volunteering in med school?

[Yogi Bear]

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in terms of residency placement, does volunteering help for areas like derm/optho? or would u be better off spending that time on research/improving academics.

 

[doc05]

you would be better off spending that time on research/improving academics.

 

[edinOH]

volunteering only helps with getting into medical school. It is feel-good fluff.

Nobody cares when it comes to residency applications.

 

[Skrubz]

<edit>

point taken, doc05. what do i know anyways?

 

[doc05]

Originally posted by Skrubz
I'm going to disagree and say that it depends on the program. High-powered academic programs probably couldn't give a rat's @$$ about volunteering experiences. Some community programs would be interested, I think, if serving the underserved is an important part of their mission.

I did a fair amount of volunteering throughout med school with our Asian-American med student org, particularly at health screenings and such for the underserved/non-English speaking Asian immigrant population. I think my experiences and dedication (along with leadership roles) helped me land my prelim spot. SCVMC is Santa Clara county's county hospital and, from my impression on interview day, quite dedicated to the largely immigrant and/or economically depressed population they serve.

How hard is it to land a prelim spot? and who cares about your prelim year, anyway?

It is more likely that someone who had the credentials to match at Stanford had pretty much their pick of prelim spots.

 

[omores]

Volunteering may well play a role in getting junior AOA status, however, which would be a big asset.

 

[Finally M3]

If all things are equal, I think those with org/volunt would have an edge over someone who didn't do anything.

That being said, your volunteering in the free clinic won't put you over a Harvard AOA USMLE1-2 > 99%. If you have a limited amount of time and are gunning for Optho/Derm, wouldn't your time be better spent studying to AOA and ace the boards?