Is it okay to have no "volunteering"

[TheBiologist]

So I have no volunteering, neither medical related nor generic.

My only real EC's are shadowing over breaks (3 different doctors for a total of 60 hours), research my junior/senior year (biochemistry - about 200 hours, planning on doing another 200 senior year) and a near full time job my freshman year of college (35 hours/week).

I did absolutely nothing application worthy my sophomore year.

My GPA is a 3.67 and my MCAT is 517. Engineering major at top 25 ugrad

I know some people who have "500 hours" of volunteering/clinical and over 100 hours of shadowing; will my lacking on medical related stuff and volunteer work hurt me or am I busy enough?

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[NonTrad16]

I had ~100 hours of clinical volunteering and was called out for failure to show commitment to the community through non-clinical volunteering. I have a lower GPA/MCAT but more research/other experience. Maybe the higher stats will help? Not exactly the best position to be in, regardless. Reapplying over here...

Good luck!

 

[PB&Jam]

Medical schools like to see medical experience. How else do you know that medicine is for you, besides experiencing it firsthand? It can come from work, volunteering, shadowing, etc. but it has to be there.

Secondly, med schools do like volunteering specifically, because it demonstrates a desire to care for others, regardless of benefit to yourself. This is basically what medicine is. The vast majority of successful applicants to medical school will have volunteering, both clinical and non-clinical (though clinical is the priority).

I 100% understand how you feel, though. Before this past winter, I had zero clinical volunteering. I just found a bunch of hospitals and nursing homes near me that had volunteer applications, and filled out all of them. Now, I have a volunteering position I love at a hospital nearby, and the experience has 100% solidified my decision to go into medicine.

Tl;dr clinical volunteering is the most important thing for you to get right now. Best of luck!

 

[bananafish94]

Your stats are very impressive but you need volunteering.

 

[JavaLatette]

not ok

 

[Donald Kimball]

So I have no volunteering, neither medical related nor generic.

My only real EC's are shadowing over breaks (3 different doctors for a total of 60 hours), research my junior/senior year (biochemistry - about 200 hours, planning on doing another 200 senior year) and a near full time job my freshman year of college (35 hours/week).

I did absolutely nothing application worthy my sophomore year.

My GPA is a 3.67 and my MCAT is 517. Engineering major at top 25 ugrad

I know some people who have "500 hours" of volunteering/clinical and over 100 hours of shadowing; will my lacking on medical related stuff and volunteer work hurt me or am I busy enough?

Yes. Without a doubt you need more volunteering. It's a bull**** metric, but everyone else you're competing against is doing it, and they're also massively inflating (i.e. lying) their hours too.

I was in a similar position as you for the 2013? cycle, with good GPA and MCAT, but minimal volunteering. 11 interviews. 1 waitlist acceptance. The schools that were open to rejection review cited my lack of volunteering/clinical experience and lamented that I didn't show a "commitment to medicine."

 

[DocJuan]

I guess check out the MSAR data and apply to schools with the lowest percentages of incoming students with volunteer experience. All your answers should be there.

If a school has like 95% volunteer experience or their mission is service to the community, the odds are probably against you.

 

[sanfran256]

I only had 100 hours of volunteering when I applied. I had good stats like yours/ other good ECs.

5 II --> 1 acceptance off waitlist

I think if I had more volunteering my cycle would have gone a bit better, but luckily it all worked out in the end

 

[peenut_butter]

I had ~100 hours of clinical volunteering and was called out for failure to show commitment to the community through non-clinical volunteering. I have a lower GPA/MCAT but more research/other experience. Maybe the higher stats will help? Not exactly the best position to be in, regardless. Reapplying over here...

Good luck!

Are you saying you applied with 100 hours of clinical volunteering and 0 hours of non-clinical volunteering?

 

[peenut_butter]

Yes. Without a doubt you need more volunteering. It's a bull**** metric, but everyone else you're competing against is doing it, and they're also massively inflating (i.e. lying) their hours too.

I was in a similar position as you for the 2013? cycle, with good GPA and MCAT, but minimal volunteering. 11 interviews. 1 waitlist acceptance. The schools that were open to rejection review cited my lack of volunteering/clinical experience and lamented that I didn't show a "commitment to medicine."

What clinical experiences did you have / how many hours?

 

[MareNostrummm]

I only had 100 hours of volunteering when I applied. I had good stats like yours/ other good ECs.

5 II --> 1 acceptance off waitlist

I think if I had more volunteering my cycle would have gone a bit better, but luckily it all worked out in the end

What were your stats if you don't mind me asking?

I know several people with 3.7+ GPAs and 35 MCAT who didn't get in off waitlists, cited for low volunteer and clinical experience hours

 

[AccessoryNavicular]

I think more than anything schools want to see that you've spent your time productively. I anticipate you will still get interviews but I would work on padding your app while you apply


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[Goro]

What are you going to say when asked how you know you are suited for a life of caring for the sick and suffering? “That you just know”? Imagine how that will go over!


Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.


Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

So I have no volunteering, neither medical related nor generic.

My only real EC's are shadowing over breaks (3 different doctors for a total of 60 hours), research my junior/senior year (biochemistry - about 200 hours, planning on doing another 200 senior year) and a near full time job my freshman year of college (35 hours/week).

I did absolutely nothing application worthy my sophomore year.

My GPA is a 3.67 and my MCAT is 517. Engineering major at top 25 ugrad

I know some people who have "500 hours" of volunteering/clinical and over 100 hours of shadowing; will my lacking on medical related stuff and volunteer work hurt me or am I busy enough?

 

[freak7]

they're also massively inflating (i.e. lying) their hours too.

The cool part about

What are you going to say when asked how you know you are suited for a life of caring for the sick and suffering? “That you just know”? Imagine how that will go over!


Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.


Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

Man, it would've been nice to grow up with a person like @Goro in my corner...

 

[sanfran256]

What were your stats if you don't mind me asking?

I know several people with 3.7+ GPAs and 35 MCAT who didn't get in off waitlists, cited for low volunteer and clinical experience hours

3.9, 515 mcat

 

[Catalystik]

So I have no volunteering, neither medical related nor generic.

My only real EC's are shadowing over breaks (3 different doctors for a total of 60 hours), research my junior/senior year (biochemistry - about 200 hours, planning on doing another 200 senior year) and a near full time job my freshman year of college (35 hours/week).

I did absolutely nothing application worthy my sophomore year.

My GPA is a 3.67 and my MCAT is 517. Engineering major at top 25 ugrad

I know some people who have "500 hours" of volunteering/clinical and over 100 hours of shadowing; will my lacking on medical related stuff and volunteer work hurt me or am I busy enough?

Some get by without "volunteering," because they had jobs or research that required interaction with current patients and refrained from applying to med schools with an expectation of demonstrated humanitarian interest.

 

[ace_inhibitor111]

Without volunteering you have hardly any material to write your application. Your PS, activities section and secondaries all depend on non-academic factors. I wish I had known how much easier it would have been to write if I had taken a summer abroad or gotten some leadership positions in college.

 

[Donald Kimball]

The cool part about


Man, it would've been nice to grow up with a person like @Goro in my corner...

@Goro makes the analogy that you shouldn't apply to medical school (or even be admitted!) without "test driving the car." Do you need 50,000 miles under your belt to know if a car is right for you? Do you really need 1,000 hours of volunteering or clinical experience to know if medicine is for you? I don't think so, and my experience in medical school has only affirmed this belief.

Sadly, that's the way the med school application process works, and you've got to play the game.

 

[Goro]

I didn't engage in such hyperbole, did I?

150 hrs of patient contact experience should suffice. But I have noticed a trend that acceptees to Top Schools have a lot more that that.

@Goro makes the analogy that you shouldn't apply to medical school (or even be admitted!) without "test driving the car." Do you need 50,000 miles under your belt to know if a car is right for you? Do you really need 1,000 hours of volunteering or clinical experience to know if medicine is for you? I don't think so, and my experience in medical school has only affirmed this belief.

Sadly, that's the way the med school application process works, and you've got to play the game.

 

[Doctor-S]

Volunteering is important and you do not have any volunteering experience at this time. As other posters have suggested, it's time to add "volunteering" to your cv.

Right now, you probably don't truly appreciate *what* you might be getting yourself into - as an aspiring MD. How could you?

Medicine is often portrayed as a glamorous, exciting and heroic profession in movies, magazines, and television shows ... but your career as an aspiring MD won't be conveniently "scripted" for you - especially when a patient presents with projectile vomiting and you're standing in front of their face. Sound glamorous? Real life is not the same thing as passive shadowing ... and you're not going to get your clothing covered in blood, or foul-smelling feces on your shoes, or vomit in your face when you're passively shadowing ... well, at least you should NOT in a typical shadowing stint.

As an undergraduate, I volunteered in EM, neurology, radiology, oncology, orthopedics ... not for 1000 hours, but for enough hours to be able to speak intelligently and thoughtfully as a volunteer (and not as an expert). I also volunteered at a perpetually overcrowded and understaffed city animal shelter. Although volunteering was time-consuming and often hectic, it also provided me with plenty of doses of real life (and I hadn't really experienced a lot of real life, after graduating from the protective cocoon of a small high school). Fortunately, volunteering provided me with many "real" opportunities to experience curiosity, enthusiasm, joy, and motivation, as well as the exquisite pangs of self-doubt, anxiety, helplessness and disappointment.

Here is the good news: you should look forward to being a volunteer ... before actually "talking the talk AND walking the walk" for the rest of your life as a professional who is responsible for the care of others who will depend on YOU. Volunteering will allow you to get a sense of "what" you might be getting yourself into, and "what" you might be expected to anticipate (or to "do") as an aspiring professional.

Volunteering made a meaningful difference in my life, as well as helping to shape my future choices - and yes - I was questioned about my volunteering experiences during interviews. To their credit, the interviewers wanted real life evidence that I was prepared to choose this type of life for myself. Now that you're thinking about it out loud, it's probably time for you to begin volunteering, too. It doesn't have to be a zillion hours ... you get the idea ... no worries.

Thank you.

 

[Jalby]

You need to prove that you actually know what being a doctor is and that you want to do it. So, yes, you do need some form of medical experience to be considered. It would be a huge mark against you if you didn't. There is probably some place that you can find where you volunteer for a week or two 8 to 5 PM. That will get you in a MUCH better medical school if you do it.

 

[piii]

Shadowing is the most insignificant EC you can acquire. My GF had maybe 10 hours of shadowing? Got into multiple top 20s. It's important to have, when considering the whole application, but it is not an EC to be proud of. Given that, you may as well say you only have 200 hours of research. Which is nothing. If this is all you have, I'd be seriously concerned. You don't have any other clubs, hobbies, significant activities??

 

[freak7]

Shadowing is the most insignificant EC you can acquire. My GF had maybe 10 hours of shadowing? Got into multiple top 20s. It's important to have, when considering the whole application, but it is not an EC to be proud of. Given that, you may as well say you only have 200 hours of research. Which is nothing. If this is all you have, I'd be seriously concerned. You don't have any other clubs, hobbies, significant activities??

My state school rejected me for not enough shadowing hours

n=1 as usual

 

[Lost In Transcription]

Yes. Without a doubt you need more volunteering. It's a bull**** metric, but everyone else you're competing against is doing it, and they're also massively inflating (i.e. lying) their hours too.

I was in a similar position as you for the 2013? cycle, with good GPA and MCAT, but minimal volunteering. 11 interviews. 1 waitlist acceptance. The schools that were open to rejection review cited my lack of volunteering/clinical experience and lamented that I didn't show a "commitment to medicine."

Service is not "bull****". If you genuinely feel it's just for the app or the piece of paper, you're going to have a rude awakening as a physician...your whole career is service!

 

[deleted647690]

Does volunteering have to be something where you directly help people? What about other kinds of volunteering?

 

[mitch8017]

Does volunteering have to be something where you directly help people? What about other kinds of volunteering?

I would say in the scope of medicine that yes, something where you are interacting with real people that are getting some sort of benefit from your service would be much better. Volunteering to clean out the ditches along your local highway once a month is fine and dandy, but in the scope of medical school and what other posters have made it sound like in this post alone, it is much better to have that human contact. Whether it is assisting with something in the special olympics, tutoring and playing with young children in an after school program, or anything of that nature it will strengthen your ability to interact with a "patient" like figure, in some cases. Imagine you wanna go into pediatrics, then it would be beneficial for you to tutor some young kids and learn how to interact and level with them while trying to help them out. And if you wanna get into medical volunteering, at least try and get something where you can push a wheelchair around or walk into a patients room and take an inventory of their belongings rather than just making beds and separating out industrial sized boxes of hospital bracelets. Just think about the actual impact of your actions on another human being and how you can share your experiences with an adcom.

 

[Catalystik]

1) Does volunteering have to be something where you directly help people?
2) What about other kinds of volunteering?

1) No, but at many schools you get bonus points for helping those in need, and moreso if you are face to face with those people.
2) You can help animals, the environment, build houses, raise funds, etc.

 

[markovchn123]

Definitely volunteer more man, if you were applying to MD/PhD programs then you would be fine but MDs look more for volunteering and clinical experience

 

[LizzyM]

Why do you want to be a physician? If part of the answer is to help people, show me that you have a track record of helping people. If part of the answer is that you like science, show me that you have engaged in scientific inquiry (research) or otherwise been engaged in scientific pursuits (clinical lab services). If you have no interest in helping people, be honest about that in your application and don't worry about having any evidence in your application of having helped people in need. Adcoms will decide whether you are a good fit for their school.

 

[echidna001]

So I have no volunteering, neither medical related nor generic.

My only real EC's are shadowing over breaks (3 different doctors for a total of 60 hours), research my junior/senior year (biochemistry - about 200 hours, planning on doing another 200 senior year) and a near full time job my freshman year of college (35 hours/week).

I know some people who have "500 hours" of volunteering/clinical and over 100 hours of shadowing; will my lacking on medical related stuff and volunteer work hurt me or am I busy enough?

Echoing the opinions above, I highly recommend more clinical experience/vounteering before you apply. Not just to improve your application, but also to have a solid idea of what you're getting yourself into. Like you, I majored in engineering. Between working part/full time, research and school, I accumulated zero hours of clinical experience and volunteering. I took several years off, spending nearly 4,000 hours scribing to get a better feel for the career. I cannot say enough regarding how much this experience helped me, not only to know some of the good/bad/ugly sides of medicine but also to show some awareness during interviews (my clinical experience was the focus of all my interviews, my years of research and publication were a side note if they were even mentioned at all). I know multiple people that were dead set on medicine, started scribing and quickly decided to pursue finance, computer science, a PhD...

Now, I hardly had any clinical volunteering on my application. I did have a decent amount of volunteering with a local environmental agency (a personal passion of mine). Despite that deficiency, I was still was accepted to all three schools I interviewed with. I wouldn't approach this with a "checking boxes" mentality, rather pursue your interests and things will fall into place. You need more clinical experience, but get this in a way that interests you. You need volunteering hours, but pursue something you're going to be really passionate about in the interview. Don't get too caught up in the "500 hours of volunteering or 100 hours of shadowing" others have. Be unique. Be you. And write your own story. But somehow, get the experience to back up "why medicine". Why not a PhD? With a PhD, your research could potentially have a positive impact on thousands, millions. Why do you want to be the one at the bedside? And what have you done to show that?

 

[Mad Jack]

Service is not "bull****". If you genuinely feel it's just for the app or the piece of paper, you're going to have a rude awakening as a physician...your whole career is service!

It feels like bull**** for those of us that already worked in a service career but had to volunteer to fill the box. I intend to do a lot of volunteering as a physician, but I didn't have a lot of time with all of my work, school, and MCAT requirements. I found the time eventually, but it was a bit of a chore.

 

[Danny L]

Comment to save

 

[LizzyM]

I am always reminded of a certain frequent poster of a few years ago. He was adamant about not volunteering as he did not want to give his services for free and he was busy and helping others was inconvenient. He matriculated to a medical school and lasted less than one year. He's now in school to become an accountant.

 

[Azete]

Zero volunteer work will cross you off the list at way too many schools to not do it. Get 100 hours of volunteering (of any kind), and 100 hours of clinical experience (you already have 60), and that'll be enough to not get you auto rejected anywhere. I only had 80 hours of clinical experience (with 1200+ hours of non-clinical volunteering), and it's the one thing I really regret. The school I matriculated to even made me get another 20 hours as a condition of my acceptance.

That said, I'd say at least half of my peers do not have a deep desire to help people -- despite convincing the school otherwise. For me, I genuinely entered medical school altruistically, but the touchy-feely stuff faded pretty damn early, which really made me feel like a bad person. I just enjoy the patient interactions a lot less than I thought I would. I'd never quit though, there are still so many aspects of medicine that I love (I've really developed a passion for radiology), and there are plenty of career options that do not involve direct patient contact (including a lot of interesting non-residency paths).

 

[InvestingDoc]

I didn't have any health care volunteering on my record when I applied. I did have other volunteering that I was a part of though

 

[leonardoson]

Yes. Without a doubt you need more volunteering. It's a bull**** metric, but everyone else you're competing against is doing it, and they're also massively inflating (i.e. lying) their hours too.

I was in a similar position as you for the 2013? cycle, with good GPA and MCAT, but minimal volunteering. 11 interviews. 1 waitlist acceptance. The schools that were open to rejection review cited my lack of volunteering/clinical experience and lamented that I didn't show a "commitment to medicine."

I never thought about this, but i guess it makes sense considering there's probably no verification of the hours.

 

[MareNostrummm]

Echoing the opinions above, I highly recommend more clinical experience/vounteering before you apply. Not just to improve your application, but also to have a solid idea of what you're getting yourself into. Like you, I majored in engineering. Between working part/full time, research and school, I accumulated zero hours of clinical experience and volunteering. I took several years off, spending nearly 4,000 hours scribing to get a better feel for the career. I cannot say enough regarding how much this experience helped me, not only to know some of the good/bad/ugly sides of medicine but also to show some awareness during interviews (my clinical experience was the focus of all my interviews, my years of research and publication were a side note if they were even mentioned at all). I know multiple people that were dead set on medicine, started scribing and quickly decided to pursue finance, computer science, a PhD...

Now, I hardly had any clinical volunteering on my application. I did have a decent amount of volunteering with a local environmental agency (a personal passion of mine). Despite that deficiency, I was still was accepted to all three schools I interviewed with. I wouldn't approach this with a "checking boxes" mentality, rather pursue your interests and things will fall into place. You need more clinical experience, but get this in a way that interests you. You need volunteering hours, but pursue something you're going to be really passionate about in the interview. Don't get too caught up in the "500 hours of volunteering or 100 hours of shadowing" others have. Be unique. Be you. And write your own story. But somehow, get the experience to back up "why medicine". Why not a PhD? With a PhD, your research could potentially have a positive impact on thousands, millions. Why do you want to be the one at the bedside? And what have you done to show that?

Did your scribing hours cover all of your shadowing requirements? I just started scribing in the ED and I'm not sure whether or not I should shadow family medicine to have my bases covered.

 

[Lawpy]

So I have no volunteering, neither medical related nor generic.

My only real EC's are shadowing over breaks (3 different doctors for a total of 60 hours), research my junior/senior year (biochemistry - about 200 hours, planning on doing another 200 senior year) and a near full time job my freshman year of college (35 hours/week).

I did absolutely nothing application worthy my sophomore year.

My GPA is a 3.67 and my MCAT is 517. Engineering major at top 25 ugrad

I know some people who have "500 hours" of volunteering/clinical and over 100 hours of shadowing; will my lacking on medical related stuff and volunteer work hurt me or am I busy enough?

So as you can tell, the unanimous consensus from adcoms and faculty such as @Goro @LizzyM @gonnif @Catalystik @Doctor-S illustrates the importance of volunteerism. However, do not treat these requirements as hoops to jump through. A true passion and interest for these activities will help you a lot in the long term, both professionally and personally.

Oh and LizzyM, the guy in your example is still remembered when another regular user is using his avatar! Gone but not forgotten

 

[Espressso]

How can you show medical school's that you are truly passionate about living a life of complete service, without an adequate amount of volunteering?

 

[ChrisMack390]

@Goro makes the analogy that you shouldn't apply to medical school (or even be admitted!) without "test driving the car." Do you need 50,000 miles under your belt to know if a car is right for you? Do you really need 1,000 hours of volunteering or clinical experience to know if medicine is for you? I don't think so, and my experience in medical school has only affirmed this belief.

Sadly, that's the way the med school application process works, and you've got to play the game.

No one really said that. One of my most killer secondary essays (if I may say so myself...) is written about an experience I only spent 60 hours doing. Still, without that experience, I would have no clue WTF to write the "challenge" type prompts about.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

It feels like bull**** for those of us that already worked in a service career but had to volunteer to fill the box. I intend to do a lot of volunteering as a physician, but I didn't have a lot of time with all of my work, school, and MCAT requirements. I found the time eventually, but it was a bit of a chore.

That...would definitely be much more bull**** haha. That's bizarre.

Were you military?

 

[echidna001]

Did your scribing hours cover all of your shadowing requirements? I just started scribing in the ED and I'm not sure whether or not I should shadow family medicine to have my bases covered.

Under the strict definition of shadowing, I had 8 hours with a family physician. Honestly, SDN had made me super paranoid at the time about not having any real shadowing and I just wanted to put something under the header in the application. In retrospect, I was checking boxes and I really don't think it mattered. In my opinion, scribing is better than shadowing. This is particularly true in an ER since you see a little bit of everything (neuro, cardio, ortho, urology, GI, psych, heme/onc) and get exposure to the "social work" side of medicine.

In many ways, you are basically getting paid to shadow. Meanwhile, you're also learning medical terminology/abbreviations, how to write a HPI/ROS, how to use an EMR, various physical exam findings and what they mean, lab/radiology studies (a basic understanding of when to order what and what certain results mean), how to work alongside physicians/nursing staff/techs, and how "the system" works (not only just understanding how a hospital works, but also seeing the benefits and severe short comings of a career in medicine and the current system we operate in). Additionally, you're also showing responsibility and that you can work unusual/long hours (I highly doubt you'd ever shadow someone 6p to 6a).

Now, if you're strongly interested in family medicine, I would shadow someone in family medicine to show your interest and of course, to make sure you are in fact interested. Especially if you're applying to schools that are mission driven in family care since they'll want to see that commitment.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Yes. Without a doubt you need more volunteering. It's a bull**** metric, but everyone else you're competing against is doing it, and they're also massively inflating (i.e. lying) their hours too.

I was in a similar position as you for the 2013? cycle, with good GPA and MCAT, but minimal volunteering. 11 interviews. 1 waitlist acceptance. The schools that were open to rejection review cited my lack of volunteering/clinical experience and lamented that I didn't show a "commitment to medicine."

Exactly how much volunteering did you have?

 

[Mad Jack]

That...would definitely be much more bull**** haha. That's bizarre.

Were you military?

I had a clinical career with pretty extensive service to the public as a part of it. I just got paid for it, so I guess that doesn't count. Because spending 3 days straight in the hospital with 3 hours of sleep per day during a disaster or volunteering to do bat**** insane lifesaving pediatric transports or staying three hours past your shift because one of your patients is so unstable that they require 1:1 care and you're too understaffed for anyone else to do it or providing asthma education services to the underserved doesn't matter as much as folding blankets in the ED or doling out soup in a kitchen.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

I had a clinical career with pretty extensive service to the public as a part of it. I just got paid for it, so I guess that doesn't count. Because spending 3 days straight in the hospital with 3 hours of sleep per day during a disaster or volunteering to do bat**** insane lifesaving pediatric transports or staying three hours past your shift because one of your patients is so unstable that they require 1:1 care and you're too understaffed for anyone else to do it or providing asthma education services to the underserved doesn't matter as much as folding blankets in the ED or doling out soup in a kitchen.

WHAT

HOW WOULD THAT NOT COUNT. IT IS EVEN CLINICAL.

Did you have 0 volunteering hours from before that career...?

 

[Mad Jack]

WHAT

HOW WOULD THAT NOT COUNT. IT IS EVEN CLINICAL.

Did you have 0 volunteering hours from before that career...?

But I was getting paid. So it wasn't volunteering. God forbid I get paid to help people, ya know.

As to volunteering before that, it wouldn't be relevant- no one is like, "yeah, I volunteered like, five years after the 90s were over."

 

[Lost In Transcription]

But I was getting paid. So it wasn't volunteering. God forbid I get paid to help people, ya know.

As to volunteering before that, it wouldn't be relevant- no one is like, "yeah, I volunteered like, five years after the 90s were over."

Oy

 

[Goro]

If one has paid patient contact experience, then I feel one can skip that aspect of volunteering. Non-clinical volunteering is still important. Combat medics or Navy corpsmen get passes on both in my book.

One more thing: people who have a checkbox mentality towards these things usually show it in interviews, to their detriment.

But I was getting paid. So it wasn't volunteering. God forbid I get paid to help people, ya know.

As to volunteering before that, it wouldn't be relevant- no one is like, "yeah, I volunteered like, five years after the 90s were over."

 

[LizzyM]

The idea is that even if you have a paying job in a service profession that you should be the kind of person who goes above and beyond in service to the community. This can be involvement in Scouting, community service groups, advocacy for patient groups. Anything you've done after HS graduation if fair game. It can be clinical or non-clinical.

 

[Mad Jack]

I mean, I got my volunteering in. But it was in a project that I actually cared about and could make a difference in, because I just don't much give a damn about a spending an hour doing something that is less useful to society than my one hour at work would have been. Like, why spend four hours working at a food kitchen when I could spend those four hours saving lives while earning money I could give to the food kitchen instead. They always needed money far more than workers, and four hours of my pay could feed three dozen families for an evening. I'm big on donating my money, but time- well, it has to be an activity where I'm actually making enough of a difference for it to be worth the sacrifice of both the money I would have earned and the good I could have done at my day job. Such opportunities are hard to find, but I did eventually find one helping to operate the supply side of medical missions to Africa and South America.

I guess one could say I've got a utilitarian view on volunteering- one should do the math and not just blindly give their time.