How much do/did you volunteer?

[actioncat]

Hi everyone. I'm starting my first ever volunteer position in january (yay!) in the community hospital near my university. I'm planning on doing 4-6 hours a week for 6+ months (that's their minimum commitement, so lets hope for more )
So, if you're currently a pre-med, how much do you volunteer weekly/monthly/etc, and if you're beyond pre-med how much did you do?
(Just curious)

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Biochemistry69]

Prepare to see some rockstars ITT. Lots of posters on this site are significantly above average in the volunteering department. I was surprised to see that many accepted med students have between 100-150 hours. Going off this site, I assumed you needed at least 300 to be somewhat competitive.

I have 250 clinical hours right now spread between two hospitals. I'm also currently doing meals on wheels. I plan on stopping whenever I feel like it. I volunteer between 3-5 hours a week.

 

[MareNostrummm]

I graduated back in 2014, so including my volunteering hours from during undergrad till now at least about 800-900 hours. Usually volunteer 2-6 hours a week.

 

[calivianya]

Currently doing 4 hours/week of clinical volunteering; am picking up two different community service volunteering positions that will hopefully net me 6-10 hours/week there as well.

Only have ~120 clinical volunteering hours so far, and virtually no community service. It hasn't been doing me any favors in the application process.

 

[de Ribas]

Hi everyone. I'm starting my first ever volunteer position in january (yay!) in the community hospital near my university. I'm planning on doing 4-6 hours a week for 6+ months (that's their minimum commitement, so lets hope for more )
So, if you're currently a pre-med, how much do you volunteer weekly/monthly/etc, and if you're beyond pre-med how much did you do?
(Just curious)

Did 4-6 hours per week in a hospital + work as CNA. 1000+ now. 1000's of non-clinical volunteering hours.

 

[Piglet2020]

Only 100h and accepted

 

[chemdoctor]

I do about 2-5 hours per week volunteering in hospice. I also do other things on the side such as soup kitchen, Alzheimer's patient volunteering and volunteering with orphans. I don't know how many I have thus far though. Been doing it since around the end of summer time.

 

[Planes2Doc]

If I remember correctly, it was around 320ish hours of consistent verifiable emergency department volunteer hours when I applied. I did sporadic non-clinical volunteering through photography, which I still do to this day whenever I have time.

It's sad that the spirit of what volunteering should be has been ruined by the pre-med process. Volunteering should not be about helping yourself, but instead, should be about helping others. It's been years since I've been a member on this site, and I am still waiting for a pre-med to ask not how many hours they need for their application, but instead ask how they can help more people.

Off my soapbox... You should at least have 200 hours of consistent verifiable hours. You preferably want an activity that will be continued once you apply via AMCAS so it won't smell like box-checking. Clinical volunteering is the best bang for your buck since it kills multiple birds with one stone, but it's good to have non-clinical volunteering alongside it. Non-clinical volunteering is nice since you can tailor it to your interests and actually write and speak passionately about it.

 

[HomeSkool]

I volunteered full-time for two years South America. Learned the language, are the food. It was hard work, but I had a buddy with me the whole time.