Should I stop now?

[RangerBob]

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I appreciate the guidance and advice you guys are providing, haven't had much of that but I also never looked for it. My university has partnerships with the hospital (that's 2 minutes off campus), I'm trying to apply to be a volunteer for the summer, but I might be too late I'll have to do it in the fall during classes. One of the volunteer work is signing in customers and looks like real secretary work, does that sound like a good idea?

As for the GPA and MCAT, I am a lot more comfortable with myself after reading the replies here. Especially if the med school application factors in my CC GPA. This year I decided to have a little bit of a life, but I realize I cannot manage maintaining a competitive GPA and doing **** other than school.

A big question I never understood, how do I log volunteer work in a hospital? I'm not sure how this all works and if there is an official log or if I have to get people to sign my hours or something. Also, as far as research goes with a professor, do I just send emails to professors I don't know in my school and ask to work with them? I have 3 lab courses done: molecular biology, chem 1, physics 1. I don't know if I'm qualified.

Sorry for all the questions, but this is the first time I'm talking to people who know about this.

Doing secretary work in a hospital sounds like a lousy experience to me. It gets you in a hospital, but it doesn't sound like a very good (or enjoyable) experience. To be honest I can't personally think of anything I'd rather do less--that kind of work would kill my soul. I'd recommend contacting a local free clinic and seeing what opportunities they have. I used to do counseling at the Berkeley Free Clinic and while not directly medical, it was a really great experience. I also worked for about 2 years as a case manager for the homeless--also a great experience. Learned a ton there. Another volunteer job was as a medical assistant at a free clinic for day-laborers--arguably much more medically-related. Learned a lot.

My point is, do something that you'll enjoy and where you'll be able to contribute/make a difference. Find one or two volunteer positions, stick with them, take on additional responsibilities.

 

[Sardinia]

Didn't carefully read the initial post.

 

[aformerstudent]

One of the volunteer work is signing in customers and looks like real secretary work, does that sound like a good idea?

No.

You need to be proactive with this type of stuff. Look for clinical observerships for pre-meds. I did the whole hospital volunteer thing when I was 16 and 17. At the college level, you need to see more stuff to know what you are getting into.

You need to see a few things through your clinical work.

1. An understanding of how the medical hierarchy works so that you are prepared when you are at the bottom and work your way to the top.
2. The paperwork and charting. The naive students have no idea what this entails.
3. You need to see blood and death. When I was in medical school we had a big muscular guy pass out when he saw surgery at the hospital.
4. You need experience dealing with non-compliant patients. Everything will not go the way you want it to.
5. You need to shadow a medical student and a resident not just an attending. You have to understand the steps before becoming an attending.

I found a program that allowed me to do all of these things with just a little research. Drexel has a program like this but it costs $3000 or so. I did it for free. As a result, I have a leg up on my comrades. I know what to expect and they are going to be pleasantly surprised that they chose a career that probably was not for them.

 

[ploidy]

I put in an application to the hospital as a college volunteer through my university. They also use this website givgab to log hours. They have different positions, one of them is in the ER just helping out like keeping the rooms clean and talking with patients. I think I read somewhere here that applicants should have volunteer work that is directly related to patient interactions.

Again, I really appreciate the help I'm starting to make moves now and never felt more confident about this. I calculated my cGPA with community college factored in (where I took calc and other math classes, and a lot of gened) and I am looking at my worst case cGPA at the end of the semester is a 3.63 and best case a 3.7

 

[ploidy]

I found a program that allowed me to do all of these things with just a little research. Drexel has a program like this but it costs $3000 or so. I did it for free. As a result, I have a leg up on my comrades. I know what to expect and they are going to be pleasantly surprised that they chose a career that probably was not for them.

Where do you suggest I find something like that?

 

[Sardinia]

Where do you suggest I find something like that?

Nursing homes.

 

[aformerstudent]

Where do you suggest I find something like that?

Depends on where you live. If you live in a rural area it will be hard. If you live close to a city it will be easier. I found the program through my pre-med office. You just have to be bold and be like "I am looking for this and this" and you will have better luck at finding programs that are above and beyond straight up volunteering.

The program I was in was collaborated with the IM program at a city hospital. They put myself and the other students on a medical team so we were basically medical students for a month. My ID said "medical student" and gave me access to the OR. No volunteer with a striped shirt can do that. I also was wearing a long white coat.

This example ties into my thoughts on US med school bias. I have a forty-page journal that I kept from this experience. I learned a lot from this experience. This experience will mean nothing without the GPA and MCAT scores to prove your case for medicine.

So if I had a choice between the GPA/MCAT and extracurriculars, I'd stick with the GPA and MCAT rehabilitation. When I interviewed with the director of admissions who is an MD, he could care less what I "observed."

 

[ploidy]

Depends on where you live. If you live in a rural area it will be hard. If you live close to a city it will be easier. I found the program through my pre-med office. You just have to be bold and be like "I am looking for this and this" and you will have better luck at finding programs that are above and beyond straight up volunteering.

The program I was in was collaborated with the IM program at a city hospital. They put myself and the other students on a medical team so we were basically medical students for a month. My ID said "medical student" and gave me access to the OR. No volunteer with a striped shirt can do that. I also was wearing a long white coat.

This sound good then?

"I put in an application to the hospital as a college volunteer through my university. They also use this website givgab to log hours. They have different positions, one of them is in the ER just helping out like keeping the rooms clean and talking with patients. I think I read somewhere here that applicants should have volunteer work that is directly related to patient interactions. "

 

[aformerstudent]

This sound good then?

"I put in an application to the hospital as a college volunteer through my university. They also use this website givgab to log hours. They have different positions, one of them is in the ER just helping out like keeping the rooms clean and talking with patients. I think I read somewhere here that applicants should have volunteer work that is directly related to patient interactions. "

From my experience I will tell you that a lot of advertised volunteer gigs are generally underwhelming. I was employed in an ER and we had volunteers and they mostly did transport and retrieved blankets, etc. Sometimes that's all you can do due to hospital regulations but sometimes if you have the right connections you can find a program that allows you to see more and that's how it worked out for me. Another example was that my cousin was finishing up his final elective in cardiology and the doc he was working with let me shadow them too. I was inside the cath lab for three days and in the office for four. During that week of exposure, I got to do a cardioversion under the doc's supervision, I was in the examining room when they were doing an EKG on this patient and the doctor said "you're having a heart attack." And I witnessed a doc tell a patient in the hospital that they would need to crack his chest. You won't see that type of stuff wearing a striped shirt as a volunteer.

Today, I would never volunteer the traditional route. It teaches you nothing really. Volunteering for the sake of learning requires that you are able to observe the five points I listed in the previous post. You have to work to find it. It's necessary because I know a lot of people who regret going into medicine. Had they had an experience like this, they would have gone into business instead.

 

[ploidy]

I appreciate your perspective, I understand what you're saying but at this point I'm pretty late for the summer so would this be better than nothing?

@Goro

 

[aformerstudent]

I appreciate your perspective, I understand what you're saying but at this point I'm pretty late for the summer so would this be better than nothing?

@Goro

Don't ask that individual for advice. He won't tell it to you like it is.

All I'll tell you is focus on your grades first, if those are good, then look at the EC's.

 

[RangerBob]

I agree with aformerstudent--the majority of volunteer jobs listed for hospitals are not going to be much of an experience. Changing/cleaning rooms is free labor for the hospital, and nothing beneficial for you. Sure, it's better than nothing, but anything is better than nothing. Studying more for your classes, shadowing different specialties, volunteering at a nursing home, hospice, community psych center, free clinic, soup kitchen, your local park system, etc., are all better experiences in my opinion.

The best volunteer jobs are often not advertised--just try contacting places to see if you can help them out and get a true meaningful experience.

 

[ploidy]

Don't ask that individual for advice. He won't tell it to you like it is.

All I'll tell you is focus on your grades first, if those are good, then look at the EC's.

I thought he is a doctor, why do you think his advice is poor?

And isn't handling patients and their rooms in an ER hands on experience?

 

[mwsapphire]

I thought he is a doctor, why do you think his advice is poor?

And isn't handling patients and their rooms in an ER hands on experience?

It is good experience, I'm volunteering in the ED right now and am getting plenty of patient/doc/nurse interaction.
Also, goro is a PhD prof at a DO school. He is also an admissions committee member.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[ploidy]

Nursing homes.

It is good experience, I'm volunteering in the ED right now and am getting plenty of patient/doc/nurse interaction.
Also, goro is a PhD prof at a DO school. He is also an admissions committee member.

So many different responses lol, that's a good thing though different perspectives are important. So, you think this ER volunteer work is good?

 

[cactusman]

I thought he is a doctor, why do you think his advice is poor?

And isn't handling patients and their rooms in an ER hands on experience?

@Goro is a PhD who serves on a medical school admissions committee. He's not a medical doctor, but his advice is much more useful than anything you'll get out of the former (Carib) student, who suggests everyone take a look at Carib.

 

[Dr.Kat]

@Goro is a PhD who serves on a medical school admissions committee. He's not a medical doctor, but his advice is much more useful than anything you'll get out of the former (Carib) student, who suggests everyone take a look at Carib.

 

[cactusman]

Nah, I've gone ahead and put him on ignore.

 

[ploidy]

@Goro is a PhD who serves on a medical school admissions committee. He's not a medical doctor, but his advice is much more useful than anything you'll get out of the former (Carib) student, who suggests everyone take a look at Carib.

Someone who is on a medical school admissions committee is exactly who I need lol. But don't be mean, if anything he is trying to help and he is giving advice from his own experience which is cool. I do want to find out though if this volunteering at the hospital is pointless if I'm cleaning rooms and stuff.

 

[Turkishking]

Someone who is on a medical school admissions committee is exactly who I need lol. But don't be mean, if anything he is trying to help and he is giving advice from his own experience which is cool. I do want to find out though if this volunteering at the hospital is pointless if I'm cleaning rooms and stuff.

Yes it is pointless you need patient interaction

 

[rufflev]

Someone who is on a medical school admissions committee is exactly who I need lol. But don't be mean, if anything he is trying to help and he is giving advice from his own experience which is cool. I do want to find out though if this volunteering at the hospital is pointless if I'm cleaning rooms and stuff.

From my experience, unless you have some certifications or qualifications, you'll often be doing the grunt work at hospitals - though if you don't have any other options, this might be a nice opportunity to 'get your foot in the door'. (I volunteered at a hospital for 2 years and all I was doing for the first year was running errands like getting towels, food, etc. - but then I got a phlebotomy certification and was provided the opportunity to do patient charts and lab work.)

I also recommend searching for volunteer health clinics - at my current clinic I was trained by the clinic... I work as a lab technician and a medical assistant.

 

[ploidy]

So I need to get a certificate to volunteer properly?

 

[Turkishking]

So I need to get a certificate to volunteer properly?

No. You just need to volunteer at a hospital or nursing home where you can actually talk to people other than making beds

 

[ploidy]

No. You just need to volunteer at a hospital or nursing home where you can actually talk to people other than making beds

Can you elaborate when you say talking to people. Cause this one I was looking at is about signing patients in and managing their anxiety and stuff about being in a hospital.

 

[ploidy]

So many different opinions lol.

 

[Optimist Prime]

Thank you for the compliment.

I'm in my 30's, I've had familiarity with this path for at least twenty years now. I have seen who has made it, who hasn't, and who struggles. I have friends with excellent GPA's and average MCAT's get rejected. I have friends with excellent GPA's AND MCAT scores who get rejected for something else. I don't know anyone who has made it to a US program with average anything. My own cousin got into ONLY ONE DO school just because of a last-minute recommendation and a 99th percentile MCAT.

I also interviewed with an admissions director at my state school who flat out told me they were "looking for excellence" first and foremost.

My point is a lot of people on these forums are naive. If you just tell them to "work hard" you would be misleading them. And that's what a lot of people on here do. The people who get into medical school are NOT ON THIS FORUM because they are too busy working on their excellence.

The four points you list are admirable but I don't think the average person will obtain them easily.

My cousin got into a DO school with a 3.7GPA and a 23MCAT and no crazy EC so..... If all your friends who have excellent GPA's and MCATs can't get into a school. Your friends are either lying, applying late, EC are non existent or they just aren't competent people. Which would kind of make sense.. whats the saying? "Birds of the same feather flock together"

 

[ploidy]

It looks like there are mixed opinions regarding this summer volunteer work I am trying to do. I'm just gonna do it at this hospital, I hope I'm not just changing sheets but even if I am it still counts for something right?

 

[rufflev]

It looks like there are mixed opinions regarding this summer volunteer work I am trying to do. I'm just gonna do it at this hospital, I hope I'm not just changing sheets but even if I am it still counts for something right?

Very true! It will look good on your application, having volunteered in a hospital. Also look into volunteering with a hospice - though note that this can be very taxing on you since generally patients are admitted into hospice when they're expected to pass away within 6 months. But it is a very good opportunity to get to see the healthcare field from the patient's perspective and also observe the medical professionals every now and then.

 

[Goro]

So I need to get a certificate to volunteer properly?

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

 

[ploidy]

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

Service need not be "unique". If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or Meals on Wheels.

Thank you for explaining that, I will reach out to places that you mentioned. I found this one local place called refugee development center, you can volunteer to teach English to adults or tutor kids in middle school. Do you think that's better than the hospital?

 

[Goro]

Why not both? You do after all need patient contact experience

Thank you for explaining that, I will reach out to places that you mentioned. I found this one local place called refugee development center, you can volunteer to teach English to adults or tutor kids in middle school. Do you think that's better than the hospital?

 

[cactusman]

Thank you for explaining that, I will reach out to places that you mentioned. I found this one local place called refugee development center, you can volunteer to teach English to adults or tutor kids in middle school. Do you think that's better than the hospital?

That's a good thing to do, but you will also need clinical experience (again, this includes hospice, Planned Parenthood, etc.) to show that you're familiar with clinical settings and want to serve people in them.

 

[ploidy]

Why not both? You do after all need patient contact experience

I'm also taking summer classes, so I don't want to commit to two different volunteer organizations and have to worry about inograic chem 2 over the summer. Is that good thinking, or should I do both because medschool will be a lot harder than that.

That's a good thing to do, but you will also need clinical experience (again, this includes hospice, Planned Parenthood, etc.) to show that you're familiar with clinical settings and want to serve people in them.

Right, so my concern now is deciding which one to do. Part of me wants to do the hospital this summer just to get an idea of how it works and maybe meet some people in the field.

 

[Goro]

I'm also taking summer classes, so I don't want to commit to two different volunteer organizations and have to worry about inograic chem 2 over the summer. Is that good thinking, or should I do both because medschool will be a lot harder than that.

Right, so my concern now is deciding which one to do. Part of me wants to do the hospital this summer just to get an idea of how it works and maybe meet some people in the field.

You have plenty of time; pick whichever is more interesting to you. Love what you do, and do what you love.

 

[ploidy]

You have plenty of time; pick whichever is more interesting to you. Love what you do, and do what you love.

Thank you for all the consistent responses, I know you probably help a lot of people a day but you really have taught me a lot about the application process and what I should get done to have a strong application. That goes for everyone on here too, I had no guidance before this.

I'm going to do this volunteer work at the hospital for this summer, hopefully I'm not changing beds but I can live with it.

 

[ploidy]

Lol reading back on this is wild, anybody that was in my position I was at this time — I got in to the school I wanted to. Advice I can give y’all is to keep your head down and grind, do the things you’re suppose to they really are not that bad. Volunteer, work with professors, get LOs and PAID clinical work experience. I still remember that molecular bio class I was talking about, and if you do poorly in one class don’t trip about it, finish strong.

One note I want to add, I slightly disagree with the previous posts, getting a degree in biology helped a lot for both the MCAT, and my current studies in med school. It’s my honest opinion, if you want to be a doctor it will be more helpful for you to learn the basics young.

Also, I apologize for bumping, but I think this will be an interesting thread for people to read, and could help people who are in the same head space I was.

 

[ploidy]

Update 2.0: I am now a doctor.