Volunteering opportunities aside from the hospital

[mohad]

I have no clinical volunteering hours right now and I plan to apply this upcoming cycle. It may be foolish, but I have a decent GPA and MCAT score so I figure it wouldn't hurt. I applied to volunteer at a hospital near my university in September, but orientation starst november, which severely reduces the number of hours I can get this semester. I decided to cram some sort of clinical volunteering during winter break, but all the hospitals I called require a 3 month minimum time commitment. What are other general opportunities are there that give me patient exposure? I am running out of ideas aside from the hospital.

Thanks in advance for the input. I really appreciate it.

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[fzwarrior]

I have no clinical volunteering hours right now and I plan to apply this upcoming cycle. It may be foolish, but I have a decent GPA and MCAT score so I figure it wouldn't hurt. I applied to volunteer at a hospital near my university in September, but orientation starst november, which severely reduces the number of hours I can get this semester. I decided to cram some sort of clinical volunteering during winter break, but all the hospitals I called require a 3 month minimum time commitment. What are other general opportunities are there that give me patient exposure? I am running out of ideas aside from the hospital.

Thanks in advance for the input. I really appreciate it.

Clinical volunteering is a must, even if it means wheeling patients out to their cars all day. While you wait to get into the hospital, I would try hospice or maybe some nursing homes. If you are concerned about not having enough hours in by the time you apply, just make sure you let them know you are continuing your volunteer service at the hospital. You could get some community service hours logged in while you wait as well.

 

[mohad]

Yeah, I applied to a tutoring position for next semester, and I plan on volunteering throughout the summer at home and at the university hospital next semester and fall of next year. I just would like to get some hours in during winter break because I don't want to sit around for a month and have nothing to show for it.

Would private practice clinics also be a valid option? I am trying to cover all bases possible at this point.

 

[mipp0]

I have no clinical volunteering hours right now and I plan to apply this upcoming cycle. It may be foolish, but I have a decent GPA and MCAT score so I figure it wouldn't hurt. I applied to volunteer at a hospital near my university in September, but orientation starst november, which severely reduces the number of hours I can get this semester. I decided to cram some sort of clinical volunteering during winter break, but all the hospitals I called require a 3 month minimum time commitment. What are other general opportunities are there that give me patient exposure? I am running out of ideas aside from the hospital.

Thanks in advance for the input. I really appreciate it.

You will not be a strong applicant with such weak clinical experience. How would you know medicine is right for you, unless you had hundred of hours of hospital/internship experience? I would encourage you to take a year off to get those clinical hours versus cramming them before application cycle. It will be a huge red flag on your application.

For example, I have ~2,000 hours of clinical experience (not shadowing, which I see more as passive clinical experience, but hands off stuff), and I forgot what the average was...

 

[zma21]

You will not be a strong applicant with such weak clinical experience. How would you know medicine is right for you, unless you had hundred of hours of hospital/internship experience? I would encourage you to take a year off to get those clinical hours versus cramming them before application cycle. It will be a huge red flag on your application.

For example, I have ~2,000 hours of clinical experience (not shadowing, which I see more as passive clinical experience, but hands off stuff), and I forgot what the average was...

Congratulations on your 2000 hours.

OP, there is no set of "clinical volunteering" hours. With that being said, you should have a somewhat significant amount of time spent in a clinical setting. I get paid for my most recent experience, and the ones before I did not. People confuse these hours spent in a hospital thinking they are there to impress the ADCOM's. They are not. These hours are intended to give you a very vague introduction to the medical field. In your short time shadowing, if you vomit at the though of stepping in another hospital ever again, you better go with your senses.

This is another example of Quality over Quantity. I'd rather do 200 hours of involved shadowing than 2000 hours of sitting at an ER kiosk like others that have shadowed with me have. Do what interests you, not what you think will interest the interviewer.

 

[mohad]

I already have 60 hours of shadowing an anesthesiologist and he took me around the ICU and into surgeries, and I loved it. I also am going to shadow a pediatrician during the winter break. With all due respect, mipp0, I think that I would enjoy practicing medicine if it is relatively similar to the experiences I've had so far. I want to get these hours done since like you said, it will raise red flags. I know that most volunteering will make me do basic busy work to keep me out of the way. Even a doctor that I talked with on the Baylor admissions committee said that volunteering is a basic that everyone should have, but it means nothing because the act of volunteering itself is so vague. Do something meaningful. So I'm just doing this to get my basic minimum out of the way and I'll try and find something I like better along the way.

 

[deleted261193]

on a similar note: i was under the impression that when adcoms say they like volunteering or community service, the point was to show that we have some semblance of compassion and taking care of/for others. i didn't think it had to be *clinical* community service. like if you get clinical experience elsewhere (a job or shadowing or something), can't you do volunteering with anything else?

 

[mipp0]

Congratulations on your 2000 hours.

OP, there is no set of "clinical volunteering" hours. With that being said, you should have a somewhat significant amount of time spent in a clinical setting. I get paid for my most recent experience, and the ones before I did not. People confuse these hours spent in a hospital thinking they are there to impress the ADCOM's. They are not. These hours are intended to give you a very vague introduction to the medical field. In your short time shadowing, if you vomit at the though of stepping in another hospital ever again, you better go with your senses.

This is another example of Quality over Quantity. I'd rather do 200 hours of involved shadowing than 2000 hours of sitting at an ER kiosk like others that have shadowed with me have. Do what interests you, not what you think will interest the interviewer.

I agree with the 200 vs. 2000 of irrelevant work.

Luckily, I was doing rotations throughout the hospital and working directly with the nursing staff, taking EKGs, providing wound care for lacerations, applying splints, and working with ER physicians in the trauma room. Not once did I sit in front of an kiosk, so let's reserve the judgment?

Why not aim for quantity and quality?

I'm sure ADCOMs are impressed, because I have been invited to top 10 medical schools for interview.

OP, I'm trying to give you valuable advice here, not toot my own horn.

 

[mohad]

Yeah, I get that. i suppose I was being a bit aggressive. I would like to avoid taking a year off just because I feel like I could get in somewhere if I manage to get some volunteering done even if it isn't an impressive amount. My GPA and MCAT score are pretty decent, but I know that numbers alone aren't enough though. My only issue is that I've heard that rec letters should be written at a date close to when you're going toa pply. Not sure if it is true thouhg. I am going to graduate early though during the fall of 2012 hopefully, and so I would have a hard time getting rec letters from professors during then when I am not even going to school in the spring.

If I can figure out what to do with recs, I would have no qualms with taking a year and a half off before applying.

Also, it seems like applicants get more and more competitive each year, and since my MCAT score lasts only so long, I sure as hell don't want to risk having to retake a 37.

 

[Catalystik]

Would private practice clinics also be a valid option? I am trying to cover all bases possible at this point.

Yes, you can volunteer in a private clinic to get clinical experience, but keep in mind that this type of volunteering is NOT considered to be a community service, so you'd want to be sure to have some good nonmedical community service to help cover your bases.

[Any luck finding a research gig yet?]

 

[mohad]

Yes, you can volunteer in a private clinic to get clinical experience, but keep in mind that this type of volunteering is NOT considered to be a community service, so you'd want to be sure to have some good nonmedical community service to help cover your bases.

[Any luck finding a research gig yet?]

Ok, I'll keep that in mind.

Unfortunately, the few professors that I talked with about research either said that they didn't have enough resources to have to deal with having new members in the lab and that if I were to join, they wouldn't want me for a year (since I'm graduating fall 2012). A few of the hospitals that I talked with said that they had no opportunities for volunteering during the winter, but they had programs in the summer for more intimate clinical experiences and funded research for college students, so I figured I'd try and apply to that in the summer.

With the whole "take a year off" idea, does it look bad if I took my MCAT in 2011, and I apply in 2013. And how about getting rec letters from professors next semester and storing them in interfolio for a year and then applying 2013? Would schools think poorly of an applicant that had a 2 year old mcat score and year and a half old rec letters?

 

[Launcelot]

Do something interesting! Volunteer at the morgue!

 

[Catalystik]

1) does it look bad if I took my MCAT in 2011, and I apply in 2013.

2) And how about getting rec letters from professors next semester and storing them in interfolio for a year and then applying 2013?

1) It only looks bad if the score expires before you apply. As some expire in two years at a certain month, you'd have to keep a very close eye on the timing for each institution.

2) IMO, a year-old letter is not a problem. And of those you collect, you might ask a prof or two if in a year, they'd be willing to reprint it with a then-current date soon before you apply. I'd still collect the letter whenever you can though (next semester), as it seems an alarming number of critical letter writers die, go on sabbatical, relocate to a foreign country without E-Mail, go into a coma, or whatever.

 

[mohad]

1) It only looks bad if the score expires before you apply. As some expire in two years at a certain month, you'd have to keep a very close eye on the timing for each institution.

2) IMO, a year-old letter is not a problem. And of those you collect, you might ask a prof or two if in a year, they'd be willing to reprint it with a then-current date soon before you apply. I'd still collect the letter whenever you can though (next semester), as it seems an alarming number of critical letter writers die, go on sabbatical, relocate to a foreign country without E-Mail, go into a coma, or whatever.

Ok, so the MCAT expires at different dates for each school? Is this information on the MSAR, or would I need to just check it out on each school website/ask them specifically?

 

[Catalystik]

1) Ok, so the MCAT expires at different dates for each school? 2) Is this information on the MSAR, or would I need to just check it out on each school website/ask them specifically?

1) Yes. Two to three years is common, but a few expire the MCAT in 4-10 years.

2) It should be at both locations.

 

[Stumpyman]

Have you tried free clinics? They are always a little bit more flexible with commitments and usually have more spots available.

 

[mohad]

Ok, cool. THanks so much Catalystik. If the schools I'm looking at let me hold onto my MCAT score for 3 years, then I might as well take the year off and work on that application.

 

[MediCynical]

Have you tried free clinics? They are always a little bit more flexible with commitments and usually have more spots available.

I was just going to post this. Free or low-cost clinics for the uninsured are a great way to gain patient interaction. I volunteered at one and got a lot of practice with rooming patients, taking vitals, and recording chief complaints etc. Some require previous clinical experience, but I've seen many that will train you in the basics and also in things like phlebotomy and labwork.

 

[chiapet874]

You will not be a strong applicant with such weak clinical experience. How would you know medicine is right for you, unless you had hundred of hours of hospital/internship experience? I would encourage you to take a year off to get those clinical hours versus cramming them before application cycle. It will be a huge red flag on your application.

For example, I have ~2,000 hours of clinical experience (not shadowing, which I see more as passive clinical experience, but hands off stuff), and I forgot what the average was...

You don't need hundreds of hours. The average is around 100-150 hours, as if that really means anything.

 

[chiapet874]

I was just going to post this. Free or low-cost clinics for the uninsured are a great way to gain patient interaction. I volunteered at one and got a lot of practice with rooming patients, taking vitals, and recording chief complaints etc. Some require previous clinical experience, but I've seen many that will train you in the basics and also in things like phlebotomy and labwork.

How would you go about finding/getting into these clinics? I presume it would be as simple as calling them up and saying that you are interested in volunteering as their facility.

 

[Gnomes]

Clinical volunteering is a must, even if it means wheeling patients out to their cars all day.

Really. I made the mistake of not doing clinical volunteering, and I'm sitting here in October with a 39R MCAT, a decent if not great GPA, and good non-clinical ECs including a year of other volunteering and over a year of paid research at NIH, yet I've gotten only one interview invite.

 

[BurntFlower]

You don't need hundreds of hours. The average is around 100-150 hours, as if that really means anything.

I hope so, because I also have very few clinical hours so far (60+ hours in a hospital in Bolivia) and I intend on applying next year.

 

[mohad]

Really. I made the mistake of not doing clinical volunteering, and I'm sitting here in October with a 39R MCAT, a decent if not great GPA, and good non-clinical ECs including a year of other volunteering and over a year of paid research at NIH, yet I've gotten only one interview invite.

Oh god, I'm getting nervous now. I am gonna try and look up nursing homes and other free clinics and ask if they would be able to have me for a month. I am really debating about whether or not I should take a year off. A part of me says yes, but other people I talked with said to do it anyway cause if I get in, then good for me, and if I don't, I know what to improve. Money would be the only issue I suppose. Is there any disadvantage to applying this year and potentially being a reapplicant next yaer? My main concern is the expiring MCAT and rec letters, but I can look up when the score expires and can ask professors to change the date if need be.

 

[candav]

I hope so, because I also have very few clinical hours so far (60+ hours in a hospital in Bolivia) and I intend on applying next year.

Note that while those international experiences are great (they're also something I emphasized on my application), I think you really need domestic clinical exposure to be taken seriously as an applicant to an American medical school.

 

[gmcguitar4]

there are clinics all over, such as muscular dystrophy, that exist. You could find something like that. Clinical research at hospitals usually need volunteers as well.

 

[BurntFlower]

Note that while those international experiences are great (they're also something I emphasized on my application), I think you really need domestic clinical exposure to be taken seriously as an applicant to an American medical school.

I'm aware, which is why I'll start volunteering at a US hospital starting this November.

 

[Morsetlis]

There are lots of things to do outside of the hospital. Ideally, you want as many clinical opportunities as you can get.

For non-clinical opportunities, I started at my local community center, got bored, and then went to the border (and sometimes over it).

 

[hpe]

Hey guys,
So I was in the same dilemma last year about volunteer experience and I ended up going on a 2 month trip to Ecuador and volunteering in the ER of a hospital in the Galapagos. It was the BEST experience I've ever had, hands down. I got sooo much wonderful hands-onexperience, learned Spanish, gained a real understanding of the public health issues at play in Ecuador and made some amazing friends (and met my fiancee!). Anyways, I had such a good time that the volunteer organization I went through asked me to help them plan another trip for next summer, which I'm in the process of doing right now. The trip will be 3 weeks of public health awareness and first aid training in Nepal, starting mid-June 2012. If anyone's looking for some GREAT experience or have any questions about the company, or my experiences or this particular trip, shoot me a message! I did some pretty heavy research into different volunteer organizations, as obviously I wanted to spend my time/money wisely and get the most possible out of it, and this organization really impressed me. But if you have any questions about other organizations, or other ideas of things to volunteer let me know as well, I'd be happy to help!

http://www.volunteerabroad.ca/sites...agename=Nepal First Aid&category=143&page=701

 

[Catalystik]

Really. I made the mistake of not doing clinical volunteering, and I'm sitting here in October with a 39R MCAT, a decent if not great GPA, and good non-clinical ECs including a year of other volunteering and over a year of paid research at NIH, yet I've gotten only one interview invite.

Your Gnome's Shadowing Checklist was so successful that you might perhaps consider a similar project for Clinical Experience?

 

[SellerAl]

schools know that lots of our clinical experiences are kinda weak, so if you can make up for it in numbers you'll get in somewhere, probably a way better school though if you had a year of great experiences.

 

[Gnomes]

Your Gnome's Shadowing Checklist was so successful that you might perhaps consider a similar project for Clinical Experience?

I wish I were in a position to write it - maybe if this cycle doesn't work out! (Although I did get a positive note from the MD-PhD program director at Stony Brook post-interview, so things are looking up. The MSTP there seems to be in a RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH mood at the moment, which, I guess, is appropriate for an MSTP.) I did shadow quite a bit, which might save me from people thinking I have absolutely no idea what goes on in hospitals, but apparently no clinical volunteering is a real dealbreaker for a lot of schools even with substantial and broad shadowing and non-clinical volunteer activities.

If only fetching lunch for that radiologist I shadowed made it count as volunteering...

 

[mseclectic]

1) It only looks bad if the score expires before you apply. As some expire in two years at a certain month, you'd have to keep a very close eye on the timing for each institution.

2) IMO, a year-old letter is not a problem. And of those you collect, you might ask a prof or two if in a year, they'd be willing to reprint it with a then-current date soon before you apply. I'd still collect the letter whenever you can though (next semester), as it seems an alarming number of critical letter writers die, go on sabbatical, relocate to a foreign country without E-Mail, go into a coma, or whatever.

So, if I asked a professor for a LOR in 2011/2012, should I ask them to write a new one in 2 years (2014) if I plan to take 2 years off? Will I still be able to use the LORs from 2011/2012 if I am not able to contact the professor for an updated LOR?

 

[Catalystik]

1) So, if I asked a professor for a LOR in 2011/2012, should I ask them to write a new one in 2 years (2014) if I plan to take 2 years off?

2) Will I still be able to use the LORs from 2011/2012 if I am not able to contact the professor for an updated LOR?

1) Not so much with a new one, as reprint the old one with a new date, unless you keep in touch and the writer can add new pertinent info to the old letter revolving around your most recent activities.

2) An older letter or two is fine, but it generally felt that there should be some recent letters (at least date-wise) mixed in.

 

[dreamweaver1988]

Have you tried free clinics? They are always a little bit more flexible with commitments and usually have more spots available.

^^I'm in favor of this strategy. It's easy. Talk to your pre-med advisor, or to the Red Cross, or just do a Google search. You will find opportunities for volunteering, and they may well be medicine-related. Just start looking ASAP and be prepared to jump through all the necessary hoops (personal references, immunizations, etc.). And I personally would recommend continuing volunteering even after winter break, as this will show schools you wanted to make a difference and not just kill time during the break.

The free clinics are great, too, because the people who come in really are appreciative of the care they receive.

 

[mohad]

Unfortunately, I am going home for winter break and so if I were to volunteer at a clinic, it could only be for the 1 month period. That's why it has been so hard for me to find hospital volunteering. They all require a 3 month commitment, and I obviously can't do that with school starting in january. I do plan to volunteer after I get back in january, and hopefully, the hospital here will finally let me come in after I pass a few more hoops, but I need to do something for the winter break as I have no volunteering which is extremely necessary for me at this point.

 

[dreamweaver1988]

Unfortunately, I am going home for winter break and so if I were to volunteer at a clinic, it could only be for the 1 month period. That's why it has been so hard for me to find hospital volunteering. They all require a 3 month commitment, and I obviously can't do that with school starting in january. I do plan to volunteer after I get back in january, and hopefully, the hospital here will finally let me come in after I pass a few more hoops, but I need to do something for the winter break as I have no volunteering which is extremely necessary for me at this point.

Then do it for just a month. Also realize that there's not a big difference between five months of volunteer work and six months of volunteer work, so don't sweat it if nothing turns up.

 

[mohad]

Then do it for just a month. Also realize that there's not a big difference between five months of volunteer work and six months of volunteer work, so don't sweat it if nothing turns up.

Yeah I suppose you're right. I just dont want to be behind the curve as far as hours are concerned. I have 0 volunteering, and shadowing doesn't make up for it. I hear that the average volunteering hours for applicants is around 150ish and I don't want to have less of something every appliacant should have.