Need more help please! Shadowing/ volunteer work?

[amberlynnp13]

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Ok guys I am about a year away from taking mcats if everything goes how I plan! I have been a nurse for 5 1/2 yrs and I have worked in the hospital for a little of 2 years... I work with drs every single day. I called rowan do program a d they told me since I work with dr everyday I know what they do and I don't have to shadow.. This seemed fishy to me.. I still plan on shadowing... How many hours should I shadow? Also volunteer work... I plan on starting a pre-med program at my cc already trying to get it started... I was planning on volunteering at this pediatric psych unit that I was to work on and run therapeutic groups... Is that enough or should I do more? Also for the past three years I have held a back pack drive in September and I found needy families and have them backpacks full of supplies.. And thoughts and advice... All is greatly appreciated

 

[Tradewinds]

I am a nurse as well and the general consensus I've heard is the same; if you work in a hospital you might know more about what doctors do than many of the pre-meds who shadow for a few hours. If you are interested in other fields that you haven't been exposed to as an RN (especially if you've never worked with a DO and are applying DO) then I would say go for the opportunity to shadow there...but if you can't find much, don't worry.

 

[el_duderino]

It would look good for your app, and be a learning experience for you, to shadow a physician, particularly a type that you haven't worked with (perhaps psychiatry, ophthalmology, surgery, etc).

As far as volunteering, you might consider something other than clinical volunteering. As a nurse you've had plenty of clinical time and patient contact. I suggest you find some sort of non-clinical volunteering, such as a soup kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, etc. I think what's most important here is to show a long-term commitment to some sort of community service... so you want to find something and stick to it.

 

[amberlynnp13]

Ok thanks guys!

 

[Leslie_Knope]

I too would suggest nonclinical volunteering. Some advice I received once was to think of your future patient population and start there. So if you're interested in emergency medicine then volunteering at a homeless shelter would be a good start. If you think you'll want to do hospice, then volunteering with senior citizens would be good. And so on.

 

[popopopop]

Volunteer in anything you like, be able to talk about it, and enjoy whatever you plan to spend your time on. As far as shadowing goes, I rather have it than not. I plan to spend 2 days each with a few different specialties, should rack up 50-100 hours when I'm done. As a nurse, I don't know a doctor's schedule outside of the floor nor do I know the nuances of the job, how he/she thinks, what the limitations are to the care, etc. All I truly know is that they work long hours and are on call 🙁.

 

[amberlynnp13]

Volunteer in anything you like, be able to talk about it, and enjoy whatever you plan to spend your time on. As far as shadowing goes, I rather have it than not. I plan to spend 2 days each with a few different specialties, should rack up 50-100 hours when I'm done. As a nurse, I don't know a doctor's schedule outside of the floor nor do I know the nuances of the job, how he/she thinks, what the limitations are to the care, etc. All I truly know is that they work long hours and are on call 🙁.

What are you doing for volunteering and ECs

 

[Irish Luck]

There's two purposes to medical volunteering/shadowing.

1. To show that you're familiar with the industry and be able to talk intelligently about your motivations to enter the field.
2. To demonstrate that you're compassionate and altruistic.

You've already got the first one locked down by being a nurse. Your focus should be getting involved in activities that demonstrate compassion. These activities certainly do not need to be medically oriented.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Since you're a nurse, having zero hours of formal shadowing or clinical volunteering is fine. I'd expect you to have strong non-clinical volunteering instead and perhaps some research.

 

[amberlynnp13]

Since you're a nurse, having zero hours of formal shadowing or clinical volunteering is fine. I'd expect you to have strong non-clinical volunteering instead and perhaps some research.

This is a stupid question :/ but exactly how do I start doing research!? I've been telling my fiancé I wanted to but have no clue where to began?

 

[econ2med]

This is a stupid question :/ but exactly how do I start doing research!? I've been telling my fiancé I wanted to but have no clue where to began?

Definitely not a stupid question. How is a non traditional premed supposed to get involved in a research project? I too would like to know a practical answer.

 

[econ2med]

I'm by no means an expert on how to find research but I would assume the best course of action(assuming you have no ties to undergrad) would be to do some Google searches on the professors whose research you want to be a part of. Make a list of 10 or so professors then email them/show up to their office hours. Tell them who you are, where you stand and what your goals are. Check off the list until a professor accepts you.

Any input?

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

This is a stupid question :/ but exactly how do I start doing research!? I've been telling my fiancé I wanted to but have no clue where to began?

Definitely not a stupid question. How is a non traditional premed supposed to get involved in a research project? I too would like to know a practical answer.

Depending on your situation as a nurse you may be able to find clinical research opportunities at your hospital. As a regular non-trad, your best bet is to find different PIs at the college you're taking courses. If you don't have your year of biology and general chemistry down, I think very few PI would allow you in their lab.