Medical Volunteering

[Kthehornplayer]

Hey all,

I come from a school that has many many free clinics that students help run. Unfortunately I was a terrible pre-med student until about a year ago, and ended up applying to these when I was older and it is more difficult to get in. Also I have no second language skill which many of the clinics require..

Because of this I am worried about how deficient my app will be in any medical-type volunteering (most pre-meds at my school have years of experience working at those clinics). I am EMT certified and start scribing in the ER soon, but neither of these are on a volunteer basis. Starting this school year I will be visiting a dementia patient once a week and hopefully making a connection with them, and I am assuming this can go under the category of medical volunteering. (let me know if I'm wrong about that) This will hopefully go on for about a year before I plan on applying to school.

Is this one experience enough for the volunteer-medical section? Since I have a lot of patient interaction in the non-volunteer section?

I appreciate any thoughts!

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[starspells]

Clinical volunteering isn't a requirement, clinical experience kinda is. And you will have that covered with your future EMT and scribing experience.

 

[LizzyM]

You need volunteering of some kind and some adcom members more highly value non-clinical volunteering than clinical volunteering (better to volunteer and not have it be a "two birds/one stone" situation). You also need some clinical exposure that can be paid or volunteer. The experience with the dementia patient could go either way depending on whether the purpose of your interaction was clinical (you were checking blood pressure or providing other clinical services) or non-clinical (friendly visit in their home or an outing). Having any kind of experience with elderly and/or demented people will get you some brownie points by some adcoms.

 

[Kthehornplayer]

You need volunteering of some kind and some adcom members more highly value non-clinical volunteering than clinical volunteering (better to volunteer and not have it be a "two birds/one stone" situation). You also need some clinical exposure that can be paid or volunteer. The experience with the dementia patient could go either way depending on whether the purpose of your interaction was clinical (you were checking blood pressure or providing other clinical services) or non-clinical (friendly visit in their home or an outing). Having any kind of experience with elderly and/or demented people will get you some brownie points by some adcoms.

I have non-clinical volunteering as well (animal shelter volunteering with dogs at a county SPCA and playing music for some university events). I am happy with my other EC activities, but was specifically concerned with my clinical activities. The visits with the dementia patients would be more social than anything. We have required training and such before we can visit patients, however, since most will be late-stage. I have clinical experience through becoming an EMT (30 patient hours in the back of a rig) and will be working 20+ hours a week in the ER for the scribe position. Does this seem adequate for clinical exposure or should I be aiming to do more?

 

[LizzyM]

I have non-clinical volunteering as well (animal shelter volunteering with dogs at a county SPCA and playing music for some university events). I am happy with my other EC activities, but was specifically concerned with my clinical activities. The visits with the dementia patients would be more social than anything. We have required training and such before we can visit patients, however, since most will be late-stage. I have clinical experience through becoming an EMT (30 patient hours in the back of a rig) and will be working 20+ hours a week in the ER for the scribe position. Does this seem adequate for clinical exposure or should I be aiming to do more?

The EMT and scribe are fine for clinical exposure. The volunteering is a bit light because it doesn't demonstrate a concern for the members of the community who have the greatest need and doesn't get you in face-to-face interaction with people who might be different from yourself and similar to some of your future patients. Providing background music for events and looking after animals is all well and good but it won't impress some adcoms compared with service to the poor or others who cannot help themselves.

 

[Kthehornplayer]

The EMT and scribe are fine for clinical exposure. The volunteering is a bit light because it doesn't demonstrate a concern for the members of the community who have the greatest need and doesn't get you in face-to-face interaction with people who might be different from yourself and similar to some of your future patients. Providing background music for events and looking after animals is all well and good but it won't impress some adcoms compared with service to the poor or others who cannot help themselves.

Hmmm okay. I will think about that. Thank you for your great advice, though now I am more stressed than before

 

[Goro]

Here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

Here's another way of looking at it: would you buy a new car without test driving it? Buy a new suit or dress without trying it on??

We're also not looking for merely for good medical students, we're looking for people who will make good doctors, and 4.0 GPA robots are a dime-a-dozen.

I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.


Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.