Volunteer work as a doula?

[Emikosma]

I'll be entering my sophomore year at the University of Arizona, and I am currently working on my certification as a doula (a trained labor support person- www.dona.org). I have not charged anything for the births that I have attended as part of my certification. I plan to continue to provide my services free of charge after I become certified, and I'm also apply to work with a teen pregnancy center.

Does anyone have any input about whether this type of experience will count towards pre-med volunteer hours?

If you aren't familiar with doulas- here is a quick run down of what I do:

- Meet with my client (and her partner/ family) at least once before the birth
-Provide information about medical interventions, physiology of labor, helpful positions, etc...
-Provide comfort measures during the labor and immediate post-partum period
-Meet with my client for a post-partum visit to make sure everyone is doing okay and help the mother with breastfeeding if needed.

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[Catalystik]

This would be a fairly unique source of clinical experience, listable under Community Service-Medical/Clinical on your application. Giving time to the teen pregnancy program would be another good activity.

 

[Emikosma]

Thanks! It is a really hands on position, although not necessarily medical. I do learn a lot from the nurses, doctors, and mothers at each birth I go to.

 

[LizzyM]

This is "volunteer, clinical" without a doubt. For the time being this is a very novel activity for a pre-med (I can't recall ever seeing a med school application from a doula) but it sounds like an excellent way to get clinical experience.

 

[sleaterkitty]

Hi there! I worked as a volunteer birth doula for a year and a half after undergrad and the experiences and birthing women I worked with tremendously influenced my decision to apply to medical school. Being a part of such a transformative moment for women, babies and their families was very grounding for me as I went through the application process and provides a real base of inspiration that I continue to draw from as my M1 year approaches 😍

Doulas provide a valuable service to birthing women, and in my case (and it sounds like yours too), in particular for those who would not otherwise have emotional support or the financial means to hire a doula.

Everyone wins - you have a lot to talk about on the interview circuit, can demonstrate your commitment to the undeserved and learn so much about the medical culture around birth. May I suggest Born in the USA?

Go for it sister! 👍

 

[Geekchick921]

This is "volunteer, clinical" without a doubt. For the time being this is a very novel activity for a pre-med (I can't recall ever seeing a med school application from a doula) but it sounds like an excellent way to get clinical experience.

I wish I had learned of doulas earlier on in my medical school prep. I think I would have loved it.

 

[cadingcading]

bump...any doula pre-meds here?

 

[Prettywoman0172]

Traditional midwife/doula/childbirth educator/lactation consultant/sexual health counselor here! (Certified or licensed in all of the above)

Applying this June!

 

[Catalystik]

My only concern would be that anecdotally from a number of friends who've gotten into this kind of stuff and post about it constantly on Facebook is that I've seen a high co-occurrence between being a doula and being anti "western" medicine, anti vax, etc.

Do you think this would be a thought shared by traditionally conservative/older adcoms?

I think this would depend on each adcomm's individual experience with doulas, if any. I've worked with and known several and none were non-mainstream medicine such as you've experienced.

 

[SEN87]

bump...any doula pre-meds here?

Yep! I am applying this cycle after over two years as a doula volunteering in a county hospital. This was by far the bulk of my clinical volunteering. I wrote about my experiences extensively in primary and secondary applications as well as brought up stories of my most memorable clients during interviews. It was something that I really cared about and it heavily influenced my motivations for medicine. In this context, these were seen as unique and positive experiences by my interviewers. I think it was especially impressive to see the kind of commitment you give as a volunteer doula - I suspect it isn't too often that med school applicants come in having attended multiple entire labors, where you might spend a whole day (and more!) in the hospital with a client. And yes, it has been a successful cycle for me so far, with multiple interviews and a few acceptances.

My only concern would be that anecdotally from a number of friends who've gotten into this kind of stuff and post about it constantly on Facebook is that I've seen a high co-occurrence between being a doula and being anti "western" medicine, anti vax, etc.

Do you think this would be a thought shared by traditionally conservative/older adcoms?

This was definitely a concern of mine going into the cycle. I was familiar with the rumors of doulas and physicians not getting along very well. Though this was not true of the hospital where I volunteered, I assumed all other physicians who had worked with doulas would have a negative opinion of them. So I was nervous that I would be seen as "too radical" for the medical profession, even though I don't share the anti-western medicine viewpoints that are stereotypically associated with doulas. Although I obviously can't speak for the schools where I haven't interviewed, I have never encountered any interviewer who was negative or suspicious about my work as a doula. All had either never heard of the profession or thought positively of it. The worst I got was an interviewer who joked about the etymology of the word "doula," which he had looked up prior to the interview (the word is derived from the feminine word for "slave" in Ancient Greek). It led to an awkward, but humorous, start to the interview!

 

[cadingcading]

Yep! I am applying this cycle after over two years as a doula volunteering in a county hospital. This was by far the bulk of my clinical volunteering. I wrote about my experiences extensively in primary and secondary applications as well as brought up stories of my most memorable clients during interviews. It was something that I really cared about and it heavily influenced my motivations for medicine. In this context, these were seen as unique and positive experiences by my interviewers. I think it was especially impressive to see the kind of commitment you give as a volunteer doula - I suspect it isn't too often that med school applicants come in having attended multiple entire labors, where you might spend a whole day (and more!) in the hospital with a client. And yes, it has been a successful cycle for me so far, with multiple interviews and a few acceptances.



This was definitely a concern of mine going into the cycle. I was familiar with the rumors of doulas and physicians not getting along very well. Though this was not true of the hospital where I volunteered, I assumed all other physicians who had worked with doulas would have a negative opinion of them. So I was nervous that I would be seen as "too radical" for the medical profession, even though I don't share the anti-western medicine viewpoints that are stereotypically associated with doulas. Although I obviously can't speak for the schools where I haven't interviewed, I have never encountered any interviewer who was negative or suspicious about my work as a doula. All had either never heard of the profession or thought positively of it. The worst I got was an interviewer who joked about the etymology of the word "doula," which he had looked up prior to the interview (the word is derived from the feminine word for "slave" in Ancient Greek). It led to an awkward, but humorous, start to the interview!

Wonderful! Would you mind sharing what part of the country you are in? I am on the east coast

 

[SEN87]

Wonderful! Would you mind sharing what part of the country you are in? I am on the east coast

I'm located on the west coast

 

[Psai]

My only concern would be that anecdotally from a number of friends who've gotten into this kind of stuff and post about it constantly on Facebook is that I've seen a high co-occurrence between being a doula and being anti "western" medicine, anti vax, etc.

Do you think this would be a thought shared by traditionally conservative/older adcoms?

I've seen one doula during ob and she was like that. All about natural births and avoiding meds. But as a clinical experience, I think it's great not that I'm an adcom

 

[mlex37w]

I'll be entering my sophomore year at the University of Arizona, and I am currently working on my certification as a doula (a trained labor support person- www.dona.org). I have not charged anything for the births that I have attended as part of my certification. I plan to continue to provide my services free of charge after I become certified, and I'm also apply to work with a teen pregnancy center.

Does anyone have any input about whether this type of experience will count towards pre-med volunteer hours?

If you aren't familiar with doulas- here is a quick run down of what I do:

- Meet with my client (and her partner/ family) at least once before the birth
-Provide information about medical interventions, physiology of labor, helpful positions, etc...
-Provide comfort measures during the labor and immediate post-partum period
-Meet with my client for a post-partum visit to make sure everyone is doing okay and help the mother with breastfeeding if needed.

Did you do Postpartum, or Birth, or both? So excited to become a doula and glad that it can help me on my way to becoming an OB/GYN

 

[Chelsea FC]

Did you do Postpartum, or Birth, or both? So excited to become a doula and glad that it can help me on my way to becoming an OB/GYN

6 year necro-bump good job