How many volunteer hours should I have?

[davethebarbarian]

How many volunteer hours should a candidate have roughly for clinical experience and shadowing experience for a competitive candidate? Volunteering at a nursing home, hospice, and hospitals are considered clinical experience correct? I am aiming for at least 200 hours for clinical experience and 80 for shadowing experience.

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[virchow?]

I would say you need at least 5 hours.

 

[piii]

Quality not quantity

 

[Hospitalized]

You should have enough that allows you to elaborate on why/how it confirms your decision to be a physician.

 

[ls2412]

Those are good goals to aim for in terms of hours, but make sure its meaningful. 200 hours won't mean anything if you didn't get something out of it. For example, I had 100 volunteering hours at a hospital and only about 50 or so at hospice, but talked about hospice 5x more in interviews. Just make sure you're getting some real patient contact!