Is this non-clinical volunteering good enough?

[the phenol countdown]

Hey all,

I just had a question regarding non-clinical volunteering, and after cruising the threads on here I couldn't really get a great answer so I figured I'd just ask.

Without getting too far in the weeds, I'm an assistant coach for my former high school's cross country teams (both girls and guys). I've got close to 350 hours so far as I've been assisting in a limited capacity (maybe 20-30 hours) since my graduation from college (2016), but this year I've racked up a ton of hours since formally becoming a coach from leading practice nearly every morning this summer, creating workouts, educating on nutrition etc etc. Is this volunteering valuable or is it frowned upon and considered "easier" than say a soup kitchen (which I am doing, just in lesser quantities--I have about 50 hours right now).

FWIW this coaching position is something would be doing whether or not I was applying to med school--I just am curious if I should bolster this with additional volunteering.

Thank you!

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[aceegreene]

General wisdom on SDN is that non clinical volunteering needs to be with underprivileged populations. If that’s the case, you’re good. If not, I’m not sure. Coaching sports is a great EC otherwise IMO. Teaches you a lot.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Hey all,

I just had a question regarding non-clinical volunteering, and after cruising the threads on here I couldn't really get a great answer so I figured I'd just ask.

Without getting too far in the weeds, I'm an assistant coach for my former high school's cross country teams (both girls and guys). I've got close to 350 hours so far as I've been assisting in a limited capacity (maybe 20-30 hours) since my graduation from college (2016), but this year I've racked up a ton of hours since formally becoming a coach from leading practice nearly every morning this summer, creating workouts, educating on nutrition etc etc. Is this volunteering valuable or is it frowned upon and considered "easier" than say a soup kitchen (which I am doing, just in lesser quantities--I have about 50 hours right now).

FWIW this coaching position is something would be doing whether or not I was applying to med school--I just am curious if I should bolster this with additional volunteering.

Thank you!

I think you’re good.

 

[the phenol countdown]

General wisdom on SDN is that non clinical volunteering needs to be with underprivileged populations. If that’s the case, you’re good. If not, I’m not sure. Coaching sports is a great EC otherwise IMO. Teaches you a lot.

That's the general vibe I've gotten. I think Goro used the term "getting your hands dirty" or something along those lines. It's not an underprivileged population, to be clear. But it does dovetail nicely with some of my "narrative" / reasons for doing medicine, etc etc.

 

[the phenol countdown]

I think you’re good.

Appreciate the response. I realize it's a pretty neurotic question but I'm trying to leave no stone unturned (just like everyone else, I suppose).

 

[wholeheartedly]

Appreciate the response. I realize it's a pretty neurotic question but I'm trying to leave no stone unturned (just like everyone else, I suppose).

Understood. Just keep in mind that things often work best when you also do what you’re passionate about.
Now having some exposure to disadvantaged populations is also good to have but you can get that other ways.

 

[nontradcns]

If you can explain why this was a meaningful experience and that you contributed a lot of energy/time toward it, it will reflect well as part of your application. I think genuine enthusiasm about what you did is more important than saying you volunteered in an underserved area; nice if that's true too, but it is easily detected if you only volunteered in an underserved area for the sole purpose to show in your application. Clinical or medical volunteering/working/shadowing experience is usually more important anyway; lacking experience in that category is a real red flag.

 

[the phenol countdown]

If you can explain why this was a meaningful experience and that you contributed a lot of energy/time toward it, it will reflect well as part of your application. I think genuine enthusiasm about what you did is more important than saying you volunteered in an underserved area; nice if that's true too, but it is easily detected if you only volunteered in an underserved area for the sole purpose to show in your application. Clinical or medical volunteering/working/shadowing experience is usually more important anyway; lacking experience in that category is a real red flag.

Thanks for the insight, I think you're probably right that the ability to show enthusiasm / talk about your experiences is the most important thing. I've got about 450 scribe hours (and counting) so I'm definitely not lacking in that area as far as clinical experience goes.