Volunteer vs. Work experience

[DPPM]

I'm just wondering if it makes any difference in the eyes of admissions officers if work done in a hospital is "voluntary" or paid.

My tentative plan is do some volunteer work at a hospital on the weekends this upcoming summer, take an EMT course in the fall (and possibly continue volunteering at the hospital as I do this), and then hopefully work (not volunteer) about 20 hours a week at the hospital as a tech to support myself for a year straight through the application process as I take classes.


Again, my main question is, how much volunteer work is enough? As my plan stands right now, I will only be doing volunteer work at the hospital this upcoming summer (and possibly in the fall), and then I will be working the rest of the time. Is this sufficient? Thanks in advance.

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[Sundarban1]

I'm just wondering if it makes any difference in the eyes of admissions officers if work done in a hospital is "voluntary" or paid.

My tentative plan is do some volunteer work at a hospital on the weekends this upcoming summer, take an EMT course in the fall (and possibly continue volunteering at the hospital as I do this), and then hopefully work (not volunteer) about 20 hours a week at the hospital as a tech to support myself for a year straight through the application process as I take classes.


Again, my main question is, how much volunteer work is enough? As my plan stands right now, I will only be doing volunteer work at the hospital this upcoming summer (and possibly in the fall), and then I will be working the rest of the time. Is this sufficient? Thanks in advance.

I doubt many admissions officers roam these threads and be weary of anyone claiming to know whats inside their head. You can never do too much, so get as much exposure as possible, regardless of whether you're paid or not.

 

[KosmoKramer]

Although I am not an admission's officer, I talk and work with the deans and professors who are part of the admissions process at my med school everyday. From what I can gather, I'm SURE med schools will not look down at working to support yourself. Less than a quarter of incoming students do a significant amount of volunteer work to really make med schools notice. So many people do the one hour a week thing at their university hospital, that it makes little difference. Does this type of volunteer work "help", yeah, probably. But does it make a big impact on admissions, no. However, those working full time for a year in any field in order to apply to med school will catch attention. Will it alone get anyone into med school? No, everyone going into medicine has dedication. Howerver, I can tell you it will help you get noticed. Make sure you bring attention to it in your personal statement and how it has impacted your decision. The short answer is, I wouldn't volunteer unless you have time and desire to volunteer in a particular field, not because it will "look good". Your work experience will count for something, believe me. Good luck.

kosmokramer

 

[45408]

I'd get the paid position. I tried volunteering for a while, but I could never seem to make a whole lot of time for it. I run 911 calls now as an EMT for an ambulance company, and not only do I get a lot more time, I also get more exposure and MONEY. I'm by no means rolling in cash, but I have a lot of bills coming at me, and I'm barely breaking even (parents ain't helping with tuition, and school isn't getting any cheaper). So, I've gotten over 40 hours of work in the past week and a half, which would've taken forever to accumulate by volunteering.

Try to volunteer doing something you like (I help in some youth programs that I love doing) and working for what you need.