Mandatory vs. Voluntary Community Service

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Some schools have mandatory community service in the curriculum (OHI at elementary schools, clinic rotations for low income etc.) during regular school hours. Many thinks they are "volunteering" and doing enough so that they do not volunteer for anything else in their community on their own time. There are also people that would spend thousands of $ to go thousands of miles away overseas for a service trip, but won't volunteer to help anyone at home. Just think of how a $1000 plane ticket can benefit a local project. It would be great if people would do both. What do you think of this behavior and how will it impact the future of dentistry? If you don't volunteer now, then you probably won't in the future. How would you encourage people to "volunteer" their time?

 

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Any thoughts?

 

[jeffity]

I did plenty in undergrad and plenty growing up. Time is way more limited now. You may think that's an excuse; it is. A valid one. Family comes first and school comes second. I can't let myself struggle in school. Service was a big part of my draw to dentistry (it's a great profession for that); so I have to make sure I'm not letting extracurriculars hinder that goal. Of course I'll do more in the future. I don't mind the elementary school OHI. It can be humbling and you can clearly see that some classmates have never done this sort of thing. It's just like everything else; your attitude makes the experience. If you want to feel good about helping some kids, it can be volunteering for you. If you want to kick and scream and hate that it's required, you'll be miserable. Or you can look at it academically and take the opportunity to learn how to better communicate with a demographic that needs it or just public speaking in general. Caries, exfoliate, and carbohydrates just don't fly with third graders (all things I heard on my first rotation).

 

[coolslugs]

I did plenty in undergrad and plenty growing up. Time is way more limited now. You may think that's an excuse; it is. A valid one. Family comes first and school comes second. I can't let myself struggle in school. Service was a big part of my draw to dentistry (it's a great profession for that); so I have to make sure I'm not letting extracurriculars hinder that goal. Of course I'll do more in the future. I don't mind the elementary school OHI. It can be humbling and you can clearly see that some classmates have never done this sort of thing. It's just like everything else; your attitude makes the experience. If you want to feel good about helping some kids, it can be volunteering for you. If you want to kick and scream and hate that it's required, you'll be miserable. Or you can look at it academically and take the opportunity to learn how to better communicate with a demographic that needs it or just public speaking in general. Caries, exfoliate, and carbohydrates just don't fly with third graders (all things I heard on my first rotation).

🙂