how much volunteering? (stupid question)

[Beadle]

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So I'm working on my applications right now, and I'm kind of getting down on myself about my volunteer experiences...or lack there of. I volunteered for a few months at a hospital near my University, but had a miserable time due to the department I was in, the way several nurses treated me, and the fact that I was suffering from an undiagnosed illness at the time and standing up for hours at a time just wasn't the most pleasant experience. ANYWAYS, I didn't stay in the volunteer program as long as I anticipated. I'm volunteering hardcore this summer at an awesome hospital, buuuut I just feel like one semester and one summer isn't quite enough. 🙁

Is there a good "average" adcoms are looking for?

 

[Duchess742]

So I'm working on my applications right now, and I'm kind of getting down on myself about my volunteer experiences...or lack there of. I volunteered for a few months at a hospital near my University, but had a miserable time due to the department I was in, the way several nurses treated me, and the fact that I was suffering from an undiagnosed illness at the time and standing up for hours at a time just wasn't the most pleasant experience. ANYWAYS, I didn't stay in the volunteer program as long as I anticipated. I'm volunteering hardcore this summer at an awesome hospital, buuuut I just feel like one semester and one summer isn't quite enough. 🙁

Is there a good "average" adcoms are looking for?

everybody i've talked to about having a lack of volunteering experience has indicated that it's really a quality-over-quantity matter (or maybe that's just b/c they're trying to make me feel better, lol). if you were on an adcom, wouldn't you rather admit someone who seemed like he/she really learned a lot and became motivated from a few hospital-related experiences over a comparable candidate who boasted "500 hours" of hosp volunteering for the sake of the amount itself? i'm pretty sure that most of the ppl reading your app won't have a specific number of volunteering hours in mind that they expect you to have done or anything.

all the med admissions ppl and applicants i've talked to have said that volunteer experience is, barring extreme exceptions, sort of something to be checked off (based on whether or not the applicant appears to "understand what it's like to be a dr" from it), rather than something that will significantly increase or decrease the quality of the application.

i hope i'm giving you the right info!

 

[MediMama23]

I didn't stay in the volunteer program as long as I anticipated. I'm volunteering hardcore this summer at an awesome hospital, buuuut I just feel like one semester and one summer isn't quite enough. 🙁

Is there a good "average" adcoms are looking for?

This was the pure meat and potatoes of your post. The rest was fluff, wasted time and energy.

But I agree. Quality over quantity. And even if it was the other way around, it's a bit late to be worrying about it, right? You're applying this summer, right? So what more could you possibly do?

 

[Duchess742]

This was the pure meat and potatoes of your post. The rest was fluff, wasted time and energy.

But I agree. Quality over quantity. And even if it was the other way around, it's a bit late to be worrying about it, right? You're applying this summer, right? So what more could you possibly do?

i agree...if you're applying this summer, there's nothing you can do abt it now, so just make the best of it on your application.

btw medimama, i like your avatar 🙂

 

[MediMama23]

i agree...if you're applying this summer, there's nothing you can do abt it now, so just make the best of it on your application.

btw medimama, i like your avatar 🙂

Thanks! It likes you, too. 🙂

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

So I'm working on my applications right now, and I'm kind of getting down on myself about my volunteer experiences...or lack there of. I volunteered for a few months at a hospital near my University, but had a miserable time due to the department I was in, the way several nurses treated me, and the fact that I was suffering from an undiagnosed illness at the time and standing up for hours at a time just wasn't the most pleasant experience. ANYWAYS, I didn't stay in the volunteer program as long as I anticipated. I'm volunteering hardcore this summer at an awesome hospital, buuuut I just feel like one semester and one summer isn't quite enough. 🙁

Is there a good "average" adcoms are looking for?

Just as a note on the "quality over quantity" matter:
I mostly agree, but as a purely anecdotal statement... a colleague of mine interviewed at a medical school whose interviewers went out of their way to complement him on the sheer number of volunteer hours he did (roughly 1000). Perhaps they were being nice, perhaps he was exaggerating, or perhaps it's true and all the people who have 25 hours of shadowing don't want to hear that.

It's something to consider, at the very least. It's also important to note that he did around a thousand hours because he genuinely liked the place and the patients where he volunteered.

 

[MediMama23]

Just as a note on the "quality over quantity" matter:
I mostly agree, but as a purely anecdotal statement... a colleague of mine interviewed at a medical school whose interviewers went out of their way to complement him on the sheer number of volunteer hours he did (roughly 1000). Perhaps they were being nice, perhaps he was exaggerating, or perhaps it's true and all the people who have 25 hours of shadowing don't want to hear that.

It's something to consider, at the very least. It's also important to note that he did around a thousand hours because he genuinely liked the place and the patients where he volunteered.

1000 hours in the premed world doesn't seem a little abnormal to you? I would applaud him, too; I don't know anyone who could hold a candle to him in that regard. The only people I see pulling those types of hours are the old ladies who've retired, got bored, and had nothing else to do with their time.

 

[Duchess742]

Just as a note on the "quality over quantity" matter:
I mostly agree, but as a purely anecdotal statement... a colleague of mine interviewed at a medical school whose interviewers went out of their way to complement him on the sheer number of volunteer hours he did (roughly 1000). Perhaps they were being nice, perhaps he was exaggerating, or perhaps it's true and all the people who have 25 hours of shadowing don't want to hear that.

It's something to consider, at the very least. It's also important to note that he did around a thousand hours because he genuinely liked the place and the patients where he volunteered.

holy freakin crap!! that's like a month and a half of solid volunteering (if you put it all together)! yeah, that much definitely shows dedication to medicine. i was just sayin that you don't necessarily have to have anything like that in order to show your interest in the profession...but if he did, more power to him!

 

[EndSong]

Agree with the aforementioned posts. Quality of quantity. One way to show that is long-term commitment and lots of hours. That being said there's a difference between 500 hours of gift shop work/answering phones and 50 hours in an OR shadowing doctors.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

It's not that hard to rack up 500+ hours volunteering. Just dedicate 4-6 hours every week, say on Friday night, for 2 years and you will not only rack up a lot of hours, you'll be able to see what it's like in a hospital after being there for 2 years as well as strike up many conversations with techs, nurses, pharmacists, and doctors. Then, you will get some insight into what it's like in medicine.

Remember, volunteering shows that you care about giving back to the community (and hopefully you are volunteering to give back to the community, and not so you can put a line on your medical school application). Shadowing is not giving to the community, it is considered something you do for yourself. You also need to shadow doctors as well to get "hard core" views into what it's like to be a doctor, but volunteering gets your feet wet and lets you see all of hospital life.

I've got 620+ volunteer hours at my local hospital after 2 years, and I've enjoyed every hour being there. I've also put in about 117 hours shadowing doctors here and there, but that's much harder to find.

 

[Charles Murphy]

What if you've done 300+ hours as a high school student volunteering in various settings i.e. doctor's office, hospital, etc. ? It seems kind of unfair to have to redo all your hours over again doesn't it? Is there a way to include those previous hours as long as you continue volunteering in college? Does the continued volunteering NEED to be in a clinical setting or can you, for example, work as a medical interpreter/Big Brother Big Sister/soup kitchen?

Thanks for any info.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

What if you've done 300+ hours as a high school student volunteering in various settings i.e. doctor's office, hospital, etc. ? It seems kind of unfair to have to redo all your hours over again doesn't it? Is there a way to include those previous hours as long as you continue volunteering in college? Does the continued volunteering NEED to be in a clinical setting or can you, for example, work as a medical interpreter/Big Brother Big Sister/soup kitchen?

Thanks for any info.

Adcoms, advisors, and med students tell me that it doesn't matter where you volunteer. You need clinical experience AND volunteer experience. They don't have to be combined together, and can be separate. I know several people who work with sick, terminal children at one of the local camps every summer and on some weekends, others volunteer at homeless shelters, and others help out at high schools.

You should volunteer because you enjoy doing it. Find some area that you enjoy doing where you can help others. It doesn't have to be in an ER or even in a hospital.

I would think that you experiences at hospitals in high school would be relevant, but you need to continue to show that you are interested in medicine as you progress through college. I would include your high school hours along with your college hours. But, again it's not the volume of hours necessarily but what the experiences did for you and what you did for the community that counts.

 

[Charles Murphy]

very much agreed. thanks for the clarification, lifetimedoc!

 

[jackieMD2007]

It's not that hard to rack up 500+ hours volunteering. Just dedicate 4-6 hours every week, say on Friday night, for 2 years and you will not only rack up a lot of hours, you'll be able to see what it's like in a hospital after being there for 2 years as well as strike up many conversations with techs, nurses, pharmacists, and doctors. Then, you will get some insight into what it's like in medicine.

Remember, volunteering shows that you care about giving back to the community (and hopefully you are volunteering to give back to the community, and not so you can put a line on your medical school application). Shadowing is not giving to the community, it is considered something you do for yourself. You also need to shadow doctors as well to get "hard core" views into what it's like to be a doctor, but volunteering gets your feet wet and lets you see all of hospital life.

I've got 620+ volunteer hours at my local hospital after 2 years, and I've enjoyed every hour being there. I've also put in about 117 hours shadowing doctors here and there, but that's much harder to find.

I agree with this.

I would have to think that someone who volunteered for a couple of years at a hospital (continuously over the 2 yrs) is demonstrating a few more things besides an interest in the field, such as: reliability, commitment, responsible, deeply cares about giving back to community, etc.

That being said, any amount of volunteering is definitely good. I think that the longer you volunteer, the less people are going to think you did it just to have a "line item" on your AMCAS.

 

[newguy357]

So I'm working on my applications right now, and I'm kind of getting down on myself about my volunteer experiences...or lack there of. I volunteered for a few months at a hospital near my University, but had a miserable time due to the department I was in, the way several nurses treated me, and the fact that I was suffering from an undiagnosed illness at the time and standing up for hours at a time just wasn't the most pleasant experience. ANYWAYS, I didn't stay in the volunteer program as long as I anticipated. I'm volunteering hardcore this summer at an awesome hospital, buuuut I just feel like one semester and one summer isn't quite enough. 🙁

Is there a good "average" adcoms are looking for?

This is sort of like asking "how high should my gpa be?" The question is kind of pointless because adcoms (supposedly) look at the application as a whole. I didn't have much volunteer exp but made up for it in other ways and got acceptances.

To the other guy who said his friend was complimented for 1000 hrs of volunteer exp: just because you receive a compliment on something doesn't mean it's a requirement. If that were the case everyone would need a 35 on the mcat, because it accumulates compliments.

 

[72531]

What if you've done 300+ hours as a high school student volunteering in various settings i.e. doctor's office, hospital, etc. ? It seems kind of unfair to have to redo all your hours over again doesn't it? Is there a way to include those previous hours as long as you continue volunteering in college? Does the continued volunteering NEED to be in a clinical setting or can you, for example, work as a medical interpreter/Big Brother Big Sister/soup kitchen?

Thanks for any info.

"redo" your hours? this isn't a community service requirement. you're supposed to want to!

 

[mac_kin]

I have lots of different types of "clinical" experiences but none were done at hospitals.

If I start volunteering tomorrow, and do not finish my applications until mid july or august 1st, would that be good enough for clinical experience. Of course, I would indicate that I will continue to volunteer at the hospital.

In the month and a half I could probably get in about 25-30 hours.

 

[Duchess742]

I've got 620+ volunteer hours at my local hospital after 2 years, and I've enjoyed every hour being there. I've also put in about 117 hours shadowing doctors here and there, but that's much harder to find.

*hands lifetimedoc a cookie and pats him on the back* 😀

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

1000 hours in the premed world doesn't seem a little abnormal to you? I would applaud him, too; I don't know anyone who could hold a candle to him in that regard. The only people I see pulling those types of hours are the old ladies who've retired, got bored, and had nothing else to do with their time.

1000 sounds a little abnormal to me, yes, but only a little. Most of the people I know have ~500 hours. The guy with 1000 hours knew all four years of college that he wanted to be a physician, so he started freshman year.

A lady I work with at the hospital has volunteered since the 70's. She has something like 50,000 hours with the hospital.

I definitely consider THAT abnormal.

 

[BradenDO]

This was the pure meat and potatoes of your post. The rest was fluff, wasted time and energy.

But I agree. Quality over quantity. And even if it was the other way around, it's a bit late to be worrying about it, right? You're applying this summer, right? So what more could you possibly do?

I've been suggesting that people sign up for Big Brothers Big Sisters... If it's in your area you should give it a try. It's a lot of fun, plus you'll have something other than medically related activities.

 

[riff raff]

until I came to this forum, the notion of volunteering more than a hundred hours was nauseating

With the amount of hours some people log on here... that's great and all, but sometimes ya need to live your life and enjoy college. 👍

 

[Duchess742]

1000 sounds a little abnormal to me, yes, but only a little. Most of the people I know have ~500 hours. The guy with 1000 hours knew all four years of college that he wanted to be a physician, so he started freshman year.

A lady I work with at the hospital has volunteered since the 70's. She has something like 50,000 hours with the hospital.

I definitely consider THAT abnormal.

haha, me too! yeah sort of going along with this post, i think circumstances largely determine what sort of "volunteering experience" you might be expected to have. if you claim in your personal statement that you discovered your love for medicine at the beginning of your senior year, but you note X hours of hosp volunteering dating back to the beginning of your frosh yr, something might seem a bit fishy. also (and i promise i'm not directing this specifically to anyone on this post b/c i think that all of y'all seem like you'll be fantastic applicants 🙂 ), ppl who are somewhat lacking in other areas of their applications might need to have something like more volunteer hours (or whatever shows that they'll be really dedicated to medicine) than someone with a 42 mcat/3.99 gpa.

there are also other circumstances that can affect how much volunteering you were able to do. for e.g. if one of your family members was sick, if you were out of the country and busy with other stuff, if you were on immunosuppressants and asked not to be around the hosp environment until you stopped them, etc. so i guess there's no across-the-board answer as to how many volunteer hours is enough or whatever. just do what you need in order to know that you're supposed to be a doctor 😉

 

[DarkFark]

I would say 50 hours of REAL clinical experience, bare minimum (less selective schools wont care about having so few if you have good numbers-to some its just one more rubber stamp to put on an app. yes, I have volunteered in a hospital.) and preferably at least 200.

Reaching for big numbers can be fun if you really like it, as I did. However, the word on the street is that while volunteering can acquaint one with the hospital, you really wont know what it's like to be a doctor until you are one. Also, no matter how many hours in a hospital you rack up, theres always going to be a health professions non-trad applicant with five times as much as you, so you arent going to be exceptional for piling up 500+.

 

[jojocola]

This is sort of like asking "how high should my gpa be?" The question is kind of pointless because adcoms (supposedly) look at the application as a whole. I didn't have much volunteer exp but made up for it in other ways and got acceptances.

To the other guy who said his friend was complimented for 1000 hrs of volunteer exp: just because you receive a compliment on something doesn't mean it's a requirement. If that were the case everyone would need a 35 on the mcat, because it accumulates compliments.

3+ compliments = guaranteed admission.