Hospital Volunteering

[Fortiores]

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Hello all, had a quick question about volunteering and shadowing.

I was wondering, do DPT schools generally want to see some hospital volunteering with an applicant? Or do they strictly want Physical Therapy shadowing and observation hours?

I've been volunteering at USC Keck Hospital for about 2 months, because I figured it can only make my application look better. Of course I will also do Physical Therapy shadowing.

In short: Am I wasting my time? Do DPT schools view hospital volunteer hours as irrelevant, or just 'fluff', or do they value general hospital volunteering and consider it relevant, and beneficial for an applicant to have it in conjunction with PT shadowing?

I'm just starting out at the university level, majoring in Kinesiology, so it will be sometime until I apply to DPT schools. So I would love any advice from ex-students or experienced people that would like to advise me on any aspect of the path to DPT schools! 🙂

I appreciate any advice and information; thank you for your time!

 

[nicolej5]

Hello all, had a quick question about volunteering and shadowing.

I was wondering, do DPT schools generally want to see some hospital volunteering with an applicant? Or do they strictly want Physical Therapy shadowing and observation hours?

I've been volunteering at USC Keck Hospital for about 2 months, because I figured it can only make my application look better. Of course I will also do Physical Therapy shadowing.

In short: Am I wasting my time? Do DPT schools view hospital volunteer hours as irrelevant, or just 'fluff', or do they value general hospital volunteering and consider it relevant, and beneficial for an applicant to have it in conjunction with PT shadowing?

I'm just starting out at the university level, majoring in Kinesiology, so it will be sometime until I apply to DPT schools. So I would love any advice from ex-students or experienced people that would like to advise me on any aspect of the path to DPT schools! 🙂

I appreciate any advice and information; thank you for your time!

If you were applying this next cycle I'd say forget about it, but because you're barely starting undergrad I say go for it. I volunteered in a hospital in three different departments and there are things to be learned there that can be relevant. It's good to experience other health care professions because it also gives you a basis for the inevitable "why pt instead of doctor, pharmacist, ot, rn, etc." You have plenty of time to get pt hours.

 

[Fortiores]

If you were applying this next cycle I'd say forget about it, but because you're barely starting undergrad I say go for it. I volunteered in a hospital in three different departments and there are things to be learned there that can be relevant. It's good to experience other health care professions because it also gives you a basis for the inevitable "why pt instead of doctor, pharmacist, ot, rn, etc." You have plenty of time to get pt hours.

Thanks for the reply.

I understand that it will give me a better understanding of the health care field as a whole, but I'm assuming that you are saying that the volunteer hours won't mean much to DPT schools?

 

[nicolej5]

Thanks for the reply.

I understand that it will give me a better understanding of the health care field as a whole, but I'm assuming that you are saying that the volunteer hours won't mean much to DPT schools?

It's always good to have extracurriculars in things other than pt. It shows good diversity. So, yes it will look good to schools. Will that single handily put you over the edge versus another applicant? Maybe, maybe not. In an extremely competitive application process, anything to make you stand out (in a good way) is great.

 

[Fortiores]

It's always good to have extracurriculars in things other than pt. It shows good diversity. So, yes it will look good to schools. Will that single handily put you over the edge versus another applicant? Maybe, maybe not. In an extremely competitive application process, anything to make you stand out (in a good way) is great.

It seems like its very difficult to shadow a PT or to get observation hours. I have tried for months, but just can't find or get one. Is it common for people to walk into private PT clinics and ask to observe?

 

[NewTestament]

I pretty much just walked into places and asked for an application. You'll have to contact 10 clinics before you find one to observe in. It seems to be getting harder and harder.

Yes definitely get experience in the hospital. It's hard to find opportunities in the hospital. Stay there for awhile. Get experience in the orthopedic section, the PAC-U, maybe even the emergency room. That'll expose you to multiple settings in the health care field.

Most schools don't require observation hours in inpatient/acute care, but it will definitely enhance your application. Applicants who have experience only in outpatient clinics usually get denied.

Kevin

 

[okramango]

General hospital volunteering will fall under the extracurricular activity portion of your application. It's a good experience to get you exposed to health care in general and will look good on the application in that sense. You might even decide to discuss your experiences there in your interviews or essays, if that might make you stand out. It doesn't fall in the same category as PT observation, though. You'll still need to get your PT observation hours done in a variety of settings for your application.

 

[Fortiores]

I really appreciate all the advice guys, thanks for reply.