Volunteer Hrs - How few is too few hours to list?

[bikinitop]

I'm applying DO this cycle (after a gap year or two) and was preparing to submit but I reviewed my Experiences section and realized my volunteer hours are scattered across many organizations and are few. How few volunteer hours are too few to list with a specific organization? Since I have so few overall, should I just list them all? 😥

Here's a rundown of my volunteer experiences (please don't laugh):

• Mostly non-clinical work at a clinic for uninsured/low income: 8/2017 - 12/2018 = 37 hours
• Tutoring elementary/middle schoolers: 2/2014 - 5/2015 = 12 hours
• Dance instruction at a summer camp for 6-12th graders: 1 week in 6/2015 = 60 hours
• City Festival: 4/2014, 4/2015, 4/2016 = 15 hours
• Adopt-a-Mile: 2014-2017 = 6 hours
  • I figured this one was very cliche, especially since I did it as a part of an honor's organization and it was only 1 hour each semester but I really do like supporting eco-friendly causes
• Playground Clean-Up at low-income community daycare: January 2014 = 5 hours
• Heart disease awareness festival: Feb 2016/Feb 2017 = 8 hours
• Clean Water Education Festival: May 2016 = 8 hours

TL;DR -- total of 151 hrs, with the two biggest contributing experiences being at a low-income clinic with 37 hrs over ~1 year and at a summer camp for 60 hours over 1 week, and the others are just random hours of random things that I liked and wanted to do (though they seem like they possibly mean nothing to a med school since they were so few hours and didn't directly help anyone I guess).

Of course, I tried to get more steady volunteer opportunities during my gap years, but due to where I was located, the local college students got priority everywhere. The one opportunity that I was offered was 8 hours every Thursday and I couldn't hang since I worked two clinical jobs -- Medical assistant for 42 hrs M-Fri, ED Scribe for 24 hrs Sat-Sun.
It was difficult to do during undergrad with having classes from 8a-3p every. single. day. and band and work.

So I do have over 8,000 clinical hours from those two jobs, but I don't know if med schools weigh that with my lack of volunteer hours or what 😖 I know it looks bad, so if I don't get in this cycle, I will try to find more volunteer opportunities in some more distant areas where I won't have to compete with local college arrangements. However, I can't get in this cycle if I don't apply, so I just want some opinions on how I should lessen the severity of this deficit.

For an overall picture of my app if it matters:
I'm a minority (female with ethnic background) from rural/low-income area, first gen college student
overall GPA: 3.76
Sci GPA: 3.60
MCAT: 501
research: 36 hours, 1 semester
clinical: 8,000+ hours

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[BoneWizard]

I'd list anything that wasn't a one time one day event.

Medical assistant for 42 hrs M-Fri, ED Scribe for 24 hrs Sat-Sun.
It was difficult to do during undergrad with having classes from 8a-3p every. single. day. and band and work.

So I do have over 8,000 clinical hours from those two jobs

You'll get some leeway with this.

 

[drstranger]

I'd list anything that wasn't a one time one day event.

You'll get some leeway with this.

Agreed that clinical hours look great but the volunteering is lackluster, especially with the gap from 2018 to the present. Also was all this post highschool? It's possible to get an interview but be prepared to address your lack of volunteering in the interview especially since lots of DO schools mission is serving underserved populations.

 

[Goro]

I'm applying DO this cycle (after a gap year or two) and was preparing to submit but I reviewed my Experiences section and realized my volunteer hours are scattered across many organizations and are few. How few volunteer hours are too few to list with a specific organization? Since I have so few overall, should I just list them all? 😥

Here's a rundown of my volunteer experiences (please don't laugh):

• Mostly non-clinical work at a clinic for uninsured/low income: 8/2017 - 12/2018 = 37 hours
• Tutoring elementary/middle schoolers: 2/2014 - 5/2015 = 12 hours
• Dance instruction at a summer camp for 6-12th graders: 1 week in 6/2015 = 60 hours
• City Festival: 4/2014, 4/2015, 4/2016 = 15 hours
• Adopt-a-Mile: 2014-2017 = 6 hours
  • I figured this one was very cliche, especially since I did it as a part of an honor's organization and it was only 1 hour each semester but I really do like supporting eco-friendly causes
• Playground Clean-Up at low-income community daycare: January 2014 = 5 hours
• Heart disease awareness festival: Feb 2016/Feb 2017 = 8 hours
• Clean Water Education Festival: May 2016 = 8 hours

TL;DR -- total of 151 hrs, with the two biggest contributing experiences being at a low-income clinic with 37 hrs over ~1 year and at a summer camp for 60 hours over 1 week, and the others are just random hours of random things that I liked and wanted to do (though they seem like they possibly mean nothing to a med school since they were so few hours and didn't directly help anyone I guess).

Of course, I tried to get more steady volunteer opportunities during my gap years, but due to where I was located, the local college students got priority everywhere. The one opportunity that I was offered was 8 hours every Thursday and I couldn't hang since I worked two clinical jobs -- Medical assistant for 42 hrs M-Fri, ED Scribe for 24 hrs Sat-Sun.
It was difficult to do during undergrad with having classes from 8a-3p every. single. day. and band and work.

So I do have over 8,000 clinical hours from those two jobs, but I don't know if med schools weigh that with my lack of volunteer hours or what 😖 I know it looks bad, so if I don't get in this cycle, I will try to find more volunteer opportunities in some more distant areas where I won't have to compete with local college arrangements. However, I can't get in this cycle if I don't apply, so I just want some opinions on how I should lessen the severity of this deficit.

For an overall picture of my app if it matters:
I'm a minority (female with ethnic background) from rural/low-income area, first gen college student
overall GPA: 3.76
Sci GPA: 3.60
MCAT: 501
research: 36 hours, 1 semester
clinical: 8,000+ hours

While your nonclinical ECs are indeed spotty, the 8000 clinical hours will, in my view, make this a non-issue.
In the mean time, you could get involved in food banks, Meals on Wheels, or see what your local houses of worship have to offer.

 

[Rogue42]

While your nonclinical ECs are indeed spotty, the 8000 clinical hours will, in my view, make this a non-issue.
In the mean time, you could get involved in food banks, Meals on Wheels, or see what your local houses of worship have to offer.

I agree with Goro here.

Furthermore, I would list anything in your application - regardless of how few hours it is - AS LONG AS you can write a meaningful, passionate paragraph about what you got out of it, what you learned, and how you will apply those things going forward in medicine. If you cannot do that, then do not list it as it will do no one any good.

 

[bikinitop]

Agreed that clinical hours look great but the volunteering is lackluster, especially with the gap from 2018 to the present. Also was all this post highschool? It's possible to get an interview but be prepared to address your lack of volunteering in the interview especially since lots of DO schools mission is serving underserved populations.

Yes, this was all post high school.

You have a great point with the mission and my volunteering being a possible issue. I will work to be able to articulate why my volunteer hours have been so lackluster and try to find more opportunities and balance them with my work currently.

Thank you!

 

[bikinitop]

While your nonclinical ECs are indeed spotty, the 8000 clinical hours will, in my view, make this a non-issue.
In the mean time, you could get involved in food banks, Meals on Wheels, or see what your local houses of worship have to offer.

Oddly, I never thought about Meals on Wheels working off volunteer service 🤦‍♀️ . I think I assumed since they were through our city hall that they would be city employment positions. Religious communities are good ideas too. I also think I was too focused on trying to find another volunteer clinic because it was just perfect. Thanks for opening my mind to other options! I'm hopping on that ASAP!

Thank you for your opinion and help!

 

[drstranger]

Yes, this was all post high school.

You have a great point with the mission and my volunteering being a possible issue. I will work to be able to articulate why my volunteer hours have been so lackluster and try to find more opportunities and balance them with my work currently.

Thank you!

Others will correct me if I am wrong but you are generally not supposed to use activities you completed during High school...

 

[bikinitop]

I agree with Goro here.

Furthermore, I would list anything in your application - regardless of how few hours it is - AS LONG AS you can write a meaningful, passionate paragraph about what you got out of it, what you learned, and how you will apply those things going forward in medicine. If you cannot do that, then do not list it as it will do no one any good.

Thanks @Rogue42 ! This was exactly what I was worried about. I will go forth with mentioning the ones I was passionate about and leave out the other ones.