Quitting an extracurricular

[TriagePreMed]

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[emtthink]

I'm thinking about quitting my volunteering at the local Emergency Department. I feel that I'm close to having gotten as much as I can from this place. Many cases are interesting, but honestly, all I do is hand out blankets and talk to people when their doctor is not around. I don't want to continue an activity simply because it will look good longevity-wise. I will have 1 year by the time I quit and over 180 hours under my belt. My question is: If I quit, would this time I spent suffice as "clinical exposure" or would I best be served volunteering somewhere new or another department?

Personally, I don't think that this counts as clinical exposure, I think this falls under the volunteer experience category.

 

[EvryDayImHustln]

I'm thinking about quitting my volunteering at the local Emergency Department. I feel that I'm close to having gotten as much as I can from this place. Many cases are interesting, but honestly, all I do is hand out blankets and talk to people when their doctor is not around. I don't want to continue an activity simply because it will look good longevity-wise. I will have 1 year by the time I quit and over 180 hours under my belt. My question is: If I quit, would this time I spent suffice as "clinical exposure" or would I best be served volunteering somewhere new or another department?

I had zero volunteer/clinical hours and managed to snake an acceptance. Just quit son

 

[emtthink]

Well, it is volunteering, but I don't see how you justify it as not being clinical exposure. You're in the emergency department (clinical setting) where clinicians are working.

What kind of activity would you call clinical exposure?

When I think of clinical experience I think of working in the medical field (CNA, EMT, etc). But that is also based off of my volunteer experience where I was not allowed to touch the pts, I was out in the lobby greeting people, and showing family members to the pt rooms.

But in all honesty, if you are not happy with the experience then quit. Medical schools are looking for enthusiasm when you talk about your experiences. FInd something that you love doing (doesn't even need to be in the medical field). And when it comes to interviews just be yourself.🙂

 

[FrkyBgStok]

SEARCH! Newbie.

Kidding. A few months ago I had a thread entitled about the same regarding me quitting my patient transport job for more money. I had been working 20 hours/week for more than a year. Everyone told me to bail on it. It was easy for me because of my family situation and I have an acceptance now, but in your case, i think it would be cool to bail IF you replace it with something. I understand the longevity thing, but trying to see something else or get involved with another thing you feel strongly about can be a huge benefit. IMO.

 

[UpwardTrend]

Talking to pt's is a good experience. Have you asked if you could help with taking vitals, etc? Treat nurses well and they may "hook you up." I know all hospitals are different but at the VA I volunteer at, we hook pts up to 6 lead, and take vitals in the triage area on busy days. If you're interested in more clinical work then I suggest an EMT course. Its quick and doable on top of regular school work. When I was fulfilling my 10 required clinical hours, they let me take on as many as I wanted beyond that.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I say try something else if you're not enjoying it anymore. Since you've been at the hospital a while, do you think you could transfer somewhere else like surgery? At one of the hospitals I volunteered at, there was an option to volunteer in the surgery department cleaning up OR's and doing other misc. things they needed.

 

[Iliketoytles]

The hospital I'm at won't permit it, and honestly, I don't want to do anything that could potentially backlash on me.

There are some EMT courses here, but they are 9 units. I don't know if I want to deal with the potential of getting a "B" in 9 units.

If you've gotten the maximum you can from the experience, then you should leave. It's not really quitting since you stayed with it and got a lot out of it. Everyone eventually leaves their volunteer work and moves on.

As far as if this is clinical, I don't see why it isn't. You're in contact with patients, talking with them, and serving them (even if it's just blankets). This is clinical, and 180 hours is sufficient. Especially if it's over a year and not rushed into a month, lol.

I don't think you leaving will cause any issue with schools, and the amount of hours you served is plenty.

 

[DrWily]

Quit. The experience you have is more than sufficient. Do something else that interests you... and it IS clinical experience. If you are interacting with patients, and being in a clinical setting, its clinical experience.. no matter what they have you doing. You don't have to be doing something medical because frankly, not even has that chance to be an EMT, or pursue a career in a medical field before they apply to medical school.

I volunteered at the Emergency Dept for the Veteran's Affairs hospital here in San Diego. Like someone earlier in the thread said, we get to do a lot of stuff.. i think this mostly because VA hospitals are known as teaching hospitals and it's pretty much standard for people to be learning while they work there. The staff loves teaching (otherwise why be at a teaching hospital?). Maybe look into a VA near you to volunteer at.

Otherwise, just replace it with something else. If they ever ask you about it at an interview (which I HIGHLY doubt), just say something like you wanted to get a broader picture of medicine besides just the Emergency Room. Perfectly acceptable answer.

 

[elegantorchid]

I'm thinking about quitting my volunteering at the local Emergency Department. I feel that I'm close to having gotten as much as I can from this place. Many cases are interesting, but honestly, all I do is hand out blankets and talk to people when their doctor is not around. I don't want to continue an activity simply because it will look good longevity-wise. I will have 1 year by the time I quit and over 180 hours under my belt. My question is: If I quit, would this time I spent suffice as "clinical exposure" or would I best be served volunteering somewhere new or another department?

i totally see where u are coming from. i hate the idea of volunteering just because it looks good and its like a prereq. at my place all the volunteer positions are reaaally lame so i never did clinical exp stuff until the summer where i go out and find positions where i do stuff i actually care about.

i absolutely hate doing "false" stuff like that but truth is it would probably help your app more if u stayed. I think if i were u, i would stay but look for other positions concurrently and get out as soon as you find a new place.

 

[Iliketoytles]

I know what you mean, and I'm not into the idea of doing more clinical volunteering because it seems all departments are just handing blankets and stuff like that. I prefer spending my time tutoring (which I do) or maybe doing some volunteering as a board/chair member for YMCA or something. I want to more directly help people or create programs that help others.

I felt the same way. I've created lots of programs in the community, and there's something so much more fulfilling about it. It kind of adds to your own personal legacy as well, lol. And it will of course make you stand out as an applicant. My interview at DMU seemed to focus a lot on some community projects and internships I started... I think they found it interesting. Do the YMCA thing dude, that sounds awesome!

 

[elegantorchid]

I know what you mean, and I'm not into the idea of doing more clinical volunteering because it seems all departments are just handing blankets and stuff like that. I prefer spending my time tutoring (which I do) or maybe doing some volunteering as a board/chair member for YMCA or something. I want to more directly help people or create programs that help others.

i thin k its fine as long as ur doing something. not doing those volunteering hurt me because i did very lil volunteering in general. I always worked at jobs instead. luckily though i did find some good positions at rad onc places eventually 🙂

 

[CopToEM]

It cannot be said enough - do not continue to do anything that you don't enjoy! If you've lost passion for this experience then move on. Regardless, 180 hours is a solid commitment over a year so you're good to go. Do count this as clinical exposure - you're just as clinically exposed as you would be shadowing.

 

[shaggybill]

Definitely agree that you should move on, for the reasons already mentioned.

As far as it being clinical, I wouldn't say that this is clinical experience as much as it is clinical exposure. I think of experience as being directly involved in the medical care of a patient. Exposure is...well, exactly that.

Just a suggestion, but you should also look into non-medical volunteer opportunities. There are lot of them that are actually much more altruistic than boring, monotonous hospital volunteer work. I think most med schools realize that volunteering in a hospital almost ALWAYS entails simply handing out blankets. I know this isn't always the case, but generally it is the rule rather than the exception.

As an aside, I'm not sure why becoming an EMT is such a popular idea here on SDN. Sure it gives you some actual patient contact in a medical setting, and it's a job to boot, but there are much better and easier ways to getting both of those that do not require night classes, grades, the time commitment, liability, etc. I speak from experience here. When I first became interested in becoming a physician, the first thing I did was take an accelerated EMT-B course. I went to class, did the ride-alongs, did my clinical in the ER, etc., and I did this both because of my interest in EM (I wanted to work as an ER tech) and with the hopes of padding my application with lots of clinical experience. What it turned out to be, however, was a huge waste of time and money. Unless you are wanting to work on an ambulance (which is a huge time commitment - 24 on 24 off in many cases), you are better off becoming a CNA and actually working in a hospital where you are better exposed to both physicians and the environment physicians experience on a day-to-day basis.

Sorry for the digression. 😀

 

[DrWily]

As far as it being clinical, I wouldn't say that this is clinical experience as much as it is clinical exposure. I think of experience as being directly involved in the medical care of a patient. Exposure is...well, exactly that.

This is really nitpicking lol. I mean, when you put it on your application, you put down where, when, what you did, and how it has motivated you to become a physician. That's all there is to it. Exposure vs Experience, doesn't matter. It's clinical. Schools aren't really looking for anything other than that you have some type of "clinical" volunteering so that you understand what you're getting into. Someone in another thread has no volunteering whatsoever, but demonstrated an understanding of the field and got accepted.

Just a suggestion, but you should also look into non-medical volunteer opportunities. There are lot of them that are actually much more altruistic than boring, monotonous hospital volunteer work. I think most med schools realize that volunteering in a hospital almost ALWAYS entails simply handing out blankets. I know this isn't always the case, but generally it is the rule rather than the exception.

As an aside, I'm not sure why becoming an EMT is such a popular idea here on SDN. Sure it gives you some actual patient contact in a medical setting, and it's a job to boot, but there are much better and easier ways to getting both of those that do not require night classes, grades, the time commitment, liability, etc. I speak from experience here. When I first became interested in becoming a physician, the first thing I did was take an accelerated EMT-B course. I went to class, did the ride-alongs, did my clinical in the ER, etc., and I did this both because of my interest in EM (I wanted to work as an ER tech) and with the hopes of padding my application with lots of clinical experience. What it turned out to be, however, was a huge waste of time and money. Unless you are wanting to work on an ambulance (which is a huge time commitment - 24 on 24 off in many cases), you are better off becoming a CNA and actually working in a hospital where you are better exposed to both physicians and the environment physicians experience on a day-to-day basis.

Sorry for the digression. 😀

I agree with all of this. I signed up to be an EMT-B in an accelerated course because it was cheap. The course was offered through my community college for 6 units at $30/unit ($180 total). Was it worth it at this price for me? Definitely. Was it a huge waste of time in regards to my application and didn't help me one bit? Definitely. However, I think it was really cool to learn a little bit more about pre-hospital care and now I can say that I appreciate what EMTs and Medics do for patients before they arrive in the ER. Do it if it interests you, not to pad your application.

 

[emtthink]

This is really nitpicking lol. I mean, when you put it on your application, you put down where, when, what you did, and how it has motivated you to become a physician. That's all there is to it. Exposure vs Experience, doesn't matter. It's clinical. Schools aren't really looking for anything other than that you have some type of "clinical" volunteering so that you understand what you're getting into. Someone in another thread has no volunteering whatsoever, but demonstrated an understanding of the field and got accepted.



I agree with all of this. I signed up to be an EMT-B in an accelerated course because it was cheap. The course was offered through my community college for 6 units at $30/unit ($180 total). Was it worth it at this price for me? Definitely. Was it a huge waste of time in regards to my application and didn't help me one bit? Definitely. However, I think it was really cool to learn a little bit more about pre-hospital care and now I can say that I appreciate what EMTs and Medics do for patients before they arrive in the ER. Do it if it interests you, not to pad your application.

I am currently working as an EMT and I do not think that my class was a waste of time at all. I did not sign up for the class to pad my resume, I did it because a was truly interested in it. I have gained invaluable experience in my work, and I have done stuff that we won't be allowed to do for a while in med school, such as intubation. By the time I enter med school next fall I will have worked as an EMT for 4 years in a busy 911 system and will have over 5000 hours of experience. If you have no interest in using your basic then don't bother getting it. For me it was a really easy class, I just went to class, did the hw and didn't study, and still had the highest grade in class. Just my .02.

 

[shaggybill]

This is really nitpicking lol. I mean, when you put it on your application, you put down where, when, what you did, and how it has motivated you to become a physician. That's all there is to it. Exposure vs Experience, doesn't matter. It's clinical. Schools aren't really looking for anything other than that you have some type of "clinical" volunteering so that you understand what you're getting into. Someone in another thread has no volunteering whatsoever, but demonstrated an understanding of the field and got accepted.

In general, I agree that it's nitpicking. But schools are going to look differently at an applicant who has worked 4 years as a nurse/PA/CNA/etc versus an applicant who has spent 200 hours shadowing. They entail two different levels of actually being clinically involved. Both are good for the application, and shadowing does give the applicant a good idea of what medicine is all about, but I do think the distinction between exposure and experience is more than just semantics.

I am currently working as an EMT and I do not think that my class was a waste of time at all. I did not sign up for the class to pad my resume, I did it because a was truly interested in it. I have gained invaluable experience in my work, and I have done stuff that we won't be allowed to do for a while in med school, such as intubation. By the time I enter med school next fall I will have worked as an EMT for 4 years in a busy 911 system and will have over 5000 hours of experience. If you have no interest in using your basic then don't bother getting it. For me it was a really easy class, I just went to class, did the hw and didn't study, and still had the highest grade in class. Just my .02.

I think we are all agreeing on this. Becoming an EMT-B is great if you're actually going to use it, and having a few years of EMT work to put on your app looks awesome, but just doing it so that you can put "I am an EMT-B" on your application and maybe adding a few ride-alongs is just a waste of time.

 

[SLC]

There are some EMT courses here, but they are 9 units. I don't know if I want to deal with the potential of getting a "B" in 9 units.

Believe me, you would have to work (read: slack) pretty damn hard to get a B in EMT basic. It' might be worth your time if you want some hands on clinical experience. Otherwise find a free clinic that needs volunteers.

Either way, I agree that you should replace the ED with something else.

SLC

 

[SLC]

...I want to more directly help people or create programs that help others.

Just read this, and it's a great idea. I also spent a fair bit of time working on community projects, and implementing/planning programs. Like Toytles, I got a lot of questions and interest about it in interviews. I will say though, that many of my projects centered around qualifications and skills that I got from EMS training.

For an example: getting my advanced EMT qualified me to deliver IM injections (especially in the eye of the medical director at the free clinic I volunteered at) so that put me in a position to lead a team of pre-meds on a vaccine campaign at the homeless shelters.

All I'm saying is, if you've got time and interest, getting EMT-B or EMT-A won't do anything but help you track down real hands on clinical opportunities.

Best of luck!

SLC

 

[DrWily]

Believe me, you would have to work (read: slack) pretty damn hard to get a B in EMT basic. It' might be worth your time if you want some hands on clinical experience. Otherwise find a free clinic that needs volunteers.

Either way, I agree that you should replace the ED with something else.

SLC

Lol. I agree with this. EMT-Basic is ridiculously easy. I (like emtthink) had one of the highest grades in my class going into the final and I barely read the pre-hospital emergency textbook. I was even called out by my teacher a few times for falling asleep post-lunch (damn food coma). You have to pretty much do *nothing* in order to get less than an A in that class. Still boggles me how some people failed out (then again, I did take it at a community college with a bunch of high school kids wanting to be firefighters...) It's a good experience, but like I said, I didn't use my EMT-B certification, so it didn't help my application whatsoever. Wasn't ever brought up at interviews.