Shadowing or volunteering?

[Megan801]

I only have a short period of time at home before I apply to schools. Would it be more beneficial to have a mix of volunteering and shadowing while I'm home or to have a wide variety of shadowing experiences? I enjoy doing both but with this limited time I would like to make sure I am making my resume the best it can be. Thanks!

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[justAstudent]

Which one and how much have you volunteered or shadowed?

 

[Megan801]

I have volunteered many hours for charities in the medical field but other than that my volunteering (40 hours in the Oncology Unit and 40 in childrens rehabilitation) was mostly back in 2011. So far I have shadowed at two separate hospitals but not extensively. Should I try to do both or focus on one?

 

[polyatomic]

I have volunteered many hours for charities in the medical field but other than that my volunteering (40 hours in the Oncology Unit and 40 in childrens rehabilitation) was mostly back in 2011. So far I have shadowed at two separate hospitals but not extensively. Should I try to do both or focus on one?

I feel like at this point, shadowing is pointless for you, especially since your volunteer work has clinical exposure. Shadowing is just to make sure you know what you're getting into. Just focus on continuing your volunteering.

 

[Fedxup]

Both since you have already shadowed and it is passive. If you had to pick one, I'd pick volunteering.

 

[justAstudent]

I agree with everyone else. Shadowing is really passive and since you have a decent amount already I would concentrate on volunteering.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Shadowing is accepted as a checklist item by ADCOMs. You only need so much to show that you know what a doctor does. On the contrary, ADCOMs hate it when your volunteering comes off as a checklist item, even though the majority of pre-meds are box-checking anyhow. You can never have too much volunteering, unlike shadowing, and must have it as a "current" activity when you submit your AMCAS in order to help your application most.

 

[justAstudent]

Shadowing is accepted as a checklist item by ADCOMs. You only need so much to show that you know what a doctor does. On the contrary, ADCOMs hate it when your volunteering comes off as a checklist item, even though the majority of pre-meds are box-checking anyhow. You can never have too much volunteering, unlike shadowing, and must have it as a "current" activity when you submit your AMCAS in order to help your application most.

I didn't even have shadowing experience when I applied, and I still got in. I think as long as you have some sort of activity that exposes you to the field and gives you a real good idea of what you're getting yourself into you should be fine.