is there such thing as TOO MANY volunteer hours?

[Trance Ninja]

If you start getting above a certain number of volunteer hours at a hostpital, do the admissions people just start thinking youre crazy?

Seriously I have so much time on my hands and I enjoy volunteering.

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[coffeebythelake]

how many hours do you have?

 

[Projectx]

Not really, if you enjoy volunteering it's a good sign because it shows that you enjoy the clinical setting. There would only be a problem if your gpa was like a 2.0 but you still spent multitude of hours volunteering instead of improving your gpa. Just maybe try to toss in a few hours of research to show that you are diverse.

Good Luck.

 

[Trance Ninja]

I have about 150 hours of non-medical volunteer hours. This includes stuff like volunteering with special olypics (I really enjoy that, and have done it every week for a LONG time) to helping with a couple of my old high schools fund raisers.

I called one of the local hospitals today and they said they would send me a volunteer packet in the mail. I know I should log some hours volunteering there, but if it starts getting into the 3-400 range... does that start getting a little freaky?

I just dont like sitting there juggling my balls you know?

 

[spicedmanna]

I think among the many, many things that an applicant could worry about, I don't think having too many volunteer hours would be worth your worry. As long as your hours were meaningful and you can talk/write about what you learned from volunteering, I think it can only benefit you. That is, unless there is something I don't know about your situation...

There are people who have logged even more hours than you. Having many volunteer hours doesn't raise red flags. However, make sure you do get some clinical experience in all the volunteering you are doing. Admissions committees seem to place a lot of importance in applicants having had some healthcare/clinical exposure.

 

[Trance Ninja]

oh and how would I get some research in? Im almost sure that I will be able to shadow my girlfriends dad this summer some because he is the head of (I think) a pulmonology clinic.

 

[Trance Ninja]

I think among the many, many things that an applicant could worry about, I don't think having too many volunteer hours would be worth your worry. As long as your hours were meaningful and you can talk/write about what you learned from volunteering, I think it can only benefit you. That is, unless there is something I don't know about your situation...

nothing really to know about my situation besides I work part time, go to school, work out daily, volunteer when I can, and somehow find time for a steady girlfriend and muay thai and jiu jitsu.

special olympics kids can really teach you a lot btw👍

 

[Projectx]

oh and how would I get some research in? Im almost sure that I will be able to shadow my girlfriends dad this summer some because he is the head of (I think) a pulmonology clinic.

You can get research done via multiple ways:

1) Ask one of your professors
2) Ask your pre-med advisor
3) Ask the doctors that you worked along with in your volunteering experiences
4) There are a few summer programs that allow you to do some research, google is your best friend for this option.

These are just a few, good luck.

 

[spicedmanna]

oh and how would I get some research in? Im almost sure that I will be able to shadow my girlfriends dad this summer some because he is the head of (I think) a pulmonology clinic.

Shadowing a doctor is definitely good. I would most certainly pursue that. If that pulmonologist is the head of the clinic, perhaps he has associates/colleagues who perform clinical research? You could ask him about research possibilities.

 

[shnjb]

I hope you're not serious.
Are you serious?
Seriously.

Too many volunteer hours?

 

[szhao]

i just want to know how people get 2000+ volunteer hours, so i can do the same

 

[shanndro]

i have about 1700 hours. I'm a volunteer EMT for my city, atleast one 12 hour shift a week for over 2 years. thats how 🙂

And no, there isn't such a thing as too many hours. All of my interviewers were impressed with my commitment and sacrifice, as well as all my hands on medical experience and cool EMS stories

 

[notdeadyet]

I know I should log some hours volunteering there, but if it starts getting into the 3-400 range... does that start getting a little freaky?

400 hours is volunteering four hours a week for two years. That doesn't sound like all that much to me...

 

[future_dr_house]

i just want to know how people get 2000+ volunteer hours, so i can do the same

sorry szhao, i was one of those who put 2000+ hours on there. pulling your chain on that one bud

 

[soeagerun2or]

I know I should log some hours volunteering there, but if it starts getting into the 3-400 range... does that start getting a little freaky?

Over a 4 year college career ~400 hours is average for the matriculating medical student.

 

[Anastasis]

i just want to know how people get 2000+ volunteer hours, so i can do the same

A year volunteering abroad + Volunteering in the states in a clinical setting = 2000+ hours


There ya go.

 

[63768]

I hope you're not serious.
Are you serious?
Seriously.

Too many volunteer hours?

wrd. no such thing as long as volunteering isn't prioritized over coursework.

 

[8744]

Hi.

I just used a "tally stick." Every time I held a dead African baby, before I picked up the next one I woud cut a notch into the stick. Pick up baby, look concerned, put down baby, notch stick, repeat. It's all about quantity, not quality.

My interviewer seemed concerned about my lack of a certain amount of volunteer hours. I threw a small bundle of well-notched tally sticks on his desk. And then for good measure piled on a large bundle of clothing odds-and-ends that I had taken as trophies from all those bums at the soup kitchen.

"Waddya' call all this stuff?" I asked good-naturedly, "Chopped liver?"

"Hey, I also volunteered at an STD clinic but that stuff is in plastic bags in the trunk of my car."

Medical school admissions is fraught with pitfalls. You have to be smart and you have to plan ahead.

Sincerely,

P. Bear, MD
Emergency Medicine Resident
Slipping Through the Cracks

 

[Davjc2009]

You can search for REU(research experience for undergraduates, or something like that) programs over the summer. See if there's any in your area. They're a summer long, they set you up with a stipend. Pretty good if you enjoy that sort of thing.

 

[Karina 07]

sorry szhao, i was one of those who put 2000+ hours on there. pulling your chain on that one bud

I reckon I probably had over that. 20 hours a week, say 30 weeks a year, 4 years = 2400 hours. Although it's hard to say how many hours a week, really. Except for the terms in which I got paid and thus logged hours 😛, dunno if you want to count that as "volunteering".

Heck, if you wanted to volunteer *every* week, 10 hrs a week throughout undergrad would get you over 2,000 hrs 😛.

 

[med2007]

I started free clinic volunteering early--at leat 8 hours per week throughout undergrad. This is really the best way to do it. It does not have to be that many hours but whatever it is, make it a consistent part of your life. Med schools really emphasize showing 'motivation' over time not just number of hours acumulated. Good luck! 🙂

 

[LifetimeDoc]

I started volunteering at the hospital in town to see what it was really like in a health-care setting. At the time I was considering going into nursing or maybe working as a PA. The more I learned about healthcare, the more I wanted to know and then realized that I wanted to be come a physician (a prior goal of mine). and that it was still possible.

I guess spending 3 years at a hospital allows you to rack up hundreds of hours, 750+ in my case, as well as 125+ hours in physician shadowing at various hospitals. I have had a varied collection of experiences that have exposed me to many aspects, both good and bad, about the health-care system and the jobs of those involved with it. Just because you spend lots of hours doesn't necessarily correlate to the quality of the experience, but IMHO it would get the attention of ADCOMs where they would want to ask you more detailed questions in an interview. I would think that the length of time, such as spending several years volunteering at a hospital would hold more weight than the number of hours. In the end, you'll need to be able to relate those experiences to the ADCOM as it pertains to your desire and knowledge of medicine.