NonTraditional works

[HurricaneMan]

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i just wanted to say that ive been going to this website for YEARS before i ever became a member and this is my first post. i absolutely admire all of you for pursuing your goals in medicine as well as taking the time to answer other's questions about the process. truly amazing.

ok, with that off my chest, i have a bit of a situation and need your insight. im 28 and finishing my BA in a year and a half. because i work and go to school full time (and have been since i went back at 25), volunteering its a challenge for me. between working, studying and school, i barely have enough time to do my laundry, let alone volunteering. im just not in a place that i can afford to miss the work, you know??

is there any suggestions or insight on how some of you with crazy lives like mine have done it and were successful?? i don't NOT want to volunteer. in fact, id really like to. its just with the expectations of hospitals and how they're so... time/day structured, i cant commit to the hours they're looking for. how can i reconcile this?? 😕

 

[Solus]

im 28 and finishing my BA in a year and a half.

So you are graduating in the Spring of 2014, right? Do you plan to apply to med school for the fall of 2014?

between working, studying and school, i barely have enough time to do my laundry, let alone volunteering. im just not in a place that i can afford to miss the work, you know??

If you have to work you have to work. I wouldn't suggest adding another activity if you are already pressed for time, as the results could be disastrous on your GPA. I'm assuming you are either unwilling or unable to live off student loans. Some of us just bite the debt bullet.

Perhaps take a gap year and volunteer during that time. I'm not sure how helpful this is, but good luck nonetheless 🙂

 

[wholeheartedly]

Yeah, not sure what to tell you. I work 30 hrs/wk on nights, grad school just shy of full-time and it's a 1.5-2 hr commute one way to get there so I hear you on tight schedules. I managed to get a volunteer gig at our student run free clinic that's about once a month. Is there something outside of the hospital you can find with a lower time commitment, like 1 half day a month at a nursing home or something?

If you can't fit it with work and school and can't cut back on either of those, you can't cut back. Just make sure there isn't some time in your schedule where you couldn't cut an hour or two out each week to make something work. Otherwise, maybe do more intensive volunteering in the summer.

 

[kami333]

Have you looked outside the hospital? During my postbacc I took classes full time and worked full time as well so hospital volunteering didn't work for me but I was able to find other opportunities that had more flexible hours. They can be a little harder to find and you may have to contact coordinators directly to ask since they may not be advertised.

Things I did things like tissue recovery for an eye bank (night on-call), HIV/AIDS counseling (weekday evenings), HIV/AIDS outreach (Fri/Sat evenings and weekend events), dog therapy at hospice/hospitals (evenings/weekends), tutoring (evenings), ski patrol (nights/weekends/holidays), free clinic at a homeless shelter (evenings/nights).

 

[HurricaneMan]

thanks for the responses. i really really appreciate it. its nice to know im not alone lol.

ive talked with some of my friends who are already in medical school and are MDs already and they tell me that its important so, to me its something i have to do. the summer suggestion sounds like the best way to do it. solus, thats exactly my concern. i dont want to spread myself too thin and have it cost me my GPA in the end. i cant see an adcom preferring volunteering over a solid GPA but... lol ive never done this before so... lol what do i know?? wholeheartedly, lol i cant imagine having to add almost a 2 hour commute with everything else im doing. i commend your commitment lol. i know how you feel.

kami333, working outside the hospital is a great idea too. i thought about doing something like that but i was hesitant because it wasnt really... "patient focused", you know?? certainly, theres nothing wrong with volunteering at a homeless shelter. i just thought they (the adcoms) wanted something that centered around healthcare, which makes going outside a hospital kind of worrisome.

i just truly want to put my best foot forward and give them the best of me to consider. one friend said jokingly," if you hold can hold two jobs and still make good grades, i think youll be ok on the volunteering.".

...maybe im overthinking it

 

[wholeheartedly]

kami333, working outside the hospital is a great idea too. i thought about doing something like that but i was hesitant because it wasnt really... "patient focused", you know?? certainly, theres nothing wrong with volunteering at a homeless shelter. i just thought they (the adcoms) wanted something that centered around healthcare, which makes going outside a hospital kind of worrisome.


...maybe im overthinking it

this is actually two separate issues. 1) adcoms want you to have clinical exposure so you've interacted with patients, have a more accurate idea of what happens in the hospital and what medicine really consists of, have an idea what a doctor does (2) they want you to have shown some altruistic tendencies, ie service to your fellow man.

You don't necessarily need to combine those, for instance if you work in health care and have #1 nailed from your work experience, volunteering in homeless shelter or tutoring kids would be fine. Other people just like to kill two birds with one stone and do their volunteering in a clinical setting interacting with patients.

 

[Esquire]

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[spacetomatoes]

I see you're located in New York City - have you checked out volunteering at Beth Israel? I did my pre-post-bacc volunteering in the ED there and really enjoyed it. You do committ to one three-hour shift a week, but Laurie, the volunteer coordinator there, is super understanding of required time off. At the time I was volunteering I was working 60 hours (at least!) a week for the New York City Council so there were definitely times that I couldn't make it and it was always cool. Not to mention that I really enjoyed the staff in the ED! I worked the Friday night 7pm - 10pm shift and felt like I really got some good patient contact.

I know this might not work for you, just thought I'd throw it out there! Good luck!!!