Volunteering at a HOSPITAL *required*?

[thebillsfan]

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I only ask this question because I see so many people on here doing it. But I also see so many people bashing it as worthless in most cases. What gives?

 

[amakhosidlo]

No.

But if you opt to skip it, make sure you find *something* to take its place.
Oh, and stick with it.

 

[LizzyM]

Have you seen any medical school that explicitly states that it is required? If not, then you can be assured that some medical schools will admit some applicants who have not volunteered in a hospital. However, not having volunteered in a hospital may included those applicants who have worked in a hospital, or who have worked or volunteered in other health care delivery settings.

Most (all) schools are going to want to see applicants who have tested their interest in medicine through exposure to health care delivery settings through employment or volunteer service. Some applicants have been told outright that they need more clinical experience to be considered strong applicants so schools do look for it and weigh in when considering applicants for admission.

 

[IHeartNerds]

i got into many, many schools with no volunteer experience whatsoever, hospital or otherwise. 👍

(yes, i know i'm a selfish and bad person, that's a whole different topic...)

 

[LizzyM]

i got into many, many schools with no volunteer experience whatsoever, hospital or otherwise. 👍

(yes, i know i'm a selfish and bad person, that's a whole different topic...)

Did you have any clinical activity in the experience section of your AMCAS?

 

[mvenus929]

No, you don't have to volunteer in a hospital. Unless you can get a really good position in the hospital, where you can actually see and interact with patients and/or health care providers, it's probably not worth it. Delivering flowers to patient rooms or folding towels to put in the linens closet is going to give you very little insight into how the health system works.

If, on the other hand, you can get a position cuddling premies, or taking patient histories or something, that would be worth volunteering in the hospital for.

You'd be better off volunteering doing something you love, whether it be Habitat for Humanity or whatever, and getting your clinical experience in some other way, whether it be a job or extensive shadowing.

 

[hewmanoid]

No, you don't have to volunteer in a hospital. Unless you can get a really good position in the hospital, where you can actually see and interact with patients and/or health care providers, it's probably not worth it. Delivering flowers to patient rooms or folding towels to put in the linens closet is going to give you very little insight into how the health system works.

If, on the other hand, you can get a position cuddling premies, or taking patient histories or something, that would be worth volunteering in the hospital for.

You'd be better off volunteering doing something you love, whether it be Habitat for Humanity or whatever, and getting your clinical experience in some other way, whether it be a job or extensive shadowing.

Agreed. A lot of times, many premeds end up doing paperwork, making the bed, transporting blood samples...etc. You don't necessarily get patient contact when you volunteer at a hospital. For me, I was a research associate in an ER, basically interviewing patients for clinical studies, and it rocked because I got to interact directly with so many patients there. So, if you want to volunteer at a hospital, make sure you get a plenty of patient contact, which is what med schools would like to see on your AMCAS app. Good luck.

 

[Premed Worrier]

I volunteered in a community clinic doing triage and worked in an assisted living facility. I had plenty of health care related experiences from these two settings to confirm my desire to practice medicine. These were both after the hospital said that I could sit at a door and check people in...No thanks. There is always something besides the hospital. Good luck.

 

[caniac]

Have you seen any medical school that explicitly states that it is required?

Probably won't apply to many people here, but fyi

USUHS requires a letter from a "Clinical Supervisor" or a letter explaining why you were unable to obtain said letter. Take "clinical supervisor" to mean what you will.

 

[Sandey]

I think you get out of the hospital volunteering what you put in. I have gotten to know many doctors whom i would not have otherwise by doing patient registration and sameday surgery. I have been asked to help with vitals and invited to view surgeries through my hospital volunteering, plus I feel that I am helping others by helping keep the hospital costs down and thus patients bills down as well. you get out of any experience what you put into it, if you go in thinking this is gonna suck then it will.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

clinical experience may not be "required", but one top school I spoke with will not interview a candidate, regardless of any qualifications, if they lack this experience. As with most individual qualifications, many schools may be OK with being "short" in one area, provided you're really strong in whatever that one school considers most important.

for the typical candidate, it would be really really shortsighted to not pursue hospital or other clinical experience. I'd bet a really high mcat score/grades/ECs combo would allow many schools to overlook it, but the interview questions related to clinical experiences could still spike an application.

It's just too easy to spend a couple hundred hours working/volunteering in a hospital or clinic to skip this "non-requirement requirement". In my opinion at least.

 

[LizzyM]

Probably won't apply to many people here, but fyi

USUHS requires a letter from a "Clinical Supervisor" or a letter explaining why you were unable to obtain said letter. Take "clinical supervisor" to mean what you will.

Clinical supervisor can be employed somewhere other than a hospital and the relationship could be other than volunteer and supervisor (could be employee and supervisor) so I would not take that requirement to mean explicitly that one must have volunteered in a hospital.

 

[amph119]

Just do it. 3 hours a week isn't too bad, and while it isn't technically required, it is as close to "required" as you can get (at least that is the impression I've gotten over the past 2 years). I actually had fun during my clinic volunteering, believe it or not.

 

[caniac]

Clinical supervisor can be employed somewhere other than a hospital and the relationship could be other than volunteer and supervisor (could be employee and supervisor) so I would not take that requirement to mean explicitly that one must have volunteered in a hospital.

I agree--I just hadn't seen a requirement for a LOR from someone other than a science prof before I stumbled across USUHS' secondary. I'm from a small town where "doctor" and "hospital" are synonymous--I guess I took "hospital" to mean clinical experience in general.

 

[LizzyM]

I agree--I just hadn't seen a requirement for a LOR from someone other than a science prof before I stumbled across USUHS' secondary. I'm from a small town where "doctor" and "hospital" are synonymous--I guess I took "hospital" to mean clinical experience in general.

The title of the thread is "volunteering at a hospital - required?" I think that what we are all saying is that volunteering is not required (but a good idea) and being in a hosptial is not required (but not unusual).

 

[usermike8500]

A career in medicine is just like anything else, a catch-22. You can't receive your medical training unless you have clinical experience, but you can't gain meaningful clinical experience unless you have medical training.

*BTW, I think it's safe to say that some form of clinical experience is absolutely necessary. If you don't volunteer at a hospital or clinic, what are you going to do? Nursing school? Volunteering is the most practical way to prove your interest in pursuing a career as a physician.

 

[LizzyM]

"If you are close enough to smell patients, it is a clinical experience."

"If you are in the presence of someone who can write a prescription, it is a clinical setting."


If your dad is a doc and your little brother has a GI bug ... you might want to be careful using these general rules but for everyone else you need not have medical training to get clinical experience. Many people get volunteer positions with just a couple hours of training, a TB test and perhaps a criminal background check (yes, these are becoming more common everywhere!).

 

[mvenus929]

*BTW, I think it's safe to say that some form of clinical experience is absolutely necessary. If you don't volunteer at a hospital or clinic, what are you going to do? Nursing school? Volunteering is the most practical way to prove your interest in pursuing a career as a physician.

I disagree. Even if you get an awesome position volunteering in a hospital, that doesn't necessarily show that you want to become a physician. I mean, I got a position volunteering in the pediatric playroom at the hospital... I saw a doctor maybe once in the year I was working there. Much more common to see the RNs or RTs on the floor. Volunteering there thus demonstrates (not proves) my interest in medicine, but not in being a physician. There are lots of jobs in medicine, after all.

Getting to know what a physician does, and recognizing the difficulties of the job, will serve you better. You can do that much more efficiently actually meeting the doctors and spending time with them in their clinical practice. Shadowing fulfills that requirement.

 

[Narmerguy]

Interesting how a lot of the volunteering that got doctors into medical school suddenly stops after residency. Not making conclusions, just saying it's interesting.

 

[LizzyM]

Interesting how a lot of the volunteering that got doctors into medical school suddenly stops after residency. Not making conclusions, just saying it's interesting.

The volunteering changes. It might be at a medical tent during the annual marathon, a year in a third-world country, one night a week in a free clinic. Also, speaking engagements to the lay public (senior centers, PTA), service on the board of a not-for-profit group such as the local chapter of the Heart Association or Cancer Society.

 

[Beta Cell]

Interesting how a lot of the volunteering that got doctors into medical school suddenly stops after residency. Not making conclusions, just saying it's interesting.

Why would anyone volunteer at a hospital if they work in one? I'm assuming the closest hospital is the one that employs them, so it wouldn't make sense to also devote your free time to the very same hospital. Like LizzyM said, the volunteering remains but metamorphosizes.