is stock shelves, make beds, move patients and clean them up, etc. I think that I must have had it worse than you...have you ever had to clean up after bowel movements? I had to clean up several after a diarhea (sp?) patient well did his thing 😀

I don't see the relevence to medicine, other than exposure to what the medical environment appears to be (nurses, patients, etc.) and I can't really relate my current experiences to what I'll be doing as a full-fledged physician, since I'll be treating patients' illnesses, not stocking up the supply room. Don't worry about the experience making you a worse doctor overall...I sure don't, since it isn't relevant to what I'll be doin' in the future, and I sure don't think that it'll be all that relevant to what you'll be doin' in the future, either.

Besides, I never planned on being a hospitalist anyway. I am actually starting to like outpatient more. The hospital's very depressing for me. But that's going off-topic here...

Here's my advice for making the most out of your experience: during your breaks (or down time due to a slow shift) take the time to be assertive and aggressive regarding getting your information on the profession. I mean, if you are done making beds and find yourself with nothing to do and notice a nurse or doctor that you're workin' around is close by, try and start up a conversation with them. About the profession, about their experiences, about your goals, etc. Show interest. These are some things that I picked up from my pre-med advisor who described two students who volunteered at the hospital for a job that was pretty much carrying samples to and from the lab. One student quit after about a month or two because he felt it was pointless. The other student made the most of her time by being assertive and showing interest around the doctors she worked around...he got rejected from medical schools and she was accepted after explaining her experiences in working with the doctors in her interviews.

Anyway, I hope my advice has helped. Just a shout out to let you know that you aren't alone in your feelings about volunteering in the hospital.

 

[Alcon]

If you hate it, find something else to do. Try helping out with clinical research, etc.

I did most of my volunteering in high school, and have moved on to other things since then. And while not everything I am doing can be considered "clinical experience", I feel (and can explain) that I have become better prepared to be a physician as a result of these activities.

Not to mention the fact that I'm actually HAPPY with what I do, rather than struggling with what I think adcoms want to see.

 

[Adapt]

I've been volunteering in a hospital for about 2 years now. All I do is sit in a room with other volunteers and wait for calls to come from other parts of the hospital to run errands.

Most of my job deals with escorting patients that have been discharged out in wheelchairs. Even though that's all I do, I really like it because I meet interesting people. I talked about it in all my interviews and everyone seemed impressed by it even though that's all I did. Of course I included a few examples of instances where I helped people which flowered it up a bit.

Anyways, I say find something you like to do. I was put up on some dumb floor where I didn't do much and I didn't like it so I changed to what I do now. As long as you show committment and like what you do it shouldn't matter. I was accepted so obviously it didn't.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

Volunteer on a First Aid squad.

Plenty of exposure and experience

 

[bella_dottoressa]

Yup agreed. I did a year of hospital volunt and it sucked. I mean, I dreaded going every week...not severe dread but dread nonetheless 🙂
I'm volunteering at a suicide prevention hotline now and i adore it. yeah, it isn't clinical but it's volunteer work and it's a little more unique. i also spent some time volunteering at a free clinic and it was way, way better than the hospital setup. hospice is another great option. if you are really dreading the setup you're in i wouldn't waste your time with it for very very long. how excited are you going to seem at interviews about the three years you spent doing something you despised every week? there are definately ways around hospital volunteering i think...do volunteering in other places where you can have a more active role but still get some good clinical exposure by another means, whether that be by doing some extensive shadowing or taking a summer or an evening or two a week for a semester to get EMT certified or something along those lines. i don't know, just my $0.02 🙂

 

[Rose122]

One med school admissoins dean told me that hospital volunteer experience is worthless.

1. He said you don't really do anything and you don't learn anything more than if you sat in a waiting room.

2. Worse, many people get fradulant letters from family friends or other doctors that know them saying they did work that anyone in the medical profession knows that they didn't so then they know you have no ethical standards and poor character.

 

[bigbaubdi]

Originally posted by Slickness
Most of my job deals with escorting patients that have been discharged out in wheelchairs. Even though that's all I do, I really like it because I meet interesting people.

I agree with you 100%. I have been doing patient transport for about a year and if I wanted to, I could make it meaningless by just taking the patient in a chair/stretcher and dropping him/her off wherever and not say a word but I always try to strike up a conversation with the patients that I am taking. I usually ask them about what they think about the hospital, their doctors and their opinions about the health care system. When I have downtime, I am usually talking to nurses or techs about their perspectives on health care.

Unless you are stuck filing or doing paperwork, hospital experience (like everything else) can be what you make of it.

 

[calebho501]

If you speak a foreign language fluently, see if your local hospital needs interpreters!

Try Shadowing a doctor (I never did it myself though)!

Do stuff like Free Clinic and Hotlines, they don't necessarily have hospital setting, but they have better patient interactions in general.

 

[Sonya]

1. No reason not to indicate it on AMCAS. stay honest. For the actual dates in AMCAS, you can ommit the break. but, in the description add a note about the true dates. Just keep you amcas application honest. (if it was a few weeks, i would totally ignore it, but a few months, you should).

2. Nope. I doubt it. b/c as a physician, you will have more responsibilities.

here are my suggestions:
Find medical volunteer position where you actually get to see interesting stuff. (shadow maybe?)

volunteer outside medicine... shelters, domestic violence agenicies (this was an ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT EXPERIENCE if you are female and can find it in your area), crisis hotlines, tutoring, mentoring, big brother/big sister...

also, the best thing i found while volunteering in the ER was not the reward of bringing water. Talk to the patients, try and make them feel more comfortable. ask physiicans is you can observer procedures they do. you *NEED*!! to be active and take initiative to make a volunteer position good. I didn't, i was extremely bored volunteering in the ER, and stopped after a year. I really wished I stopped earlier.

If you can at all find it, it could be an excellent volunteer position to help with clinical studies(if you can get patient exposure). This could be in ER, psych centers of other parts of the hospital. For instance, they let me interview the patients for their studies.

 

[premed1218]

Join the Clinical Care Extender Program!!!! It was AWESOME experience. I woke up every day at 6 in the morning to go to my shift in the OR. Aside from my duties (ie. transporting patients, lab speciemens, preping, etc.), I spent most of my time watching and learning about surgeries. The surgeons and anesthesiologists there really were enthusiastic when it came to showing us what they were doing. It was so COOL standing next to the ortho surgeons with pieces of bone flying everywhere during a total hip. In another procedure, I got to touch the femoral artery. If you don't like your volunteering program that you are in, then I advise you guys to find some other program that you may enjoy. Volunteers have different types of responsibilities and interactions depending on the hospitals or even the department you may be volunteering in. Definitely do some research and it may be one of the most rewarding experiences, besides being something that you have to do as a premed.

 

[gschl1234]

Originally posted by Apparition
I really hate volunteering in a hospital. Though it does provide me with some exposure to medical environment, I think it's a waste of time. All I do is bring water to patients, change beds, run to the lab, stock shelves. I am not even helping patients, I'm helping techs do the work they get paid for doing. I realize that I am not qualified to do anything else in a hospital but this whole experience is totally irrelevant. This brings me to a couple of questions. (1) If I take 1-2 months breaks from volunteering, do I have to indicate it on the application? Can I say I volunteered June-December if I took September and October off?
(2) If I hate volunteering in a hospital, does that mean I will not be a good/happy doctor?

Anyone else feel this way?? Thanks.

I love volunteering at the hospital. Remember that there are many different facets in whcih clinically untrained volunteers can contribute. Why not talk with your volunteer director about it. Maybe she/he can put you into a volunteering position more suitable for you. Also, consider getting some clinical training so that you can actually work part-time at the hospital. I have quite a few friends who are techs etc...

 

[jlee9531]

I LOVE volunteering at the hospital...

i hear about all these stories over and over again about being nothing but stock boys and stuff....

im surprised...because i have done nothing but interact directly with patients and help on the emotional part of being ill and in a hospital environment. I wouldnt trade this experience for anything and I know it has solidified my drive to go into medicine.

now if you go to a place that doesnt allow you much interaction well then you might have not done your hw to find out what you would exactly be doing beforehand. go find a place that allows you more interaction. a hospice, a childrens hospital, ER volunteer etc...

and if you dread doing it. do something else. nothing is worse than being at a place that you hate being at. your attitude might not be as hidden as you think.

sorry i just had to give my pro-volunteering stance 😉

 

[dan0909]

Originally posted by bigbaubdi
I always try to strike up a conversation with the patients that I am taking. I usually ask them about what they think about the hospital, their doctors and their opinions about the health care system. When I have downtime, I am usually talking to nurses or techs about their perspectives on health care.

haha...aCCEPted


actually, that is a very good attitude to have

 

[medstylee]

I have not done any hospital volunteer work and because of that, I was a bit worried about my application. However, both of the doctors who have interviewed me so far told me that they think volunteering at a hospital is definitely not essential. In fact, one of them seemed to think that my observing at a hearing clinic and tutoring a learning disabled boy were far more worthwhile than providing any sort of menial help at a hospital ER.

 

[spaz]

i've had both good and bad experiences volunteering at hospitals.

good: one summer i shadowed docs full-time at a program at a nearby hospital. it was great cuz we got to see all the different departments/specialties, and also what it's like to be a resident and go to morning report at 7 am, etc. although it was mostly observing, we got to see so much it was always interesting. and it was fun interacting with docs and patients. you'd think i'd be sick of the hospital after spending almost my entire summer there, but when the program ended, i actually missed it.

bad: volunteering at an outpatient peds clinic for another program that was sposed to be semi-observational. i would drive an hr or more in LA traffic to get there and the docs didn't really have me do anything. observing is cool, but you can only do so much of it. i felt like i was wasting my time - i'd rather be doing something instead of just watching all the time. when it gets to the point where you dread going, it's not worth it.

good: volunteering through child life/development services at ucla. as other ucla premeds know, you have to do 80 hrs of patient escort before you can volunteer at the hospital. but for child life/developement you don't have to. and child life is fun! it's all about interacting with the patients - no meaningless tasks!

just cuz you hate your volunteer experience now does not mean that you won't be a good doctor. as long as you realize that being a doctor will involve a lot of not-so-fun tasks e.g. charts, phone calls, etc.

my most meaningful volunteer experience has been non-medical. obviously we can only do so much when we volunteer at hospitals since we're not rn's or md's. but volunteering with a student-run service org was fantastic. it's all about your input and translating your ideas into action and helping people who really need it (not doing someone else's job).

 

[Biodude]

Originally posted by premed1218
Join the Clinical Care Extender Program!!!! It was AWESOME experience. I woke up every day at 6 in the morning to go to my shift in the OR. Aside from my duties (ie. transporting patients, lab speciemens, preping, etc.), I spent most of my time watching and learning about surgeries. The surgeons and anesthesiologists there really were enthusiastic when it came to showing us what they were doing. It was so COOL standing next to the ortho surgeons with pieces of bone flying everywhere during a total hip. In another procedure, I got to touch the femoral artery. If you don't like your volunteering program that you are in, then I advise you guys to find some other program that you may enjoy. Volunteers have different types of responsibilities and interactions depending on the hospitals or even the department you may be volunteering in. Definitely do some research and it may be one of the most rewarding experiences, besides being something that you have to do as a premed.

I thought the Clinical Care Extender Program was limited to hospitals in southern CA? By the way, which hospital are you working at? I'm doing my thing at HOAG myself

 

[Sonya]

Originally posted by medstylee
I have not done any hospital volunteer work and because of that, I was a bit worried about my application. However, both of the doctors who have interviewed me so far told me that they think volunteering at a hospital is definitely not essential. In fact, one of them seemed to think that my observing at a hearing clinic and tutoring a learning disabled boy were far more worthwhile than providing any sort of menial help at a hospital ER.

I don't think volunteering is neccesary. I think some sort of clinical exposure is neccesary. Those sound like excellent exposures.

sonya

 

[FowlersGap]

biodude; and anyone else in socal
i'd check out SOS: share our selves
its a free clinic in costa mesa and it serves the underserved-people with no insurance
its free medical care and volunters run the show; you start off with the front desk and help make charts, but its not as clerical as it sounds; we have to ask patients questions and you get a lot of interaction that way and will meet a lot of interesting people
then you can move on to taking vitals,
the best part is that they train you
there's an orientation meeting tomorrow if you're interested; just look up SOS on google for the number, etc.
i really used to hate patient escort and waiting around for patients as well but this experience really confirmed my desire for med school and the best part is i look forward to going each time...really!
with new privacy laws its getting harder and harder to volunteer and interact with patients if you're not a professional but this org really goes out of its way to give volunteers some really good experience

 

[slatermd]

I hate volunteering too. It does not fill my heart with joy. It is seriously something I do just because I have to, and I've had a variety of volunteering experiences (out in the field in Mexico, in an outpt/in pt setting, in a classroom). I always need a stiff drink afterward.

Maybe after you convert to seventh-day-adventist in order to get into med school you'll change your mind.

In the meantime, keep on with the epic bumps. Last person who did that consistently got banned within a day.

 

[slatermd]

Thanks for the heads up, but I was going to start the exact same thread, and this one came up in the search function so I thought that beat starting a new one.

Haha, in that case you did choose the better option.

And for what it's worth, I really didn't like my volunteer experience for the first few weeks. I'm still lukewarm on the menial busywork, but I have grown to really like the people I work with, and I do get some patient contact.

Plus I now shadow a surgeon that I met while volunteering, which makes even the annoying stuff worthwhile.

 

[Geneticist]

8 year bump...

Is that a record? The original posters are probably either doctors or residents by now...

 

[Barcu]

I hate volunteering too. It does not fill my heart with joy. It is seriously something I do just because I have to, and I've had a variety of volunteering experiences (out in the field in Mexico, in an outpt/in pt setting, in a classroom). I always need a stiff drink afterward.

So you hate volunteering, refuse to do research, and you are willing to convert (aka lie to adcoms at a US med school) just so you can go to school in Cali...

🙄

But to actually address the issue of this thread, if you hate volunteering in a hospital (like I did), find other med-related volunteering. I found a low-income clinic that let me do MA stuff. That was fun.

 

[UpQuark]

I agree with you 100%. I have been doing patient transport for about a year and if I wanted to, I could make it meaningless by just taking the patient in a chair/stretcher and dropping him/her off wherever and not say a word but I always try to strike up a conversation with the patients that I am taking. I usually ask them about what they think about the hospital, their doctors and their opinions about the health care system. When I have downtime, I am usually talking to nurses or techs about their perspectives on health care.

Unless you are stuck filing or doing paperwork, hospital experience (like everything else) can be what you make of it.

Exactly what I do.

 

[SOcash]

8 year bump...

Is that a record? The original posters are probably either doctors or residents by now...

That or garbagemen.

 

[G Darn Pissed]

I would think that there is something a little "off" about anyone under the age of 60 telling me they enjoy volunteering in a hospital

 

[Torr]

I really hate volunteering in a hospital. Though it does provide me with some exposure to medical environment, I think it's a waste of time. All I do is bring water to patients, change beds, run to the lab, stock shelves. I am not even helping patients, I'm helping techs do the work they get paid for doing. I realize that I am not qualified to do anything else in a hospital but this whole experience is totally irrelevant. This brings me to a couple of questions. (1) If I take 1-2 months breaks from volunteering, do I have to indicate it on the application? Can I say I volunteered June-December if I took September and October off?
(2) If I hate volunteering in a hospital, does that mean I will not be a good/happy doctor?

Anyone else feel this way?? Thanks.

I usually read through other replies but I'm too tired to so hope I'm not too redundant 😀.

I know it sucks but don't leave or take a break if you don't have anything else to do. If it's so horrible its sucking the life out of you then yes you should just leave completely. Look for something else to do while you work and then just quit when you've got that plan B lined up.

Also, when you're just starting out you don't have much of a resume or references so that's what this first(?) volunteer experience can be. Make a good impression and don't drag your feet too much.

I don't think this says much about whether you'll enjoy being a doc. You're just not challenged right now. I hate being under-utilized as well.

 

[Torr]

8 year bump...

Is that a record? The original posters are probably either doctors or residents by now...

Dude, I used my last bit of energy giving advice to no one 🙁.

I feel violated.

 

[Buttermellow]

In the meantime, keep on with the epic bumps. Last person who did that consistently got banned within a day.

Banned for bumping old threads?