Volunteering and the rest of the pyramid scheme

[neusu]

Not sure if anyone has said this previously so here goes:

Why do medical schools insist on pre-medical volunteering?

I agree, having clinical exposure so you know what you're getting yourself in to is important. Volunteering is an easy way to display the desire to be involved in medical care. Hospitals love free labor, possibly even more so than the indentured servants they call residents.

That being said, medical schools rake in tuition money hand-over-fist leaving the average newly minted MD a notable fraction of $1 million in debt. Shouldn't hospitals be paying these volunteers? Even minimum wage would be less of a slap in the face than the current scenario wherein you work for free, sacrificing your most valuable commodity of time (that could be spent studying or being gainfully employed), pay through the nose to get a degree only to be under-payed/over-worked for 3-10+ years.

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[Mornhavon]

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[chillinillinkillin007]

I was about to say "not one of these threads again"

but OP is a resident

 

[medicalmnt]

the hospital I'm working at gives meal vouchers for certain amount of hours. (I have about $25 worth of vouchers and it's almost impossible for me to use them all without buying so much in excess)

I don't mind it tbh. its at my favorite school's hospital and its nice and relaxing instead of a "job."
Since I'm a volunteer I don't have to go into patients on contact alert or c.diff patients etc. If I were getting paid I might have to help take out stool or something for $4/hour which is def. not worth getting diarrhea for.

Don't get me wrong I like the patient contact and communication but there's a reason I want to be a doctor and not a CN/RN.

 

[Planes2Doc]

I used to feel this way until I put things into perspective... The pre-med process is a LOT of work. There are lots of difficult classes and the MCAT to worry about.

That's why volunteering once per week for just a few hours is far more convenient than a paid job which requires many more hours over many days. Also, as a volunteer, there is typically less oversight, which allows you to spend that time studying or goofing off to blow off stress. That wouldn't fly if you were doing paid CNA work.

That's why I don't see it as slave labor. I view it as paying a premium for convenience. The money you'd earn from an entry-level clinical job is pocket change in the long run anyhow. This is why in my opinion, the typical crappy hospital volunteering gig is the best deal in town.

 

[Goro]

Altruism is a quality that Adcoms really like.

MD schools do not make money on tuition, they do it on donations and indirects from extramural grants.

Not sure if anyone has said this previously so here goes:

Why do medical schools insist on pre-medical volunteering?

I agree, having clinical exposure so you know what you're getting yourself in to is important. Volunteering is an easy way to display the desire to be involved in medical care. Hospitals love free labor, possibly even more so than the indentured servants they call residents.

That being said, medical schools rake in tuition money hand-over-fist leaving the average newly minted MD a notable fraction of $1 million in debt. Shouldn't hospitals be paying these volunteers? Even minimum wage would be less of a slap in the face than the current scenario wherein you work for free, sacrificing your most valuable commodity of time (that could be spent studying or being gainfully employed), pay through the nose to get a degree only to be under-payed/over-worked for 3-10+ years.

 

[Frostbite22]

I honestly think if it was a paid job there wouldn't be nearly as many shifts available like there is now-plus as mentioned above you'd probably be required to do more. At the hospital I work at you can basically volunteer 24/7 during various shifts. Hospitals would probably cut it down to specific shifts plus require work experience/better connections. On top of that the job itself would go to the staff's children/or friends. My SO comes from a medical family-he's the only one that isn't involved in medicine and his first job was being a transport at the hospital because his mom got him into the job.

I just think pre-meds in general would have to work a lot harder to get "clinical" experience than they do now. I agree with the other posters its an easy 4 hour a week gig where you don't have the responsibilities of a real job.