Volunteering in PT

[thesituationPhD]

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hey everyone,

I was wondering if volunteering in the physical therapy department of the hospital is a good (and acceptable in the eyes of adcoms) place to get patient interaction.

Also have any of you volunteered outside of the "medical" field? would schools question this?

Thanks

 

[loveoforganic]

IMO, volunteer where you'll get tons of patient contact. Volunteering with the OT of a psych hospital was an awesome experience.

 

[chman]

I volunteer in the PT department. I don't see why it wouldn't be. There are plenty of doctors around if you are at a hospital. I get a lot of contact with patients too. It is also nice to be on a smaller floor where you get to know people well.

Of course, part of my floor is med-surge overflow, so it could be a little different, but not much I bet.

 

[mwalker394]

hey everyone,

I was wondering if volunteering in the physical therapy department of the hospital is a good (and acceptable in the eyes of adcoms) place to get patient interaction.

Also have any of you volunteered outside of the "medical" field? would schools question this?

Thanks

Schools would question it if you ONLY volunteered outside the medical field, but if you want to do additional volunteering elsewhere, go for it! I volunteered in a soup kitchen and watched kids for free for a program called Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. These things had nothing to do with medicine, but they were fun and helped people who needed it. That's what really counts.
Do volunteering in both areas; it'll give you one more thing to talk about at your interviews.

 

[tremulousNeedle]

It is good for volunteer and patient contact experience. It is not so good for 'physician' experience; for that you'll need to either shadow physicians or find an experience where you work side-by-side with them.


And most schools DON'T question volunteer experiences outside of healthcare as long as you have other sufficient patient contact experiences.

-admissions committee interviewer / senior medical student

 

[chman]

It is good for volunteer and patient contact experience. It is not so good for 'physician' experience; for that you'll need to either shadow physicians or find an experience where you work side-by-side with them.


And most schools DON'T question volunteer experiences outside of healthcare as long as you have other sufficient patient contact experiences.

-admissions committee interviewer / senior medical student

There are plenty of physicians in the rehab unit I volunteer at. Of course if it is a private practice that is a different story.

 

[thesituationPhD]

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

[Morsetlis]

Can anyone share their P/O Therapy volunteering experiences?