Volunteering Hours as Primary Caretaker

[Krebby Patty]

I recently finished 10 years in US Army, wife was stay at home mom during military service. When we decided to pursue medical school she went back to work (elementary teacher) and I stay home with our 2 year old. It’s been great watching her grow up since I missed a lot with my other children, but I’m worried about volunteering hours (clinical and non-clinical). I currently have:

- 50 hrs as Hospice Volunteer, 2hrs every weekend (clinical) projected 100 hrs this coming year for 150 hrs total.

- 55 hrs Crisis Text Line (non-clinical) projected 150 hrs this coming year for 200 hrs total.

- starting food bank volunteering locally this summer, projected 100 hours this coming year for 100 hrs total.

My question is: how should I prioritize volunteering? I was planning to apply next year (2025-2026 cycle). There is potential to volunteer at a local free health clinic, I’m just struggling to find the time with taking care of my little one along with studying for the MCAT 4-6 hrs/day. Will adcoms see military service and give me some lenience on what seems to be certain screening thresholds (250hrs clinical, 150hrs non clinical)? Thank you if you’ve made it this far.

TLDR: military dude looking on advice for what to prioritize for volunteering.

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[ablanco]

Lenience? Eh maybe but probably not a crazy amount, depends on the school I suppose. That being said, you seem to be on track getting some quality experiences going into the upcoming year. You'll be able to talk about some of the difficulties in the pre-med switch in your app which will help with the consideration. I know it's hard but aim for in-person volunteering whenever possible, though I can see how crisis text line could be a personal interest of yours, can be a compelling thing to write about if done well. With assumingly a good GPA, I'd imagine rocking the MCAT will put you in a pretty decent/good spot if you keep this up.

 

[Krebby Patty]

depends on the school I suppose.

This is more what I was referring to, if there are certain schools who might look at military service as an extension of non-clinical (or clinical depending on type of job in military) service.

With assumingly a good GPA, I'd imagine rocking the MCAT will put you in a pretty decent/good spot if you keep this up

I am finished with pre-req course load now, finishing with 3.81cGPA and 3.7sGPA. I am starting my 6 month study plan in June and aim to take the MCAT in January. Thank you for the reply and guidance @ablanco

 

[ablanco]

Yeah I mean generally mil gets some pref points. If you were a 68W or a high-speed 18D, those are recognized and you can tabulate the pt care hours as clinical. 11B? Idk if you can count the hours of a CLS course lol. There are schools located near bases that look pretty fondly on your experience. I think everyone would say 10 years to helping others would mean you're service-oriented.

 

[Krebby Patty]

If you were a 68W or a high-speed 18D, those are recognized and you can tabulate the pt care hours as clinical

Sounds like you know a thing or two about military occupational specialties. I was in special operations and had a good amount of opportunity to navigate trauma medicine, part of my PS reflects this during my last combat deployment. Thank you again for your input.

 

[Dral]

I would keep up with the hospice volunteering for sure.

In terms of non-clinical volunteering, what is your role at the food bank? If you have direct interaction with people who are benefiting from the service, I would play that up. If you don't have that, try to get it. The goal is to be doing something as far out of your comfort zone you can get.

As important as the text help line is, I would focus on the others more.


For a frame of reference, let's give an example of a 22 year old white guy who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago.

Tutoring kids at their prior high school: Not out of comfort zone.
Going to inner city Chicago to help in a sliding scale clinic or to work with a neighborhood to improve a public space: More out of comfort zone.

 

[Krebby Patty]

In terms of non-clinical volunteering, what is your role at the food bank?

Screening clients to determine what services are needed (food bank is also a clothing facility) and facilitate arrangements. Also stocking food and pre-packaging food items/meals. I will most definitely continue hospice as it will be one of my MME, and just recently added charting responsibilities for the entire volunteer staff for more non-clinical experience. Your example and comparison of differing activities makes sense, thank you @Dral