How many hrs of health-related volunteering have you done in college?

[Yogi Bear]

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This is a poll to determine the # of hrs SDN members have voluntered in health-related settings such as hospitals, clinics, senior citizen centers, where the bulk of the interaction was 'patient contact'.

P.S. - this is 'unpaid' service; so working as an paid emt doesn't count.

 

[BushBaby]

Surprisingly I calculated to having had over 700+ hours of patient contact....starting in my Soph/Junior years of mandatory high school volunteering continuing thru college.I also worked two years as a Certified Nurse's Aide. But I only include post-secondary in my AMCAS file🙁....that's only about 100+ hours <img border="0" alt="[Pity]" title="" src="graemlins/pity.gif" />

 

[Dr. Will]

I racked up over 100 hours during my senior year, when I got serious about going into medicine.

 

[Tobtolip]

Even tho its a small sample, I'm surprised that most people have only ~100 hours. Of course I only have bout 36 or so, but man I thought like everyone on SDN had hours in the 1000's. Course my mentality is that every pre-med out there besides me has a 4.0, is an EMT, joined the Peace Corps at one point in their lives, and have had publications. It depresses me, but then again it also motivates me to do even better so shrug =P

Tob

 

[Medic171]

30 to 60 hours a week every week for the last 3 years.

 

[UCLA2000]

I'm over the 1000 hrs mark...

 

[brandonite]

I have zero. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />

But, I was the primary caregiver within my family for a close family member who passed away from cancer. So, I've spent my fair share of time in hospitals, just not in a volunteer capacity.

 

[Yogi Bear]

Medic171 and UCLA2000:

How do u two manage to volunteer so many hours? 30-60 of volunteering is more than what some people spend working full time jobs. where does your income come from/time for school?

 

[Tobtolip]

I wonder the same, my gah I can barely manage a 20 hour a week job, I couldnt even imagine 30 - 60 hours a week of volunteering. Thats insane! Right now, I'm trying to get a volunteering position, but with work and school I can barely manage a few hours a week. 60 hours, insane!

 

[Doctora Foxy]

I have around 400 hours of volunteer experience, but mostly from the summertime. I only volunteer a few hours a week during the school year.

p.s. This poll refers only to volunteering while in college, right? I don't see how people in school could get so many hours in. Maybe they graduated and volunteered after. If not, good job!

Just to be fair, I should also mention that for one internship, I volunteered 100 hours last summer, but this semester I'm luckily receiving credit for it by writing lots of papers about my experience. So I am getting something selfish out of it.....

 

[jmejia1]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by UCLA2000:
•I'm over the 1000 hrs mark...•••••Damn, 1000+ hours is out of this world. Talk about covering your bases. I here Stanford goes nutz over stuff like this, did you apply there?

 

[Yogi Bear]

•••quote:••• p.s. This poll refers only to volunteering while in college, right? I don't see how people in school could get so many hours in. Maybe they graduated and volunteered after. If not, good job! ••••That's a good question. I probably should have divided the poll into two sections: one for applicants from senior year and one for applicants w/ time off. i guess this poll will be lumping both sets together. In light of the results so far, those who've taken time off to volunteer for a year should really stand out on the # of service hours; they'd be like the top 5-10% of all applicants in extracurricular activities.

 

[Yogi Bear]

bump

 

[UCLA2000]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Med Dude:
•Medic171 and UCLA2000:

How do u two manage to volunteer so many hours? 30-60 of volunteering is more than what some people spend working full time jobs. where does your income come from/time for school?•••••I transferred in from a community college and alot of my classes didn't transfer properly to UCLA. As a result I was in college for over 5 years.

I averaged about 10-12 hours per week of volunteering during the year, and I sometimes volunteered much more over the summer. As a result I ended up with over 1000 hours of volunteer work in college alone (I've been doing volunteer work since junior high).

I financed my education purely on loans. I owe more money than I'd care to remember...but it paid off because I'll be in med school next year.

 

[Forensic Chick]

I understand that this poll is relating to health-related volunteering, however I was curious as to how the adcoms look at other volunteering... I have about 100 hrs of patient contact volunteering - and 6 years (~20 hrs week) in law enforcement volunteering. It is obvious that adcoms would prefer health-related things, but would they discount ~5000 hrs of other volunteer work because it isn't health-related?

Any info is helpful. Thanks.

 

[UCLA2000]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by You Think I'm Sexy:
•I understand that this poll is relating to health-related volunteering, however I was curious as to how the adcoms look at other volunteering... I have about 100 hrs of patient contact volunteering - and 6 years (~20 hrs week) in law enforcement volunteering. It is obvious that adcoms would prefer health-related things, but would they discount ~5000 hrs of other volunteer work because it isn't health-related?

Any info is helpful. Thanks.•••••You volunteer work will count however make sure that you do have some health related stuff too. The whole point of health related volunteer work is to get a feel for the medical field and see if you fit in.

 

[USeF]

None.
the main weakness that pre-med advisors (and pre-meds, with their un-biased knowledge :wink: find is that I have not stepped into a hospital/clinic in a volunteer capacity during my undergrad years.

That said, I did over 300 hrs during my fresh/soph years of 'magnet' high school [center for wellness and medical professions]. I still remember that summer, a time when most are playing super nintendo and at the beach, I was at the VA and the dentist office. After some time doing this, I wanted to explore other avenues of volunteer work. So though I didn't do health-related, I had an abundance of fundraising and exercise/games for people with health complications.

 

[El Jefe]

So how many people with the scant volunteering hours have acceptances? I wonder if adcoms really need 800 hours of volunteering before letting in applicants. Volunteering hours are probably the weakest part of my application too, and I hope it isn't what's been keeping an acceptance out of my grasp.

 

[mpp]

I have very few hours of health-related volunteer (and no medical research) experience and was accepted.

 

[drjo2002]

I've heard adcoms take into account whether or not you have had to work while in school. I've had right about 100 hours of during two summers of volunteering at a hospital, and I've also voluteered at lot at non-health care realted stuff throughout my four years while i've been at school...tutoring grade school kids, humane society, red cross blood drives (kinda health related?...I don't count it as such though), etc...probably several hundred hours total. Also I work 40-60 hrs/wk over summers and 15-30 hrs/ wk over school year (including working for my schools bio department as a TA). I think the whole point is to see time mangagement skills becuase no matter how much voluteering you have it doesn't show you the real picture...also, does shadowing a doc count as exposure to patient care...it definately isn't voluteering but gives you a better perspective on the doctor's role in everything and that would add another 120hrs to my total. So, even with my only 100 hours of health related volunteering I still have a lot of other EC's that count almost as much...at least that is the way I see it...and I have gotten an acceptance already by the way.

 

[Yogi Bear]

bump

 

[SMW]

Also accepted with very few hours of health related volunteer work, and they were all in one quarter when I was doing a required internship for my major. I've never tried to add up the hours until now!! Let's see, probably a little under 300 hours. I had a lot of other EC's, one other volunteer experience, and no research.

Jefe, I thought you got in somewhere (USC?). 😕

 

[bad_hombre]

just wondering...

if i'm teaching primary healthcare issues at community health centers and high schools, does this count as health-related volunteering? it does right?

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by bad_hombre:
•just wondering...

if i'm teaching primary healthcare issues at community health centers and high schools, does this count as health-related volunteering? it does right?•••••yep I would think so!

 

[bad_hombre]

no estaba muy seguro, ya que no tiene nada que ver con hospitales ni clinicas

 

[El Jefe]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by SMW:
•Also accepted with very few hours of health related volunteer work, and they were all in one quarter when I was doing a required internship for my major. I've never tried to add up the hours until now!! Let's see, probably a little under 300 hours. I had a lot of other EC's, one other volunteer experience, and no research.

Jefe, I thought you got in somewhere (USC?). 😕 •••••I posted that the day before I got the acceptance 😀 . Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by bad_hombre:
•no estaba muy seguro, ya que no tiene nada que ver con hospitales ni clinicas•••••then you should still work in a clinic or hospital just to make sure you want to be a doctor--have you applied yet? If you already have, it should still be ok, but I thik med schools want proof you know what ur getting yourself into.

Then again, not all accepted applicants have worked in a clinical setting. And your thing is health-care related so it should be ok.

 

[Yogi Bear]

bump