I need some advice please

[Lifeguard17]

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I am a rising pre-med undergraduate freshman,and I have been doing a good bit of research on medical school admissions. I see that applicants have many hours of clinical and volunteer work, as well as research hours. I would like to get started on volunteer hours and anything else I can do to better my chances at admissions. Can someone fill me in on what is recommended as far as clinical,volunteer,research hours,as well as any other tid bits i would need to know.Thanks so much for any help,it is greatly appreciated.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Clinical volunteering : aim for around 100-150 hours over the course of a year.
Research : aim for a min of 1 semesters worth, however the more you get the better and if you can get a publication it'll be good.
Non- medical volunteering : aim for a good amount.. no real requirement but attempt to seem helpful to your community.
Leadership : spend some time tutoring people and maybe maintaining a position in a club/group.

These are major EC spots you want to hit before applying.

 

[Lifeguard17]

So,i will need 100-150 hours per year over 4 years,or in total?
Also,what is classified as research?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

So,i will need 100-150 hours per year over 4 years,or in total?
Also,what is classified as research?

100-150 years over 1 year( however you can deviate this somewhat, doing 75-75 over 2 years is fine). Research is classified as basically you working with a team (usually headed by a researcher or teacher or through getting a position in a major research institute like NIH) to learn something through experimentation. This can be in the field of biology, psychology, econ.. etc.

Also I forgot to add shadowing. It's recommended you shadow 2 doctors for around 20 hours each and obtain letters of recommendations. If you're interested in applying to DO schools you need to shadow a DO and obtain a letter of recommendation from him/her.

 

[Lifeguard17]

so i will need to complete 100-150 clinical hours over the course of my sophomore and junior years?can i do non clinical volunteer work during my freshman,sophomore,and junior years?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

so i will need to complete 100-150 clinical hours over the course of my sophomore and junior years?can i do non clinical volunteer work during my freshman,sophomore,and junior years?

Do to your hears content and when ever you want. Start tomorrow and do a hour every week for 2 years if you want. Or start next year and do 5 hours every week for a year. It's all up to you. 100-150 is the minimum you want to get, more will not hurt you.

 

[Lifeguard17]

Ok,nice.Also how should I document my hours?is there a specific form I will need?