If so, how has volunteering helped you in your decision to become a physician?

[1AO KTG]

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Does anyone have any reasons or specific situations while doing volunteer work? Every time I step into a hospital, I say to myself that, "this is where I want to be and belong". However I hate to say, that most of the times it feels more like an unpaid job I have to withstand until I complete the education to obtain a better one. I like the experience of helping professionals help people and dishing out smiles to patients, but I feel that sounds lame. I'm often told by docs that volunteering isn't enough exposure to medicine at all, while admission staffs seem to worship the concept. In an interview situation how have you guys explained exactly, the significance of volunteering in your pursuit of med school?

 

[flatearth22]

No just another dumb hoop I had to jump through to show adcoms I am a caring person 👎

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Well, I volunteered with my college EMS squad, which was a huge reason that pushed me to pursue medicine. So I'd say that volunteering absolutely helped me decide on medicine. It was this specific experience, though...not volunteering in general. I was a hospital volunteer for a year, did almost nothing useful, and intensely disliked it. I think the key to volunteering is to find something that you're interested in and enjoy doing. Right now I volunteer leading the dinner crew at a homeless shelter, and I love it.

 

[1AO KTG]

Well, I volunteered with my college EMS squad, which was a huge reason that pushed me to pursue medicine. So I'd say that volunteering absolutely helped me decide on medicine. It was this specific experience, though...not volunteering in general. I was a hospital volunteer for a year, did almost nothing useful, and intensely disliked it. I think the key to volunteering is to find something that you're interested in and enjoy doing. Right now I volunteer leading the dinner crew at a homeless shelter, and I love it.

Yeah I guess I need to broaden my ECs a little more. I want to be an EMTb myself but thats just too costly.

 

[bucks2010]

it's generally accepted around here that you won't get to do much as a volunteer. the folks at my place mostly pass out balloons. there is one super gunner that got BLS certified and can transport people. still literally cannot touch a pt though.

I would try and get a job if you want to get more in-depth exposure. if you're PRN you may only need to work as little as 12 hrs every other week to stay active. works great with school and you will likely learn much more than you would as a volunteer.

 

[nysw]

derpderpderpderp

 

[CattL]

Hey if you're worried about getting more exposure and doing some volunteering that is really different, you could consider volunteering overseas? Something like this http://www.realgap.co.uk/malawi-medical-volunteers will give you the chance to see medical care first hand and to make a real difference, plus it will show that you really have gone the extra mile. Added bonus; travel in Africa!

 

[typicalindian]

No, my volunteer experience sucks, its all just running around and making beds / getting beds from different floors to bring into the ER, followed by getting yelled at by the nurses on that floor for stealing their beds and some ****. Shadowing however really got me to confirm my interests in medicine, maybe it was just the doctors I was with but they took their time to explain things to me and let me talk to patients and stuff.

 

[Perrotfish]

Does anyone have any reasons or specific situations while doing volunteer work? Every time I step into a hospital, I say to myself that, "this is where I want to be and belong". However I hate to say, that most of the times it feels more like an unpaid job I have to withstand until I complete the education to obtain a better one. I like the experience of helping professionals help people and dishing out smiles to patients, but I feel that sounds lame. I'm often told by docs that volunteering isn't enough exposure to medicine at all, while admission staffs seem to worship the concept. In an interview situation how have you guys explained exactly, the significance of volunteering in your pursuit of med school?

In an interviewing you'll normally say the volunteering is where you first really connected to human side of medicine, just as shadowing was where you learned to love medicine as a profession. You'll expound, briefly and believably, on how wonderful it felt to touch the hearts of those in crisis in even the smallest of ways, like passing out a ballon on reassuring them on their way to the OR, and how incredible it would feel to make a connection like that as a real doctor. If you threw in some soup kitchen volunteering, or if you were at a public hospital, your volunteering is also a good excuse to talk about how you realized we need better social safety nets, the importance of primary care, and the importance of healing not just medical problems but instead healing whole persons.

In reality, no, this doesn't help all that many people decide on a career. As a general rule anyone putting up with hospital volunteering has already made up their minds. And 9/10 people with good Step 1 scores will run screaming away from any profession that has more than the absolute bare minimum of patient contact, so whatever lessons people are claiming to learn apparently don't stick.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

Volunteering did not motivate and push me to pursue medicine, it was my experience as a CNA, home health and mental health that motivated me. Plus, a big part of it too was shadowing physicians.

I didn't really enjoy the experience I got from hospital volunteering. I did 50 hrs and called it a day.