Longetivity of Volunteering

[BiopsychStudent]

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From reading over this forum and WAMC threads I get the sense that volunteering is obviously an essential component of a medical school application; be it more clinical or community service oriented work. It appears that most applicants have around 100-300 hours banked. I've also heard "1.5 years, not counting summers".

That being said... what's more important? The amount of hours of work you do, or the duration of the activity? Will 24 months of "lighter" service be looked upon the same as 12 months of more intensive work?

 

[Hextra]

From reading over this forum and WAMC threads I get the sense that volunteering is obviously an essential component of a medical school application; be it more clinical or community service oriented work. It appears that most applicants have around 100-200 hours banked. I've also heard "1.5 years, not counting summers".

That being said... what's more important? The amount of hours of work you do, or the duration of the activity? Will 18 months of "lighter" service be looked upon the same as 9 months of more intensive work?

Volunteering for the sake of raking in hours is a surefire way to get disillusioned, overworked, or very, very bored. Rather than focus on an amount you think is adequate, try to find something that reinforces or helps you to remember why you're trying so hard to enter this field.

Coming away from volunteering with 1 exceptional experience you can talk or write about is worth more than years of sitting around waiting for the time to pass.

 

[apumic]

It's a combination of the two, but what really matters is what you got out of it. Think of it like a job. Working full-time in an ED, I can easily "bank" 200 hrs in a month. At the end of that month, I know a heck of a lot more [about that ER] than 99% of the volunteers who've worked there for 100-200 hrs; however, have I really worked there "for long"?
OTOH, the guy who's been in that same ED for 4 hrs/wk for a yr (208 hrs) is probably thought of as a "long-timer" and may now be training other volunteers.

Basically, it's a combination of the two but an academic year (9 mos) is probably the minimum length a significant experience is (in most cases).

 

[BiopsychStudent]

I gather its probably more important for an application to look like a coherent whole, rather than a smattering of ECs done just to get in, so that you're actually able to justify and defend your interest in medicine.

That being said there's no... hard cut-off in the sense that an admissions committee is just going to say "Eighteen months of clinical research, one year of volunteering in a hospital, and 50 hours of shadowing all done over such a short period of time just isn't enough to decide no matter what the applicant says"?

 

[apumic]

Volunteering for the sake of raking in hours is a surefire way to get disillusioned, overworked, or very, very bored. Rather than focus on an amount you think is adequate, try to find something that reinforces or helps you to remember why you're trying so hard to enter this field.

Coming away from volunteering with 1 exceptional experience you can talk or write about is worth more than years of sitting around waiting for the time to pass.

This is a good pt. Those of us w/ exorbitant numbers of hours (such as myself with in excess of 3000 clinical and 500 volunteer hours) didn't get there by working to rake in hours. Instead, we simply found clinical jobs and/or volunteer positions and started working. At least for me, it's never been about amassing hours. Instead, I've done the work and the hours just sort of "got there." It's what happens when you enjoy something. If you're working to get hours, you're going about this completely wrong.

 

[DrYoda]

That being said there's no... hard cut-off in the sense that an admissions committee is just going to say "Eighteen months of clinical research, oneof volunteering in a hospital, and 50 hours of shadowing just isn't enough to decide"?

Admission committees are very cloak and dagger, there might be some with a clinical work hour cut off... but the cut-off number would probably be pretty low.

You'll see a wide range at all schools. There's people with barely any clinical stuff and then there's people with thousands of hours from working as ER techs ect.

 

[BiopsychStudent]

Taking a step back from measuring volunteer experiences in terms of hours, which seems like... a very poor way to measure it from what's being said:

I've been doing clinical research for a while now, but I've only just started considering medicine and been looking into volunteer opportunities at hospitals and physicians to shadow outside of a psychology setting. Speaking hypothetically... say after 9 months of shadowing and clinical work I'm able decide this is definitely the path for me and I start the application process for the 2011-2012 cycle.

Would it be detrimental for my shadowing and volunteer experiences to have been so recent? I wouldn't want admissions committees seeing it as "Hm. Both of these activities were initiated at around the same; clearly this student is only using them as a vehicle to pad a medical school application"

(Edited for clarity)

 

[DrYoda]

Taking a step back from measuring volunteer experiences in terms of hours, which seems like... a very poor way to measure it from what's being said:

I've been doing clinical research for a while now, but I've only just started considering medicine and been looking into volunteer opportunities at hospitals and physicians to shadow outside of a psychology setting. Speaking hypothetically... say after 9 months of shadowing and clinical work I'm able decide this is definitely the path for me and I start the application process for the 2011-2012 cycle.

Would it be detrimental for my shadowing and volunteer experiences to have been so recent? I wouldn't want admissions committees seeing it as "Hm. Both of these activities were initiated at around the same; clearly this student is only using them as a vehicle to pad a medical school application"

(Edited for clarity)

I think you'll be in good shape. 9 months is a decent chunk of time, and they know not everyone decides on med school right after HS. Also, your previous mental health work adds some longevity to your health care exposure.

 

[BiopsychStudent]

The most valuable "clinical work" experience, I've heard, is shadowing since its supposed to give you first hand experience with what doctors 'do', how they go about their day, etc.

I was reading a online guide and it said that hospital volunteering isn't a good way to get clinical experience, per se, and that its virtually the same as any other volunteer work. I've been considering hospital volunteering as a way to explore my interest in medicine a little more so I can make an informed decision when the time to apply comes, and possibly gain access to shadowing opportunities. Have most people had positive experiences with hospital voluntineering, in terms of how it affected your decision to become a physician?

The guide gave me the impression that students are better off doing community service in general, in any setting, but I think if you're volunteering just to get into medical school its for the wrong reason.

 

[hiphopapotamous]

Did you mean "longevity?"

 

[BiopsychStudent]

Did you mean "longevity?"

Yes, how embarrassing.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

I think commitment is a big factor. Having year(s) long commitments will go over really well. Not that that would be more meaningful than a short 6 month stint at a center for helping rehabilitate people with brain damage. If it's short it should be meaningful and that should be conveyed in your personal statement/secondary essays. Otherwise, a short stint will look like some random pile of stuff sitting in the corner, so to speak. 👍