volunteering ideas

[nrddct]

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I'm currently trying to improve my resume before reapplying and was wondering what kind of volunteering you guys are doing. (besides the hospital, since I already work in one 😛).

I guess I need some ideas on something that is worthwhile and community oriented. thanks.

 

[docchick]

It's been said before, but I'll say it again - Do something YOU enjoy and think is worthwhile.

If you become a soup kitchen volunteer because Premed X did and got into Med School, you will be a bad volunteer, and dislike it. . . Find a cause that you believe in, and volunteer there...

I don't think adcoms cares so much WHAT you do, so much as they care that you are doing something to 'help out your fellow man'. . . (as long as you have some clinical stuff)

Originally posted by nrddct
I'm currently trying to improve my resume before reapplying and was wondering what kind of volunteering you guys are doing. (besides the hospital, since I already work in one 😛).

I guess I need some ideas on something that is worthwhile and community oriented. thanks.

 

[Amy B]

I volunteered for over two years at the city free health clinic. It was the absolute BEST place to be to have daily direct patient interaction. I was trained to do everything. Some of the things were: checked in patients and took vitals, simple lab tests, immunizations, finger sticks and simple tests for iron and glucose, drew blood from patients and for HIV testing, pregnancy counseling, etc.......

Everywhere that I have interviewed have commented on what a positive volunteer role I had filled.

 

[TTSD]

For volunteering outside of hospital I did Highschool Mentorship programs and I am currently involved in Prison Reform from a medical/spiritual field. We currently have access to a medium security prisons but soon to get clearance for bigger places like Chino. We are also branching out to local halfway houses as well.

 

[nrddct]

so much as they care that you are doing something to 'help out your fellow man'. . . (as long as you have some clinical stuff)

So your saying to volunteer for something with a clinical bases?

 

[vankempd]

Originally posted by Amy B
I volunteered for over two years at the city free health clinic. It was the absolute BEST place to be to have daily direct patient interaction. I was trained to do everything. Some of the things were: checked in patients and took vitals, simple lab tests, immunizations, finger sticks and simple tests for iron and glucose, drew blood from patients and for HIV testing, pregnancy counseling, etc.......

Everywhere that I have interviewed have commented on what a positive volunteer role I had filled.

AmyB, were you volunteering as an EMT? I wouldn't expect that they would let any joe-schmoe volunteer and be able to do blood work etc?

 

[LUBDUBB]

I don't think you need EMT for a free health clinic. These kind of clinics live off of volunteers, so they'll take and train whomever is willing to put it the time and effort. I'm looking into that right now on the advice of a friend.

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by vankempd
AmyB, were you volunteering as an EMT? I wouldn't expect that they would let any joe-schmoe volunteer and be able to do blood work etc?

Sorry I never answered your question before now. No, I was not an EMT. They trained me for all the tasks I did because I was a steady, regular volunteer who showed up every week and worked on average 4 hours per week for 3 years.

That's how I ended up being trained to do almost every because most volunteers showed up in March, stayed for a 7 weeks and tehn never came back. All they wanted was their LOR and that was it.

I would strongly urge people who aren't applying this year to start now and show up weekly wherever you volunteer. It can help compensate if you have a lower GPA or MCAT. A glowing LOR from a place you have given lots of hours can help you in a big way.

Plus you get to find out if you really want to be around patients.
We had lots of homeless, AIDS patients, prostitutes, homosexuals, etc.... Some volunteers couldn't stand to touch these pepole when they would need to get their blood pressures, temps, weight, etc. We had a lot of people who found out they didn't want to be a part of medicine.

The smells of patients is not something TV shows like ER can effectively let pre-meds experience. Neither is the despair you feel when you treat people who are homeless and need more than you can offer. Nor can they prepare you for seeing child abuse face to face and in living color. It is REALLY hard to deal with.

 

[Rendar5]

If I don't get in and need something extra for med school entrance. I'll volunteer at a soup kitchen. I just like cooking =).

I dunno, simply "helping out my fellow man" is not my top priority at this point. I don't think it's going to have that much of an impact. So my advice is find some sort of community volunteering you know you'd enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it because there are a lot of other things that can help your resume.

 

[Rendar5]

oh, and do volunteer for long periods of time, whether it's hospital volunteering or community service. I've been working in the ER even after I graduated and got my LoR and I've been getting a lot more out of it in recent months since I've been there longer than a lot of the current volunteers.

 

[sunni]

I coach a little girls soccer team. It's something I enjoyed when I was little, plus, the girls are too cute. Their moms make like gift baskets, & they are the most supportive parents, plus I have gotten a couple "clinical" (mainly shadowing) opportunities from it.
I also do other stuff that's community oriented like religous center volunteer stuff and at school I help out during some orientations.

 

[EMPOWERurSELF!]

One way to find places to volunteer that has worked for me is to go to yahoo.com, click on yellow pages, and then choose from the categories shown like health/medical, community, etc. This allows you to find what agencies are in your area you may have never known about. I found this especially helpful because I'm not originally from the area where I attend college, so I found some things that were relatively close by and looked interesting, and either gave them a call or visited their web pages.

This is especially helpful if you're looking to shadow a doc in a specific specialty--most have been very helpful and courteous when I call 🙂

Good Luck!

 

[BlackstarNYC]

Originally posted by Amy B
I volunteered for over two years at the city free health clinic. It was the absolute BEST place to be to have daily direct patient interaction. I was trained to do everything. Some of the things were: checked in patients and took vitals, simple lab tests, immunizations, finger sticks and simple tests for iron and glucose, drew blood from patients and for HIV testing, pregnancy counseling, etc.......

Everywhere that I have interviewed have commented on what a positive volunteer role I had filled.

I agree. I worked at two free clinics over the summer, but this semester I could not because I am abroad in London. I plan on continuing it when I return to the US next semester. I wasn't there ling enough to proceed to doing what Amy did, as I mostly checked people in. I also got to practice my Spanish quite extensively 🙂