Non Clinical volunteering vs paid work

[7331poas]

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I am applying next summer. I currently have very good ECs except for (great) clinical experiences and non-clinical volunteering. I am starting a scribe job till application next summer to solve that (in addition to a year and a half of hospital volunteering previously). I have a couple opportunities this summer for the non clinical volunteering I need to address.

One opportunity is being paid to teach at a long term summer program for youth in the field of technology (I am a CS major so it fits sort of).

The other opportunity is to volunteer my time at an adult literacy organization. I have very extensive teaching experiences ranging from tutoring to long term teaching.

Should I forgo the paid teaching at the youth camp just because it is "paid" and not volunteering? Should I go with option 2 because its volunteering and possibly with a worse off population?

Thanks.

 

[aldol16]

You should just take a step back and stop looking at the whole process as checking off a series of boxes. You don't "need" one thing or another. These activities all serve to speak to your character and lots of pre-meds forget about the personality aspect of it all. Nobody wants a robot doctor who only did things because he or she wanted to go to med school. People want genuine people who care about what they're doing. So what I mean is "volunteer" vs. "paid" shouldn't matter to you at this point. It should be about what you want to do and where your interests are. You are best suited to answer that question.

 

[7331poas]

You should just take a step back and stop looking at the whole process as checking off a series of boxes. You don't "need" one thing or another. These activities all serve to speak to your character and lots of pre-meds forget about the personality aspect of it all. Nobody wants a robot doctor who only did things because he or she wanted to go to med school. People want genuine people who care about what they're doing. So what I mean is "volunteer" vs. "paid" shouldn't matter to you at this point. It should be about what you want to do and where your interests are. You are best suited to answer that question.

I want to do both of them. Your point is well taken about the box checking. I have left out alot of information about my ECs in the name of anonymity but just assume that I have a plethora of teaching. Both of these opportunities are within my interests.

I think my point is here that I would love to do option A just because its paid. My concern is the organization is paying me handsomely. As a result this programming camp is for wealthy parents to send their kids to learn a very valuable skill at a young age.

 

[aldol16]

I think my point is here that I would love to do option A just because its paid. My concern is the organization is paying me handsomely. As a result this programming camp is for wealthy parents to send their kids to learn a very valuable skill at a young age.

Then what's your question here? It sounds like you want to do this and your only concern is that it might look worse to med schools as compared to some other volunteering, but as I said, you shouldn't consider whether something looks good for med school - just consider what you want. You'll be much happier that way and there's always a way to justify doing something in the end if medicine is really the right career for you.

 

[eteshoe]

Getting paid isn't a bad thing.

 

[7331poas]

Then what's your question here? It sounds like you want to do this and your only concern is that it might look worse to med schools as compared to some other volunteering, but as I said, you shouldn't consider whether something looks good for med school - just consider what you want. You'll be much happier that way and there's always a way to justify doing something in the end if medicine is really the right career for you.

Maybe you misunderstood. One option was paid the other isn't. My concern is whether getting paid for it will detract from showing "service" and thus hurt my chances.

I have heard the spiel about do what you want, but at the end of the day you need shadowing whether you like doing that or not (or research lab hours even if you don't like research).

 

[7331poas]

Getting paid isn't a bad thing.

But maybe not if it means not having volunteering hours?

 

[DingoPingo]

I think the question here is which experience is more valuable in terms of your learning experience.

Think about which experience will give you more to talk about in your application.

Personally, I'd get paid because of common sense, and volunteer if I have extra time. I think a job dictates a bit more responsibility which can motivate you to pour more into it.

 

[eteshoe]

But maybe not if it means not having volunteering hours?

With your upcoming scribe job, I don't see it as a negative if you take a paid opportunity to do something you enjoy. Seems like a cool opportunity from what you described.

 

[LizzyM]

The point of volunteering is to see that you don't just say that you want to help people but that you have actually demonstrated your willingness to help people in need. It is best to see a little bit of volunteer service each month over many years. I'd like to see 8 hours a month -- one Saturday or an average of 2 hours per week doing something for people who aren't in a position to help themselves. Doing a full-time volunteer gig the last summer before applying is more of a box checking thing.

I'm sorry to be negative toward the OP but I hope others who are at the start of the journey find a need in their community and volunteer to help people if that's what they want out of a career in medicine.

 

[aldol16]

Maybe you misunderstood. One option was paid the other isn't. My concern is whether getting paid for it will detract from showing "service" and thus hurt my chances.

I have heard the spiel about do what you want, but at the end of the day you need shadowing whether you like doing that or not (or research lab hours even if you don't like research).

I don't think you should worry about that. I think you should make the decision based solely on what you want to do. In the end, there's always room for justification of whether you served some population or not. If you were paid, that's great. That means that you can list it as a "paid non-clinical" activity on the AMCAS but in the description, you can express how you served some population.

I think you have the logic wrong on "needing" shadowing hours or "needing" research. You need to be able to express why you want to do medicine and how you know that it's right for you. How could you possibly answer that question unless you have shadowed a doctor, even just for a day? Research is more difficult to justify but since medicine is getting more research- and data-driven, it's also an essential part of many doctors' lives. I don't think research is "needed" at a non-research-heavy med school as long as you're spending your time wisely and not just playing games on your computer but it's hard to justify "why this school" at a top research school when you don't have any research experience.

 

[7331poas]

The point of volunteering is to see that you don't just say that you want to help people but that you have actually demonstrated your willingness to help people in need. It is best to see a little bit of volunteer service each month over many years. I'd like to see 8 hours a month -- one Saturday or an average of 2 hours per week doing something for people who aren't in a position to help themselves. Doing a full-time volunteer gig the last summer before applying is more of a box checking thing.

I'm sorry to be negative toward the OP but I hope others who are at the start of the journey find a need in their community and volunteer to help people if that's what they want out of a career in medicine.

I do mean volunteer more of my time and I am certainly a subscriber to your train of thought.

I think I am going to use this summer to scribe, study for the MCAT, and get paid to teach this technology camp. Ill probably transition into volunteer work during the academic year before applying next summer.

Thanks for your help.