Volunteering and Community Service

[iClearDiamond]

Hello!
I have a few questions. I know volunteer hours is needed for med school but I would also like to know if community service is necessary too. Is non clinical community service/volunteer work necessary? Must volunteer work be strictly clinical? Do I need volunteer hours and community service hours?
Thanks

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[nwts]

Hello!
I have a few questions. I know volunteer hours is needed for med school but I would also like to know if community service is necessary too. Is non clinical community service/volunteer work necessary? Must volunteer work be strictly clinical? Do I need volunteer hours and community service hours?
Thanks

Could you please explain what you see as the distinction between volunteer hours and community service hours? I have always used the two terms interchangeably.

As far as whether non-clinical is necessary, I don't know if it is 100% necessary (as in you will be automatically rejected without it), but it is very highly recommended. Clinical volunteering is nice because it kills two birds with one stone (clinical experience and volunteering), but non-clinical volunteering is also a big asset to your application because it often indicates that you are actually interested in serving others and not just checking boxes for your med school application. If you're going to apply to Jesuit schools, non-clinical service is absolutely necessary.

 

[Espressso]

Could you please explain what you see as the distinction between volunteer hours and community service hours? I have always used the two terms interchangeably.

As far as whether non-clinical is necessary, I don't know if it is 100% necessary (as in you will be automatically rejected without it), but it is very highly recommended. Clinical volunteering is nice because it kills two birds with one stone (clinical experience and volunteering), but non-clinical volunteering is also a big asset to your application because it often indicates that you are actually interested in serving others and not just checking boxes for your med school application. If you're going to apply to Jesuit schools, non-clinical service is absolutely necessary.

They're the same term. I think s/he is asking whether or not non-clinical volunteering is necessary along with clinical volunteering.

OP-- volunteering in a clinical setting is good because you can get exposed to healthcare, medicine, and patients. All important to make sure you are committed to medicine and serving patients. However, non-clinical volunteering is also important because it shows you are interested and committed to serving others that aren't necessarily patients. Altruism, ya know?

Remember, medicine is a service industry. To excel in this field you have to be willing to serve others. Adcoms get a better glimpse of this when the applicant shows/proves they have served both clinically and non-clinically.

Yes, most volunteer work can be clinical. But I highly advice you to expose yourself to non-clinical volunteering too.

 

[iClearDiamond]

Could you please explain what you see as the distinction between volunteer hours and community service hours? I have always used the two terms interchangeably.

As far as whether non-clinical is necessary, I don't know if it is 100% necessary (as in you will be automatically rejected without it), but it is very highly recommended. Clinical volunteering is nice because it kills two birds with one stone (clinical experience and volunteering), but non-clinical volunteering is also a big asset to your application because it often indicates that you are actually interested in serving others and not just checking boxes for your med school application. If you're going to apply to Jesuit schools, non-clinical service is absolutely necessary.

Thank you for responding! I have always used the two terms interchangeably too but a premed adviser told me that they're different. I guess he meant non clincal and clinical volunteering? I agree with you non clinical volunteering is a big asset.

 

[nwts]

Thank you for responding! I have always used the two terms interchangeably too but a premed adviser told me that they're different. I guess he meant non clincal and clinical volunteering? I agree with you non clinical volunteering is a big asset.

Yes, perhaps your advisor was referring to the distinction between clinical and non-clinical volunteering. Anyway, the important take away is that you should really try to do both if at all possible for you.

 

[iClearDiamond]

They're the same term. I think s/he is asking whether or not non-clinical volunteering is necessary along with clinical volunteering.

OP-- volunteering in a clinical setting is good because you can get exposed to healthcare, medicine, and patients. All important to make sure you are committed to medicine and serving patients. However, non-clinical volunteering is also important because it shows you are interested and committed to serving others that aren't necessarily patients. Altruism, ya know?

Remember, medicine is a service industry. To excel in this field you have to be willing to serve others. Adcoms get a better glimpse of this when the applicant shows/proves they have served both clinically and non-clinically.

Yes, most volunteer work can be clinical. But I highly advice you to expose yourself to non-clinical volunteering too.

Thank you for the advice!