Volunteer Work (Need Opinions..)

[abr]

I know there have been several threads about this lately, so I apologize..

How many hours of pharmacy experience should you have before applying to Pharm school? See, I am switching from pre-veterinary medicine, and hours are very important in that career field.

Secondly, I am hoping to volunteer with the horseback riding aspect of the Girl Scouts (helping the girls groom and saddle the horses, giving pointers, etc.). In addition to that, I am involved in my college's equestrian team, as well as several other organizations.
Do you think this will be too much "horse" related activity?
I plan to continue riding on the equestrian team, and I would love to help out with the Girl Scouts.. It would be the best of both worlds, as I could work with horses AND people.
Should I try to find a volunteer route that is strictly people oriented, or will this be an acceptable option?

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[abr]

 

[eelo]

This is totally my opinion, and I don't sit on a pharmacy school adcom, but I do sit on similar boards and have for many years.

I am much more impressed with the quality of someone's volunteer work versus the quantity. That is, I'm not really keen on seeing someone who jumps at every opportunity to do an hour here for one organization and an hour there for another organization, then spend a day doing Clean the Bay or something like that, and then doing something else for an hour or two. I am also unimpressed by people who claim to "volunteer" when all they're really doing is networking to meet their own personal agenda.

I want to see something meaningful. By that, I mean something that takes a regular amount of time on a regular basis, and serves no personal agenda but does support the community. Your work witht he Scouts will show committment to something that makes your community a better place to live..... not just something to do to check off a 'volunteer work' box on a grad school application. Yes, it's a lot of horse-related activity, but so what? Obviously you have horse-sense; that is, you have skills, abilities, or maybe just gifts that enable you to work well in this area, and you're taking those attributes and sharing them with others. I think this is commendable. If you were a great math student, wouldnt you volunteer by tutoring kids who were struggling in math?

My opinion is, do stuff that's meaningful, like Relay for Life, Habitat for Humanity, Toys for Tots, spend a week at Muscular Dystrophy camp....... altruistic things that don't necessarily meet your personal agenda, but have real, true meaning for others.

 

[fatevsdestiny]

This is totally my opinion, and I don't sit on a pharmacy school adcom, but I do sit on similar boards and have for many years.

I am much more impressed with the quality of someone's volunteer work versus the quantity. That is, I'm not really keen on seeing someone who jumps at every opportunity to do an hour here for one organization and an hour there for another organization, then spend a day doing Clean the Bay or something like that, and then doing something else for an hour or two. I am also unimpressed by people who claim to "volunteer" when all they're really doing is networking to meet their own personal agenda.

I want to see something meaningful. By that, I mean something that takes a regular amount of time on a regular basis, and serves no personal agenda but does support the community. Your work witht he Scouts will show committment to something that makes your community a better place to live..... not just something to do to check off a 'volunteer work' box on a grad school application. Yes, it's a lot of horse-related activity, but so what? Obviously you have horse-sense; that is, you have skills, abilities, or maybe just gifts that enable you to work well in this area, and you're taking those attributes and sharing them with others. I think this is commendable. If you were a great math student, wouldnt you volunteer by tutoring kids who were struggling in math?

My opinion is, do stuff that's meaningful, like Relay for Life, Habitat for Humanity, Toys for Tots, spend a week at Muscular Dystrophy camp....... altruistic things that don't necessarily meet your personal agenda, but have real, true meaning for others.

Totally true. In fact, the committe/interviewers may find very interesting reviewing/interviewing. Get some pharmacy experiences though, as I know UOP/USC really take it into consideration.

 

[abr]

Thank you very much, eelo!
I plan to do this, and possibly some volunteer work at a hospital. What you said about people "volunteering" only to benefit themselves. That is unfortunate, as I have always volunteered in the community and I love doing it because it helps improve the lives of others.

fatevsdestiny -- Thanks! I do plan to get some pharmacy experience. Right now, I am in the process of looking for a place that will allow me to shadow.

 

[rHoffa]

You might also be able to tie your love of horses and animals into your pharmacy applications directly, if that's an area of potential interest to you. Although it isn't as commonly discussed here - veterinary prescriptions (especially compounding) are an important and growing sector of pharmacy. We fill a lot of scripts for customers' pets and local vets at the pharmacy where I work.

 

[Yuliya]

I know there have been several threads about this lately, so I apologize..

How many hours of pharmacy experience should you have before applying to Pharm school? QUOTE]

Hi guys, sorry for interrupting your conversation...
Here is one question that i can't figure out:
will the doctor's assistant/receptionist experience work? Or it is useless unless it it pharmacy?

 

[eelo]

I know there have been several threads about this lately, so I apologize..

How many hours of pharmacy experience should you have before applying to Pharm school? QUOTE]

Hi guys, sorry for interrupting your conversation...
Here is one question that i can't figure out:
will the doctor's assistant/receptionist experience work? Or it is useless unless it it pharmacy?

Good god. What is the reason you feel you need to do volunteer work? If it's to fatten your application, don't bother. The people you're "volunteering" to help will see right through it.

The purpose of volunteering is to do something for someone else who needs help, with no personal advantage to you. "Volunteering" solely for the purpose of making yourself look better to an adcom is shallow and selfish, and it's bound to bring you some truly sucky karma.

 

[Jack555]

Good god. What is the reason you feel you need to do volunteer work? If it's to fatten your application, don't bother. The people you're "volunteering" to help will see right through it.

The purpose of volunteering is to do something for someone else who needs help, with no personal advantage to you. "Volunteering" solely for the purpose of making yourself look better to an adcom is shallow and selfish, and it's bound to bring you some truly sucky karma.

I disagree.

I think a lot of people (myself including) would not be doing volunteer work (or at least as much) if it wasn't looked well upon by admission commitees.

Just because we are doing it to make our applications better doesn't mean we have to do the work half-*****. When I start voluneteering a large part of it will be my application. However its a win win situation. You are helping people and it helps you.

I'm sorry but any pre-pharm student volunteering is getting an advantage.

 

[akamplace]

Good god. What is the reason you feel you need to do volunteer work? If it's to fatten your application, don't bother. The people you're "volunteering" to help will see right through it.

The purpose of volunteering is to do something for someone else who needs help, with no personal advantage to you. "Volunteering" solely for the purpose of making yourself look better to an adcom is shallow and selfish, and it's bound to bring you some truly sucky karma.

I dont agree, I specifically volunteered at the largest hospital in Atlanta in thier pharmacy dept and told them in the interview why i wanted to volunteer there. I told them bec i was applying to pharmacy school and i wanted teh experience. I was hired the same day as a volunteer. out of over 30 applicants only like 5-7 were accepted. I was very upfront and honest. I mean i like volunteering, dont get me wrong, i just volunteered in that dept specifically to help me out. I would have rather have volunteered in the ER or baby wing (they had tons of openings) i just chose pharmacy.

 

[dginrit]

I didn't do any volunteering and I got in.