Medical Schools that emphasize Volunteer Work

[MedSchoolPlz]

Hey Ya'll,

I'm quite interested in pursuing a medical career with a strong volunteer component. I've been searching through the MSAR book, and browsing websites (albeit briefly) and I tend to come across roughly the same message "Soandso medical school offers both world-class research and places a strong emphasis on primary care." What do you make of that?

While I am at it, I might as well ask, what do you all make of the Primary Care vs. Research distinction? How much stock should one put into a the idea that a certain school is a "research school?"

Beyond excel spreadsheets and U.S. News reports, where do you guys and gals turn to get reliable information on the schools that you want to apply to?

Any pointers? Anyone out there with a similar interest that has found schools that sync up with their volunteering penchant?

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[Appless]

ALL med schools will basically want this...im not sure what you are getting at. Obviously schools like stanford are huge on research and more interested in that...but near every school is interested in volunteer work...I guess overall the 4 jeusit schools would be more service orientated then most schoosl but seriously every school has service opportunites and many have international travel to help poor etc etc. No matter where you go you wont have problems finding this

 

[MedSchoolPlz]

I was just referring to schools that emphasize Volunteer Work after matriculation. I know all schools prefer students to have some volunteer experience, and that most schools have programs in place to serve their surrounding communities. What I'm really wondering is: are there schools that hold this sort of volunteer component as a higher priority than say, research?
For instance, the MSAR book notes that certain schools require Community Service, while other schools might require a research thesis. My curioisity is over the basis of requiring community service... Does it neccesarily say something about the school?

 

[loveoforganic]

I want to say Loma Linda is very volunteer oriented (for their students).

 

[reisub]

I question the integrity of the courses at Loma Linda. The SDA church is pro-intelligent-design, anti-evolution. The church's positions do affect the courses. The school requires students to attend chapel and religious classes, follow religious rules, etc. I mentioned these "problems" to an LLU graduate, and he said they're "strengths", not problems.

A lot of SDA doctors seem to think that diet is the cause and solution to every medical problem. No wonder they don't need evolution. They already know the cure. Personally, I would (and did and do) avoid LLU.

Doubting Thomases should complete the primary and take a look at LLU's secondary. Unless it's been changed recently, it'll be clear that LLU is a religious school first and medical school second.

Any community service that LLU promotes among its students likely comes with proselytizing strings attached...

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Schools that are known for research (top ranked) like students who want to learn how to do good research. The schools that tend to emphasize "community health" and "primary care" more are usually state-run schools who have a quota on the number of students dedicated to "serving the community"...ie: working in places where they need doctors and don't pay much. This almost always means urban or rural communities. Still, some research-oriented schools still push for community involvement, Stanford is one. It is also becoming more PC to plan to give back to certain ethnic communities, like black and latino populations. I think this would cover "volunteering" as far as medical schools are concerned...

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

I question the integrity of the courses at Loma Linda. The SDA church is pro-intelligent-design, anti-evolution. The church's positions do affect the courses. The school requires students to attend chapel and religious classes, follow religious rules, etc. I mentioned these "problems" to an LLU graduate, and he said they're "strengths", not problems.

A lot of SDA doctors seem to think that diet is the cause and solution to every medical problem. No wonder they don't need evolution. They already know the cure. Personally, I would (and did and do) avoid LLU.

Doubting Thomases should complete the primary and take a look at LLU's secondary. Unless it's been changed recently, it'll be clear that LLU is a religious school first and medical school second.

Any community service that LLU promotes among its students likely comes with proselytizing strings attached...

Amen to that

I didn't bother applying to Loma Linda despite being from California, but I did apply to Loyola and found even them to be a little...I don't know...less than forward-thinking. They were the only school that required me to print out the app and send it in on paper, for example. There are schools like Georgetown who seem to avoid this problem, however...and I suppose it really wouldn't be an issue as far as education is concerned if not for the fact that certain types of faith directly conflict with science.

For example, I present to you the Creation "Museum's" dinosaur saddle:

 

[reisub]

[...] I present to you the Creation "Museum's" dinosaur saddle [...]

I just realized that I'll be passing near the Creation Museum later this summer. I'm afraid to wonder whether I should peek inside.

 

[LizzyM]

Getting back on track... some schools derive a substantial amount of their income from research studies. USNews uses the amount of federal research funding as one measure of school quality which further motivates schools to compete for funding. There is no comparable motivation to focus on volunteer service.

That said, many schools do offer students opportunities to volunteer in local free clinics and travel abroad to provide services. Once there, you can find practicing physicians who can mentor you in how to incorporate volunteer service into your medical career. These are good questions to raise during interviews.

 

[cdsolution]

Indiana University School of Medicine does a great job of offering a lot of community service/service learning opportunities to med students without making any of it "required." There are a lot of different projects that students can get involved with ranging from a 4-hour one-weekend commitment to an ongoing volunteer project throughout the year.

If you are interested in primary care or in continuing to serve the underserved throughout your career, I think it is a good idea to look for programs that have some sort of community service office for students. At IU, we have the Office of Medical Service Learning that manages over a dozen different projects (all listed on the website here: http://omsl.medicine.iu.edu/). I'm sure that some other schools would have something similar, especially large state institutions.

 

[necoli]

Creighton.

I question the integrity of the courses at Loma Linda. The SDA church is pro-intelligent-design, anti-evolution. The church's positions do affect the courses. The school requires students to attend chapel and religious classes, follow religious rules, etc. I mentioned these "problems" to an LLU graduate, and he said they're "strengths", not problems.

A lot of SDA doctors seem to think that diet is the cause and solution to every medical problem. No wonder they don't need evolution. They already know the cure. Personally, I would (and did and do) avoid LLU.

Doubting Thomases should complete the primary and take a look at LLU's secondary. Unless it's been changed recently, it'll be clear that LLU is a religious school first and medical school second.

Any community service that LLU promotes among its students likely comes with proselytizing strings attached...

Oh please. Well you are entitled to your own opinion. The fact remains that Loma Linda is an American medical school. Beleive it or not, board certified physicians are produced there. Just because the school is religious and holds its students to a higher standard of personal conduct doesn't mean the only class taught there is voodoo.

 

[RookTookIt]

In the MSAR, you can find this info pretty easily. Under "Curricular Highlights" of each school it will tell you if either community service or research is required or optional. These are the schools that require community service:

WVU, UVA, Vermont, Texas Tech, Tennessee, USD, MUSC, San Juan Bautista, Penn, Jefferson, Drexel, TCMC, OSU, NEOUCOM, Rochester, UNM, Nebraska, MSU, Tufts, Tulane, LSU, UKCOM, Mercer, USF, UF, UCF, FIU, Georgetown, GWU, UConn

 

[rHinO1]

If you are from CA, then UCD would be a good option. They offer 7 student run clinics that serve different populations. All the clinics are open to MS1s. Also, the dean emphasized that Davis is dedicated to serving the Sacramento community and providing a superior education to its medical students first and foremost (as opposed to research first).

 

[jmst]

Temple has a very strong culture of volunteering. I attended 10 interviews and out of those I think Temple stuck out as one that had the strongest emphasis on service. Most schools have multiple opportunities to volunteer at free clinics and such, but Temple is in a poor neighborhood and thus there are many ways to become involved with community service. I would guess that other medical schools in poor areas would also have a lot of volunteering opportunities as well.