Question about volunteering

[Desp]

First off -- my apologies if that question has been raised already. I did a search and found nothing that answered my question.

If I have excessive exposure to patients from working as a medical assistant for my first two years of college is it still necessary to do volunteering where I'm interacting with patients?

Currently my volunteering consists of working with high school juniors(that would be first generation college students) with college application and act prep.

I only ask because I have seen many posts referencing clinical and non-clinical volunteering. So is non-clinical volunteering sufficient if I still have first hand exposure to patients from a job?

Thanks ya'll

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[Doctor246853]

First off -- my apologies if that question has been raised already. I did a search and found nothing that answered my question.

If I have excessive exposure to patients from working as a medical assistant for my first two years of college is it still necessary to do volunteering where I'm interacting with patients?

Currently my volunteering consists of working with high school juniors(that would be first generation college students) with college application and act prep.

I only ask because I have seen many posts referencing clinical and non-clinical volunteering. So is non-clinical volunteering sufficient if I still have first hand exposure to patients from a job?

Thanks ya'll

Yes you are ok. I still do both just to be safe but if you cant no biggie. You are good.

 

[isoquin]

Depends on the AdCom. This is an instance where more is better. Some people want to see clinical work just to be assured that you have some small inkling of what it means to be in medicine (even though almost all pre-meds are still clueless despite these experiences). Some people specifically want to see altruism. Some don't care about either and want to know how many Nature publications you had before kindergarten. So... given the variability of what people and programs desire, you're best bet is to have a little of everything, so long as each piece is substantial enough to make a point. You can't work at a soup kitchen 2 nights ever and call it your volunteer experience.

Best of luck!

 

[Barcu]

The problem here isn't the lack of clinical experience but is the lack of consistency. Having a healthcare job can eliminate the need to have clinical volunteering. However, you can't just work for two years, then take two years off and apply to med school. You need to continue your healthcare experience somehow. Even a minimal 4 hour a week volunteer gig or shadowing would probably be enough. But you need to be doing something health-related.

But your current activity seems good. Adcoms really like non-clinical volunteering, so try and keep that up.

 

[simondimond]

Volunteering does not need to be patient-related. It should however, be people-related.

If you have a lot of clinical exposure, then there is no need to seek out a volunteering activity that is clinically related.

I think the general attitude is that whatever you choose to do, do it consistently and do it for at least a few years to demonstrate commitment.