I recently joined a volunteer program where I spend time with terminal patients in their final moments. It is a great program and has touched me so far...as these people typically have no friends or family. The goal is to make sure they do not die lonely and alone, rather that they have someone there to comfort them in their final moments. My question is a rather minor one- For this program I am "on call" for 48 hours a month..and by on call I mean I need to be there within 10-15 mins or so..so I make sure I am close to the hospital during those hours. In terms of time spent in the patients room I probably spend anywhere from 10-15 hours a month. I'm just a little confused on how to count these hours since I'm on call 48 hrs/month. Thanks
I would put it in AMCAS as 48 hrs/month and then in the little paragraph explain that it's an on call thing and that everytime you are called in you spend and avg of _____ amt time with the pt.
Thanks! Sounds like a good idea to put that then explain the on call thing. The time spent varies greatly; some days on call I've never been called while other days I go there multiple times a day for 2-3 hrs at a time.
AMCAS asks for hours per week. The hours per week will be looked at in light of your other obligations and an over-estimate could raise questions. You might want to call it 3 hours per week. After all, during your call hours you can do as you please as long as you are within a short drive of the hospital and 12 hours per week of activity would seem a bit high. You can explain the constraints of the "on call" time in the explanation section.
Yeah, at the same time I am giving up my 12 hours a week since I do not live a close drive to school or the hospital..so. I'll just count it as 3 hours a week but explain I was on call for 12 like you said to do, thanks!
