Is 150 hours of hospital volunteering enough?

[grindtime1]

Is 150 hours of hospital volunteering enough for let's say an "average" applicant?

Does the average medical student have more than this many hours?

Please don't tell me that there isn't a certain number of hours required.

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[wanderer]

Is 150 hours of hospital volunteering enough for let's say an "average" applicant?

Does the average medical student have more than this many hours?

Please don't tell me that there isn't a certain number of hours required.

It depends on everything else.
Some questions to consider:
Do you have other forms of community service? If so, how much?
Do you have other forms of clinical experience? If so, how much?
Do you stand out in any way?
Are you aiming for the research heavy schools or clinically focused schools?
......

 

[NickNaylor]

You can never have enough.

 

[Web MD]

Some questions to consider:
Do you have other forms of community service? If so, how much?
Do you have other forms of clinical experience? If so, how much?
Do you stand out in any way?
Are you aiming for the research heavy schools or clinically focused schools?
......

Did you put stickers on charts?
Did you refill patients ice cups?
Did you sit at the entrance and point visitors in the right direction?
Did you actually have patient contact or interact with physicians?

 

[familyaerospace]

The more you have, the better you are from what I understand.

Last I checked I had over 150 hours of clinical volunteering (that was a few months ago so I should be approaching 200 now), a few thousand of non-clinical volunteering, 70 hours shadowing, and I'm still going to continue volunteering/shadowing.

 

[grindtime1]

It depends on everything else.
Some questions to consider:
Do you have other forms of community service? If so, how much?
Do you have other forms of clinical experience? If so, how much?
Do you stand out in any way?
Are you aiming for the research heavy schools or clinically focused schools?
......

No I do not have other forms of community service.

No to question #2 and #3.

I'm aiming for clinically focused schools.

 

[apumic]

No I do not have other forms of community service.

No to question #2 and #3.

I'm aiming for clinically focused schools.

Then I'd say 150 hrs clinical volunteering is probably insufficient.

Sure, people get in w/ less but people get in w/ 3.0 GPAs and 25 MCATs too....

Some clinically-focused schools require as many as 500 hrs of clinical experience to be considered competitive w/ clinical experience being defined as having a direct role in the clinical outcome of your patients. Refilling pts' water jugs probably wouldn't qualify there.

For comparison, my own experience involves some 400 hrs of clinical volunteering, 200 hours non-clinical volunteering, 300 hrs research w/ a pub, and 2000 hours of paid clinical experience (including doing admissions assessments, providing treatment w/in my scope of practice, making clinical recommendations, charting/documentation, helping train new volunteers and/or employees, etc.). At the end of the day, it's what you learned from the experience and can, therefore, say in an interview, that matters, not the number of hours you worked/volunteered. The more you worked and the more responsibility for pt care you had, the more likely you'll be to have stories and concrete ideas and opinions to share during an interview (and, quite likely, the higher their quality will be).

 

[glasshalfMD]

Please don't tell me that there isn't a certain number of hours required.

There isn't a certain number of hours required.

Sorry, I just had to do it.

If you don't have other forms of volunteering and experience, you can use all the hours you can get. That said, if you're not applying right now, you have plenty of time to get involved and invested in more. 150 hours at 3 diverse experiences will probably look better than 150 hours at one place - so either get more where you are now, or find something else to supplement. But that's just my $0.02.

 

[theWUbear]

On a related note, I see that people above have tabulated the total amount of hours they have with bench research, clinical volunteering, etc. Does AMCAS just ask for when you did an activity and how many hours per week, or does it ask for these tabulated total hours?

Tldr: Should I tabulate my total hours in each category?

 

[echolalia16]

I think the amount of volunteering hours depends on the individual and of course, the type of volunteering. Ultimately you're supposed to figure out if this is really what you want to do with your life. If after 150 hours of volunteering and whatever else exposure you have to the medical field, you feel like this is still the life for you, then you might be set. Just be sure to convey that you are absolutely certain about your wanting to be in med school for the right reasons once you get your interview.
Volunteer hours aren't similar to MCAT and GPA in that the bigger number you have the better.

For the record, I have about 100 hours of volunteering, although I also do clinical research and that has me floating around a number of different wings in a hospital pretty regularly.

 

[apumic]

On a related note, I see that people above have tabulated the total amount of hours they have with bench research, clinical volunteering, etc. Does AMCAS just ask for when you did an activity and how many hours per week, or does it ask for these tabulated total hours?

Tldr: Should I tabulate my total hours in each category?

hrs/wk and total wks only. when we estimate totals here it's really just to give a summary to the OP. OP asked if 150 hrs was good, so people responded w/ examples of their own number of hours when multiplied out (i.e., 6 mos*4 wks/mo*4 hrs/wk=96 hrs)

 

[theWUbear]

OK, thanks Apumic. And now for the follow up question that has bothered me on college apps, job apps, and surely will bother me on AMCAS:

What do you guys do in the following situation:

The application asks for the hours per week, and the date range you were doing the activity. You did an activity (for instance) 8 hours a week during the semester, and 40 hours a week during breaks. Do you just write 40 hours a week and write the date range? Do you do a weighted average, and perhaps come up with a number like 22.2523 hours/week? Or do you break up the activity in two and write your in-school hours/week first (8), and in the second, write your out-of-school hours/week (40) [this last one most likely a wrong answer for amcas].

 

[apumic]

OK, thanks Apumic. And now for the follow up question that has bothered me on college apps, job apps, and surely will bother me on AMCAS:

What do you guys do in the following situation:

The application asks for the hours per week, and the date range you were doing the activity. You did an activity (for instance) 8 hours a week during the semester, and 40 hours a week during breaks. Do you just write 40 hours a week and write the date range? Do you do a weighted average, and perhaps come up with a number like 22.2523 hours/week? Or do you break up the activity in two and write your in-school hours/week first (8), and in the second, write your out-of-school hours/week (40) [this last one most likely a wrong answer for amcas].

Honestly... it's not that big of a deal. I'd go w/ an estimated weighted average (use 20 or 25 instead of 22.2523...). The exact number of hours doesn't matter that much and is largely unverifiable. Simply give a relatively accurate estimate and move on. Nobody checking it cares that much.

 

[bigman225]

Yes it is. Don't listen to super keeners with 1000k hours of linen stocking and cart pushing. I had thirty and was accepted to several top 10 schools. I also admitted openly in several interviews that I perceived this work to be a complete waste of time. It won't sink you, but your overall chances depend on the total package. Obviously you don't want to run the political campaign that is your AMCAS application with volunteerism as your primary selling point if you haven't done something incredible. Be like the rest of us and don't stand out either way.

 

[JokerMD]

i just tripled what i actually had....just kidding....kinda.....

 

[apumic]

Yes it is. Don't listen to super keeners with 1000k hours of linen stocking and cart pushing. I had thirty and was accepted to several top 10 schools. I also admitted openly in several interviews that I perceived this work to be a complete waste of time. It won't sink you, but your overall chances depend on the total package. Obviously you don't want to run the political campaign that is your AMCAS application with volunteerism as your primary selling point if you haven't done something incredible. Be like the rest of us and don't stand out either way.

I can't imagine anyone doing 1000 hours of cart stocking or linen pushing. I think I'd seriously stab myself with an epi pen in the temple first.... That sounds absolutely awful to me! It's also not really clinical experience. The best experiences are those that actually get you responsibility for pts. Pushing carts around is hardly clinical experience.

 

[Evergrey]

The best experiences are those that actually get you responsibility for pts. Pushing carts around is hardly clinical experience.

Tell me where you get this kind of experience, every hospital or clinic or even free clinic I have heard of (and this is in two different states, mind you) won't let premeds within 100 feet of a patient without tasering them.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Tell me where you get this kind of experience, every hospital or clinic or even free clinic I have heard of (and this is in two different states, mind you) won't let premeds within 100 feet of a patient without tasering them.

Yes, I'd also like to know what hospital gives volunteer premeds (I'm assuming we're still talking about volunteering since that's what the thread is about) responsibility over patients. Heck, the hospital I volunteer at is skeptical of giving even M3s/M4s much responsibility, let alone a premed with no medical training whatsoever. Even at the free clinic I take part in, you can't do much beyond measuring glucose or blood pressure.

 

[pvmed]

.

 

[ChE04]

Yes, I'd also like to know what hospital gives volunteer premeds (I'm assuming we're still talking about volunteering since that's what the thread is about) responsibility over patients. Heck, the hospital I volunteer at is skeptical of giving even M3s/M4s much responsibility, let alone a premed with no medical training whatsoever. Even at the free clinic I take part in, you can't do much beyond measuring glucose or blood pressure.

Once you get 10000 hours of volunteer time you can start admitting patients and taking out appendixes. I can't wait to talk in my interviews about how much of an asset I was to the hospital that I volunteer at. They actually shut down an entire floor when I'm not there. What, you haven't performed CPR on any patients where you volunteer? Huh... well there's always the Caribbean I guess...

 

[FlowRate]

Great, another "you must be a (volunteer) CNA/EMT/RN with a million hours of experience" thread.

150 should be fine. Yes, some schools do literally state that they prefer 500 hours of direct patient care, but IMO that's a little silly in some circumstances.

 

[Hifey]

I had approximately 250 hours of clinical *patient focused* experience and about 300 or so in helping run said program.

In my program we were more than allowed near the patients, but never had any responsibilities over the patient. It was more changing diapers , talking, refilling waters, transporting, feeding, bagging bodies, breaking down charts etc. To some this may be a waste of time, but it helped me get comfortable seeing multiple patients per day, getting to know how a hospital runs, and it really made a much more social/less shy person. I think most premeds (or at least many) volunteer for the right reasons *in addition to wanting to put it on their app*. It really makes no sense to me though when someone who has basically been trained for NOTHING wants more responsibility with patients. If I was the patient, I'd be scared for my life.

anyways, all this to say that you should continue volunteering. If you don't like what you're doing now, go do something different but keep at it. diversify. network. get to know people and medicine.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Once you get 10000 hours of volunteer time you can start admitting patients and taking out appendixes. I can't wait to talk in my interviews about how much of an asset I was to the hospital that I volunteer at. They actually shut down an entire floor when I'm not there. What, you haven't performed CPR on any patients where you volunteer? Huh... well there's always the Caribbean I guess...

Actually, the EM physicians said I could do CPR on the next person who needs it if I'm on shift. Never had another person wheeled in who needed it though (at least when I was around). But I did get to help staple a guy's scalp back on! And by help, I mean I got to hold down the flap while the physician stapled it. Sooo, yea.

 

[cfx]

Some clinically-focused schools require as many as 500 hrs of clinical experience to be considered competitive w/ clinical experience being defined as having a direct role in the clinical outcome of your patients. Refilling pts' water jugs probably wouldn't qualify there.

What schools state that they want this? Remind me not to apply there.

Honestly, though, how can any medical school expect their applicants to have "a direct role in the clinical outcome of patients"? Volunteers don't usually have "patients," and they sure as hell have no real responsibility for their outcome. It seems like they're basically saying they require all students to work full time as something like a med tech before they apply.

I'm not doubting what you're saying, it just seems excessive and silly. I'm curious to know what schools this refers to.

 

[FlowRate]

What schools state that they want this? Remind me not to apply there.

Honestly, though, how can any medical school expect their applicants to have "a direct role in the clinical outcome of patients"? Volunteers don't usually have "patients," and they sure as hell have no real responsibility for their outcome. It seems like they're basically saying they require all students to work full time as something like a med tech before they apply.

I'm not doubting what you're saying, it just seems excessive and silly. I'm curious to know what schools this refers to.

I visited a school earlier this summer and I was literally told exactly this:

"We expect our applicants to have at least 500 hours of direct influence over the well being of others, whether clinically or otherwise."

But this school is known for strongly preferring non-trads, so I'm not sure if there are other schools like that.

 

[cfx]

I visited a school earlier this summer and I was literally told exactly this:

"We expect our applicants to have at least 500 hours of direct influence over the well being of others, whether clinically or otherwise."

But this school is known for strongly preferring non-trads, so I'm not sure if there are other schools like that.

So non-trads aside, what % of premed volunteers would you think actually qualify for this? I would guess very few.

 

[FlowRate]

So non-trads aside, what % of premed volunteers would you think actually qualify for this? I would guess very few.

IMO 80% of premeds will not qualify for this. That's a guesstimation based on other premeds that I know personally (I don't take the internet premeds as seriously). I've met numerous "traditional" premeds who have done the volunteer who doesn't do anything stuff. Some do jobs such as doctor scribing which is really just paid shadowing with some responsibility. Some are EMT's or CNA's, which definitely qualify for what I said, but those applicants are often non-trad or have low stats and try to make up for it by getting an EMT cert (this is obviously not always true, esp. on SDN, where a lot of people got the EMT in HS before being premed).

 

[ownage]

This is SDN. I think everyone freaks everyone out. To be honest, I think 150 is good. get like 25 hours of shadowing with it and ur set.

 

[LizzyM]

I visited a school earlier this summer and I was literally told exactly this:

"We expect our applicants to have at least 500 hours of direct influence over the well being of others, whether clinically or otherwise."

But this school is known for strongly preferring non-trads, so I'm not sure if there are other schools like that.

As I read it "direct influence over the well being of others" could mean working at a camp (for kids of any kind, not just sick or disabled kids), babysitting, nanny or daycare volunteer, homeless shelter, soup kitchen, hospice, visiting elderly shut-ins with or without meal delivery, or nursing home activities volunteer. Also Big Brother/Big Sister or similar "friendship" programs. Heck, you could even stretch it to pizza delivery... that certainly has a direct influence over the well-being of quite a few bachelors who would otherwise starve

You'd get that covered easily in 2 summers... or one summer in a residential camp and a little extra during the school year.

 

[duke12]

thanks LizzyM! I do a lot of work w/ the elderly (delivering medical supplies and grocery shopping for them weekly) and the homeless (getting them groceries) and I also mentor first generation/underpriviliged (don't really like that word) high schoolers that want to go to college. I also do science events throughout the year to promote interest in chemistry and math for middle and elementary school kids. I'll probably have 500 hrs from those programs but most like 200 for hospital work. Does that sound good? And does wheeling around patients/talking to patients count as "improving their well being" I often feel like a friendly face is the kind of medicine people need after they've been rough handled by nurses and doctors all day.

 

[PreMedder]

I can't imagine anyone doing 1000 hours of cart stocking or linen pushing. It's also not really clinical experience. The best experiences are those that actually get you responsibility for pts. Pushing carts around is hardly clinical experience.

Well, what "threshold," so to speak, must someone pass in order for their hospital volunteering to "count" as clinical experience? Talking to pt's? Cleaning bed pans? Changing sheets? Getting food? To me it sounds like you're saying no hospital volunteering position will = clinical experience.

 

[ronaldo23]

Great, another "you must be a (volunteer) CNA/EMT/RN with a million hours of experience" thread.

150 should be fine. Yes, some schools do literally state that they prefer 500 hours of direct patient care, but IMO that's a little silly in some circumstances.

for the record, which schools prefer 500+ hours of service? I better scratch this schools of my list...

 

[FlowRate]

As I read it "direct influence over the well being of others" could mean working at a camp (for kids of any kind, not just sick or disabled kids), babysitting, nanny or daycare volunteer, homeless shelter, soup kitchen, hospice, visiting elderly shut-ins with or without meal delivery, or nursing home activities volunteer. Also Big Brother/Big Sister or similar "friendship" programs. Heck, you could even stretch it to pizza delivery... that certainly has a direct influence over the well-being of quite a few bachelors who would otherwise starve

You'd get that covered easily in 2 summers... or one summer in a residential camp and a little extra during the school year.

Agreed. Most of the people they take have a lot of previous job experience (i.e., in their words, engineers) who would have direct supervision over some folks.

Of course, she also mentioned that those they take straight from undergrad are usually well-off kids who can afford to go on $10k medical mission volunteering trips to Africa for a summer. I frowned at that one... My hopes aren't super high for that school haha.

BTW, love the new avatar.

 

[cfx]

Well, what "threshold," so to speak, must someone pass in order for their hospital volunteering to "count" as clinical experience? Talking to pt's? Cleaning bed pans? Changing sheets? Getting food? To me it sounds like you're saying no hospital volunteering position will = clinical experience.

I would be more inclined to listen to LizzyM's definition of clinical experience (something like "if you're close enough to smell patients, it's clinical). Is the environment clinical? Check. Do you see and come into some contact with patients? Check and check. By definition, this is clinical.

I would think that the only time that hospital volunteering would not count would be working some desk job filing papers the entire time, or anything where you don't really come into contact with patients in a medical setting (i.e., I probably would not define working the cash register in the hospital cafeteria as clinical).

 

[Evergrey]

Oh, and Evergrey is an awesome band. Excellent taste sir!

Thanks! Yeah I love them... what other bands do you like?

 

[wanderer]

You can have good patient interaction even if you're just pushing linen carts and changing beds. No one says you can't talk to the inpatients while you're changing their beds, and in fact at least some hospitals encourage that kind of behavior. As a volunteer "linen-changer" I had plenty of patient interaction, as well as some one to one observation, which I left out of my app because it wasn't part of the job description (and who knows if I'm even qualified to be doing that).

 

[LizzyM]

If you are close enough to smell patients, it is a clinical experience.

A little over a year ago I was hospitalized overnight for surgery (just fine now, thanks for asking) and I was the grateful recipient of a wheelchair ride to the lobby by a young volunteer. My experience gave me some food for thought when it comes to transport as a clinical activity. It may not seem like much but it is an opportunity to:

learn how to properly use equipment. Someday someone may trust you with a endoscope or a CT scanner. Start by learning to operate something simple like the locks on a wheel chair. And learn how to position the wheelchair so that someone who has lost the use of a leg (temporarily) can safely get their butt into the chair.

learn to be mindful of the patient's condition and observant. It shouldn't be difficult to operate a wheelchair without running the patient's broken leg into a wall but it does require power of observation as well as the dexterity and strength to steer the chair.

make small talk. After being stuck in a hospital bed by the door for 24 hours with a roommate who did not speak English, I hankered for a little chitchat. Talk about the weather or the local sports team but find something nice to say in the 3 minutes it takes to get the elevator down to the lobby

put your patient ahead of your own self-interest. Being a doctor does require some self-sacrifice. Get a head start by making little sacrifices for patients. In other words, when the temperature outside is unbearablly cold or hot, don't dump the patient in the lobby, yards away from the curb cut on the sidewalk and hightail it back to the nurses station. That's for wimps!

So now you see how a adcom sees transport It can be a great opportunity to make a difference for patients or it can be something else.

 

[Bojangles85]

If you are close enough to smell patients, it is a clinical experience.

A little over a year ago I was hospitalized overnight for surgery (just fine now, thanks for asking) and I was the grateful recipient of a wheelchair ride to the lobby by a young volunteer. My experience gave me some food for thought when it comes to transport as a clinical activity. It may not seem like much but it is an opportunity to:

learn how to properly use equipment. Someday someone may trust you with a endoscope or a CT scanner. Start by learning to operate something simple like the locks on a wheel chair. And learn how to position the wheelchair so that someone who has lost the use of a leg (temporarily) can safely get their butt into the chair.

learn to be mindful of the patient's condition and observant. It shouldn't be difficult to operate a wheelchair without running the patient's broken leg into a wall but it does require power of observation as well as the dexterity and strength to steer the chair.

make small talk. After being stuck in a hospital bed by the door for 24 hours with a roommate who did not speak English, I hankered for a little chitchat. Talk about the weather or the local sports team but find something nice to say in the 3 minutes it takes to get the elevator down to the lobby

put your patient ahead of your own self-interest. Being a doctor does require some self-sacrifice. Get a head start by making little sacrifices for patients. In other words, when the temperature outside is unbearablly cold or hot, don't dump the patient in the lobby, yards away from the curb cut on the sidewalk and hightail it back to the nurses station. That's for wimps!

So now you see how a adcom sees transport It can be a great opportunity to make a difference for patients or it can be something else.

This. I transport pts, and this is a way I get (I think) clinical experience. I can definitely smell some of the pts. But I have 5-15-30mins with a pt. Small talk is the best thing to do. There is only one good reason to be at the hospital, and the folks I see aren't there for a birth. Small talk works and it is awesome.

 

[PreMedder]

I would be more inclined to listen to LizzyM's definition of clinical experience (something like "if you're close enough to smell patients, it's clinical). Is the environment clinical? Check. Do you see and come into some contact with patients? Check and check. By definition, this is clinical.

I would think that the only time that hospital volunteering would not count would be working some desk job filing papers the entire time, or anything where you don't really come into contact with patients in a medical setting (i.e., I probably would not define working the cash register in the hospital cafeteria as clinical).

Right. I was just contrasting this to apumic's definition that I called into question in my previous post:

Some clinically-focused schools require as many as 500 hrs of clinical experience to be considered competitive w/ clinical experience being defined as having a direct role in the clinical outcome of your patients. Refilling pts' water jugs probably wouldn't qualify there.

since the two aren't the same.

 

[mdeast]

You'll be fine. I think I ended up with just 80 hours of actual, basic hospital volunteering. I did a ton of shadowing and other experiences that weren't volunteering though. As well as community service in related areas that have you interacting with patients in some way.

I got into 2 Top 20 schools, and a bunch of others, so I don't think it matters too much if the rest of your app is good. I even flat out admitted in most interviews that I thought volunteering was usually a waste of time. I got much more out of shadowing and non-clinical volunteer workk than I did working in an ER.

 

[Frozen]

I don't know what magic number gets you a seat at med school, but I can offer this anecdote.

When interviewing, schools did not seem so concerned about how much time I had invested, but rather why I was volunteering.
Was I just padding my CV, or was I actually interested in helping the community?

If you want to show that you have experience in medicine and see it as a career, find a nice family doc to shadow.

 

[MisterVeil]

I've got like 400-500 hours of clinical volunteering as an EMT-B for an ambulance service (although admittedly, 60% of this was probably just waiting around to get a call ), and then I have ~250 hours at a free clinic where they let volunteers (many of whom were pre-med) actually do stuff with patients like taking vitals and getting histories, if they had a medical certification like EMT-B. Still, I spent a good chunk of time here making copies and phone calls.

And finally I have like 30 hours of non-clinical volunteer tutoring.

 

[Rickybobby]

You will know the exact point at which you have reached the perfect amount of "clinical experience." It's the point when you realize you really don't care about other people and a "patient" just means more work. Only then are you truly guaranteed a spot in medical school. And, and, once you finish medical school you will once again reach this point. Believe me, you will, and it will be a great achievement.

 

[apumic]

As I read it "direct influence over the well being of others" could mean working at a camp (for kids of any kind, not just sick or disabled kids), babysitting, nanny or daycare volunteer, homeless shelter, soup kitchen, hospice, visiting elderly shut-ins with or without meal delivery, or nursing home activities volunteer. Also Big Brother/Big Sister or similar "friendship" programs. Heck, you could even stretch it to pizza delivery... that certainly has a direct influence over the well-being of quite a few bachelors who would otherwise starve

You'd get that covered easily in 2 summers... or one summer in a residential camp and a little extra during the school year.

I would absolutely agree with this assessment. One of the schools I looked at had a similar way of defining clinical experience (it was the one I quoted: "A position in which you have at least partial responsibility for the outcome of your patients") and when I asked for clarification from the admissions official, she stated that what they meant was simply that the position needed to involve direct contact with pts and that it needed to involve the applicant's actions having some appreciable impact on the patients' experience. More conversation revealed that students often fulfilled this by being EMTs, CNAs, residential counselors (for camps for kids w/ disabilities, psychosocial issues, etc.), and so on. Something like 80% of this school's successful applicants hold an EMT-B. They consider it practically a prereq to have one (or something equivalent such as a CNA).

 

[wanderer]

I would absolutely agree with this assessment. One of the schools I looked at had a similar way of defining clinical experience (it was the one I quoted: "A position in which you have at least partial responsibility for the outcome of your patients") and when I asked for clarification from the admissions official, she stated that what they meant was simply that the position needed to involve direct contact with pts and that it needed to involve the applicant's actions having some appreciable impact on the patients' experience. More conversation revealed that students often fulfilled this by being EMTs, CNAs, residential counselors (for camps for kids w/ disabilities, psychosocial issues, etc.), and so on. Something like 80% of this school's successful applicants hold an EMT-B. They consider it practically a prereq to have one (or something equivalent such as a CNA).

I hope this school isn't in my list. At least the vast majority of schools are not at all like this.

 

[Narmerguy]

Yes it is. Don't listen to super keeners with 1000k hours of linen stocking and cart pushing. I had thirty and was accepted to several top 10 schools. I also admitted openly in several interviews that I perceived this work to be a complete waste of time. It won't sink you, but your overall chances depend on the total package. Obviously you don't want to run the political campaign that is your AMCAS application with volunteerism as your primary selling point if you haven't done something incredible. Be like the rest of us and don't stand out either way.

I think people get carried away with that stuff (carried away with how much they feel they have to do, not carried away with how much they actually want to do). Just volunteer for a semester or two, see how you like it. If you don't like it, stop and go to a different hospital or maybe just nix clinical volunteering all together (which I what I did. Can't stand it) and do something else that interests you. However, you should still get clinical experience somehow.

As I read it "direct influence over the well being of others" could mean working at a camp (for kids of any kind, not just sick or disabled kids), babysitting, nanny or daycare volunteer, homeless shelter, soup kitchen, hospice, visiting elderly shut-ins with or without meal delivery, or nursing home activities volunteer. Also Big Brother/Big Sister or similar "friendship" programs. Heck, you could even stretch it to pizza delivery... that certainly has a direct influence over the well-being of quite a few bachelors who would otherwise starve

You'd get that covered easily in 2 summers... or one summer in a residential camp and a little extra during the school year.

Yeah this definition is quite inclusive and doesn't even suggest volunteering.

 

[surftheiop]

I would not stress over it so long as you have some other strength to point to.

I feel like so long as you have other strengths to talk about, you will be fine so long as you do enough for them to check off a "clinical experience" box somewhere.

 

[ohgodidonteven]

I am not sure there are enough days left for me to do 250 hours of volunteer service..

 

[Cramster]

I would suppose it would depend on the quality of clinical experience and volunteerism.

I have nearly zero hospital volunteer hours but have over 1000 hours of shadowing and even more clinical experience, research, and teaching. I hope it will compensate... i guess we'll see.

 

[confusedchild]

I'm an accepted applicant to a top 20 school. Yes it is enough as long as you really learned from it and can really talk about during your interviews effectively to really show how it has influenced you and how you've grown from it. In fact medical schools like it if you diversify your volunteering experiences. What I mean is that if you have 500 hours to spend on volunteering, don't do it all at one place. Spread it out to four experiences, which is what I did (at a large hospital, free clinic, OR shadowing, and abroad). I was praised during my interviews for such diverse experiences and fully taking advantage of different environments and opportunities to fully explore the different areas of medicine. For most volunteering jobs, after 100 hours or so at it, I'm pretty sure you get the hang of it and have learned most of what you can from it, move on~

I know I diverged a bit but going back to the OP's question. If it's 150 total hours as in you only have on experience of 150, I think it's okay but not great. But 150 hours at one location is definitely sufficient I think.