Volunteer Hours

[Pulse0021]

Hey everyone,

I am trying to increase my ECs and one area that I am lacking in is my volunteer hours. I shadowed a few DOs over the summer and will shadow again the closer I get to applying. I am working as a scribe right now and just accepted a job as a PCT that starts in November.

My question is how does everyone find interesting volunteer opportunities that look good on an application. I am from the Pittsburgh area so I know there has to be a lot of opportunities out there.

Thanks for the help!!

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[Mavs88]

If there's something that I wish I did more of leading up to my application, it would be volunteering with some sort of underserved population. Try to find a mentoring program with kids or some organization that helps the homeless. There are probably hundreds like this where you are. Seems like you have your clinical stuff covered, I would focus volunteering on community and underserved type of stuff. Though, make sure it is something you are passionate about....and stick to something long term...quality over quantity.

 

[TrueWolverine]

Don't worry so much about finding something that looks good, find something you're passionate about and enjoy doing. From what I hear most med schools look highly on non-medical volunteering, and that's about as specific as it gets. If you enjoy being outdoors you could do something like Habitat for Humanity, if you enjoy teaching or working with kids you could find a mentoring program, there's always the soup kitchen, the list goes on and on. Figure out what you enjoy and something you will be proud to say you did and there's bound to be plenty of opportunities.

 

[QueenJames]

It's about quality rather than quantity. I had maybe 3 experiences in terms of clinical and non-clinical stuff but had quite a bit of hours in each rather than the hours scattered through 14 different organizations and clubs and activities.