Volunteering

[OSUkid]

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I do not have any clinical volunteering as of yet. But I have been offered a sort of T.A. position where I can receive credit or volunteering hours for about 12 hours peer week. So I can reach over 100 hours of volunteering or maybe more than 200 if I continue to do it
Will dental schools mind if it is clinical or just helping student type volunteering.
Thanks
P.S. I will try to get some kind of clinical volunteering, but since dentistry isn't like medicine, I am sure it does not have to be hospital exclusive.

 

[Radaa]

I think any non-dental related experience goes under volunteering.
Then there's dental related experiences like shadowing, assisting, or volunteering in a dental setting. You can select more than 1 category for each experience if you want (Paid, shadowing, volunteering...)

 

[I want to go to there]

Volunteering is overrated and a lot of people here think it's so important. Adcom doesn't really care about volunteering. I had 0 hours since I wanted to spend that time on more shadowing and learning about dentistry instead. I had no problem with getting interviews and they never asked me about it.

So, get credit hours if you need credits or go shadow more at various specialties.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

Volunteering is overrated and a lot of people here think it's so important. Adcom doesn't really care about volunteering. I had 0 hours since I wanted to spend that time on more shadowing and learning about dentistry instead. I had no problem with getting interviews and they never asked me about it.

So, get credit hours if you need credits or go shadow more at various specialties.

You volunteer because you WANT to help those who are less fortunate.Not because you its's required.

 

[I want to go to there]

You volunteer because you WANT to help those who are less fortunate.Not because you its's required.

Most applicants volunteer in medical/dental field, which helps hospital/dental clinic, not less fortunate. If you really want to help the less fortunate, donate $100 to Red Cross or something. Your money will have much bigger impact on the less fortunate than your time.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

Most applicants volunteer in medical/dental field, which helps hospital/dental clinic, not less fortunate. If you really want to help the less fortunate, donate $100 to Red Cross or something. Your money will have much bigger impact on the less fortunate than your time.

There is truth to what you have posted. The majority of all my places have been at food banks and whatnot. I guess I should have clarified "volunteering in non medical/dental fields"

 

[Kellogg321]

This is a common question that is asked in pre-dental meetings, and admission officers always give you a same answer. No, it does not have to relate to medical/dentistry, but committing a good amount of time for the community shows them that you care about people. For example, a friend of mine went to a prison every week or two and taught prisoners French and Spanish, but no clinical volunteer other than 100 hours of shadowing, he didn't have a problem getting into a dental school.

 

[ajj70]

Most applicants volunteer in medical/dental field, which helps hospital/dental clinic, not less fortunate. If you really want to help the less fortunate, donate $100 to Red Cross or something. Your money will have much bigger impact on the less fortunate than your time.

Not true, but since you have never volunteered, you would not understand the value of doing so to those you are helping. Just curious, where are you going to dental school?

 

[talianapp]

Your money will have much bigger impact on the less fortunate than your time.

 

[I want to go to there]

Not true, but since you have never volunteered, you would not understand the value of doing so to those you are helping. Just curious, where are you going to dental school?

Volunteering is not the only way to help others. Also, it's completely true. Let's say you go to a homeless shelter and volunteer for an hour. The homeless shelter benefits an hour worth of manpower, which they can acquire by paying someone $5-10. If you donate, say $100, they can not only get someone to help for more than an hour, but also use the rest of the money to buy blankets and food for the homeless.

 

[ajj70]

Volunteering is not the only way to help others. Also, it's completely true. Let's say you go to a homeless shelter and volunteer for an hour. The homeless shelter benefits an hour worth of manpower, which they can acquire by paying someone $5-10. If you donate, say $100, they can not only get someone to help for more than an hour, but also use the rest of the money to buy blankets and food for the homeless.

Well, they can't just "hire" someone for $5/hour since that is illegal, not to mention the other costs of having employees. The point you are missing is the human contact for volunteering that no money can buy. Yes, they need money and it's helpful, but any charitable organization will tell you that their volunteers are what drive their causes.

 

[I want to go to there]

Well, they can't just "hire" someone for $5/hour since that is illegal, not to mention the other costs of having employees. The point you are missing is the human contact for volunteering that no money can buy. Yes, they need money and it's helpful, but any charitable organization will tell you that their volunteers are what drive their causes.

Are you saying you volunteer to feel good about yourself for helping others? Workers in different countries cost different and many cost less than $5. They prob don't give those workers health benefits and such, so other costs are negligible. Charitable organizations say that volunteers drive their cause so that more people volunteer. Big donors make much larger difference in one to one ratio of donor to volunteer.

The point is that you don't have to volunteer to make a difference. If you really want to make a big difference, donate like $10K per year to charities after becoming a dentist, tip people well, and do good and honest work on patients, etc.

 

[ajj70]

Are you saying you volunteer to feel good about yourself for helping others? Workers in different countries cost different and many cost less than $5. They prob don't give those workers health benefits and such, so other costs are negligible. Charitable organizations say that volunteers drive their cause so that more people volunteer. Big donors make much larger difference in one to one ratio of donor to volunteer.

The point is that you don't have to volunteer to make a difference. If you really want to make a big difference, donate like $10K per year to charities after becoming a dentist, tip people well, and do good and honest work on patients, etc.

No, just the opposite....

 

[I want to go to there]

No, just the opposite....

So, you volunteer to feel bad about yourself for helping others? You said that no money can buy the human contact for volunteering, if you only donate money, will people be helped by robots? You seem to act high and mighty just because you put some volunteer hours, but in the great scheme of things, had you instead worked at a good job for however many hours you volunteered and donated all the money earned to the charity, it would have benefited them more.

 

[whitepapertree]

.

 

[Pearl E. White]

I volunteer at my local animal shelter. Around here (and I'm sure it's the same everywhere else) we have a lot of strays that are not spayed/neutered causing many unwanted births. Our shelter is at full capacity and the shelter is not paid for by the city. They rely on two animal control officers to do all the cleaning, scraping up dead animals in the street, and rounding up animals on the loose. These two women are on the go non-stop and I can't imagine what it would be like to work there. I volunteer because after adopting my dog from there, I felt just saddened by the amount of puppies and older dogs/cats that will never have a home like he has now. I bring by donations like cleaning supplies and blankets and volunteer my time to help clean. There is no right or wrong way to volunteer. It doesn't matter where you volunteer your time and/or money. I said all of that to say do what makes you feel good. Think about someone other than yourself or your immediate family. Do something kind for someone else. If it helps me get into dental school GREAT! If it doesn't make a difference I will still have enjoyed my time and helping out my community.

 

[strep mutans]

Are you saying you volunteer to feel good about yourself for helping others? Workers in different countries cost different and many cost less than $5. They prob don't give those workers health benefits and such, so other costs are negligible. Charitable organizations say that volunteers drive their cause so that more people volunteer. Big donors make much larger difference in one to one ratio of donor to volunteer.

The point is that you don't have to volunteer to make a difference. If you really want to make a big difference, donate like $10K per year to charities after becoming a dentist, tip people well, and do good and honest work on patients, etc.

Oh I thought the point was that donating money has more impact than donating time? Back pedaling are we?

There are many many flaws in your logic. The average difference in the quality of work put forth by someone who is doing a task for free to help others versus someone who is being paid minimum wage is significant. Many people have more time than money to give. (Excuse me while I go pick $100 off my money tree!) Not all "charitable" organizations use funds wisely/ethically, hence the need for sites like http://www.charitynavigator.org/. One can volunteer in the medical/dental field at non-profit free clinics. You should not be comparing the value of man hours in the US to a salary in another country, as most volunteers in the US will be volunteering in the US. So my time is worth at least 7.25/hr to an organization. Not all worthy NGOs are international, you know.

You can't really say who makes a "larger difference" unless you are speaking strictly in terms of dollars, in which case of course "big donors make much larger difference in one to one ratio of donor to volunteer" (although depends on hours volunteered doesn't it?). However, a volunteer who cares about the people they work with is more likely to listen, show respect, provide help, and go above and beyond than someone who some rich guy paid to do a task for minimum wage. A volunteer can change the life of someone they help in many ways that writing a check simply cannot.

Volunteering in certain settings can increase one's level of empathy. We need more empathy in this world.

Anyway, I could go on, but I think I've volunteered enough of my time here.

 

[OSUkid]

Great posts everyone, let me tell you about a philosopher by the name of singer.
The scenario:
Your walking to school, and you see a sign for free coffee about a quarter mile ahead. As your walking there you see a person drowning in a lake. Your immediate reaction is to obviously help the person and avoid the coffe.

Well imagine there are people drowning everywhere throughout the world, and we know there is extreme poverty but we still choose to get the coffe or any other "useless" thing and not help the poor.

We as future dentists, or anyone making over a good salary, should donate a good chunk of our salary to poverty, relevant to our comparable wealth, meaning to not give too much where it hurts us but also not give too little either.

As a college student my goal is to definitely help in the future when I know I will have a bigger impact, but right now I will try to better myself and definitely try to volunteer as much time to organizations, and I am also putting most of my money in education and not to poverty, but in the long run it will be more effective seeing as I will provide to community and give much of my wealth.

 

[I want to go to there]

Oh I thought the point was that donating money has more impact than donating time? Back pedaling are we?

There are many many flaws in your logic. The average difference in the quality of work put forth by someone who is doing a task for free to help others versus someone who is being paid minimum wage is significant. Many people have more time than money to give. (Excuse me while I go pick $100 off my money tree!) Not all "charitable" organizations use funds wisely/ethically, hence the need for sites like http://www.charitynavigator.org/. One can volunteer in the medical/dental field at non-profit free clinics. You should not be comparing the value of man hours in the US to a salary in another country, as most volunteers in the US will be volunteering in the US. So my time is worth at least 7.25/hr to an organization. Not all worthy NGOs are international, you know.

You can't really say who makes a "larger difference" unless you are speaking strictly in terms of dollars, in which case of course "big donors make much larger difference in one to one ratio of donor to volunteer" (although depends on hours volunteered doesn't it?). However, a volunteer who cares about the people they work with is more likely to listen, show respect, provide help, and go above and beyond than someone who some rich guy paid to do a task for minimum wage. A volunteer can change the life of someone they help in many ways that writing a check simply cannot.

Volunteering in certain settings can increase one's level of empathy. We need more empathy in this world.

Anyway, I could go on, but I think I've volunteered enough of my time here.

How does the statement you bolded is me "back padaling"? Did I ever say donating time has no impact at all? And yes, I standby the statement that donating money do more good than your time if the monetary value of volunteering is less than the amount you would donate. It's simple mathematics.

People might put in more effort when they volunteer compared to someone getting paid minimum wage, but end-result would depend on the tasks you would be doing. Would the extra effort make a huge difference in the task? Will you somehow serve the food better if you were volunteering as opposed to someone getting paid? Hand out blankets? It's not that many people have more time to give than money, it's more that a lot of people are more reluctant to give money than time. As I said before, instead of volunteering for 100 hours, you can work at a job that pays like $15 and hour for 100 hours and donate $1500, but a lot of people would be reluctant to donate $1500.

You say a volunteer can change some people's lives. That might be true, but it will be on a small scale. However, a donor who writes a big check so they can give blankets to the homeless people, provide housing to the displaced, etc. will more likely to change larger # of people's lives than a volunteer being nice to the people he/she helps.

The people who are renowned for being charitable are not people who volunteer their time at a shelter or something. They are millionaires and billionaires who donate millions, run fundraisers, etc.

In the end, if you want to help others by donating your time, go for it. People who donate money are no less charitable than volunteers and their impact can be a lot greater, depending on the amount.

 

[strep mutans]

As I said before, instead of volunteering for 100 hours, you can work at a job that pays like $15 and hour for 100 hours and donate $1500, but a lot of people would be reluctant to donate $1500.

Most people volunteer during non-work hours (weekends and evenings), so it does not impact their take home pay, only their FREE TIME. (Btw, if you make $15/hr, depending on the size of your family and where you live, you very likely cannot donate $1500.) And many people would prefer to do the volunteering for 100 hours, where they are appreciated, than work for 100 hours, where they may be subjected to annoying bosses, customers, whatever else. I can't believe we're debating the selfishness of volunteering...

The people who are renowned for being charitable are not people who volunteer their time at a shelter or something. They are millionaires and billionaires who donate millions, run fundraisers, etc.

Lol no ****, Sherlock. Most "renowned" (aka famous) people are rich. Idk, I think there was this one lady named Mother Teresa, though.

 

[I want to go to there]

Most people volunteer during non-work hours (weekends and evenings), so it does not impact their take home pay, only their FREE TIME. And many people would prefer to do the volunteering for 100 hours, where they are appreciated, than work for 100 hours, where they may be subjected to annoying bosses, customers, whatever else. I can't believe we're debating the selfishness of volunteering...

Lol no ****, Sherlock. Most "renowned" (aka famous) people are rich. Idk, I think there was this one lady named Mother Teresa, though.

You are debating just donating money is more selfish and "less charitable" than actually volunteering the time. The people who would rather donate money rather than time are people like me who thinks they can do more good by donating money than time and would much rather work in familiar environment and spend their free time with family and friends. Are you that entitled for volunteering that you make less of the contributions donors make? Do hospitals, dental schools, and etc. have plaque for volunteers or donors?

I said renowned for being charitable, do you have trouble with reading comprehension? Also, I would argue people like Bill Gates had much more impact on the world through charity than Mother Teresa.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

You are debating just donating money is more selfish and "less charitable" than actually volunteering the time. The people who would rather donate money rather than time are people like me who thinks they can do more good by donating money than time and would much rather work in familiar environment and spend their free time with family and friends. Are you that entitled for volunteering that you make less of the contributions donors make? Do hospitals and such have plaque for volunteers or donors?

I said renowned for being charitable, do you have trouble with reading comprehension? Also, I would argue people like Bill Gates had much more impact on the world through charity than Mother Teresa.

Both Gates and Motor Teresa have done great things. Bill Gates has the money and Mother Terersa sacrificed her life in order to love and help those. Im not saying money isnt important...Money just can't buy what she offers.

 

[I want to go to there]

Both Gates and Motor Teresa have done great things. Bill Gates has the money and Mother Terersa sacrificed her life in order to love and help those. Im not saying money isnt important...Money just can't buy what she offers.

Her biggest contribution to the world were expanding charity organizations and fundraising. Bill Gates does the same thing with more money. In any case, both had a huge impact on the world in terms of charity.

 

[OSUkid]

The reason why there is poverty is because of money and neo-colonialism, resulting in countries that we live in today to become wealthier, and the rest to live in poverty. It is our moral obligation to donate money, because quite frankly this money is not ours. You just cannot only VOLUNTEER and NOT GIVE MONEY and think you are really helping the world. Money was the problem and is the solution.

 

[strep mutans]

You are debating just donating money is more selfish and "less charitable" than actually volunteering the time.

Really? Where did I say that? I believe what I said was "you can't really say who makes a larger difference," while you are the one who asserted "money will have much bigger impact... than your time."

The people who would rather donate money rather than time are people like me who thinks they can do more good by donating money than time and would much rather work in familiar environment and spend their free time with family and friends.

We get it, you don't want to volunteer. That's fine, nobody cares.

Do hospitals, dental schools, and etc. have plaque for volunteers or donors?

Actually yes, many hospitals have plaques for both.

I said renowned for being charitable, do you have trouble with reading comprehension?

Oh honey, bless your heart.

 

[Mouthhole]

Lol

 

[I want to go to there]

I will have to agree. You can either volunteer and build a shelter which will take so many months. Or give money and build it much quicker. However, I do not believe you should do one and not the other, if your donating I am sure you might also help people in a variety of other ways, for example as a dentist I can give a good amount of wealth, but also do free oral care on less fortunate people.
Money is more important in terms of helping global poverty, but volunteering is also important in terms of being a friend and building bonds.
We need both in the world, and both are very important.

The reason why there is poverty is because of money and neo-colonialism, resulting in countries that we live in today to become wealthier, and the rest to live in poverty. It is our moral obligation to donate money, because quite frankly this money is not ours. You just cannot only VOLUNTEER and NOT GIVE MONEY and think you are really helping the world. Money was the problem and is the solution.

Exactly my point, if you want to do both, that's fantastic. But if you only want to do one, money has more impact than time, especially if your income lies at a higher end like for dentists.

 

[ajj70]

Exactly my point, if you want to do both, that's fantastic. But if you only want to do one, money has more impact than time, especially if your income lies at a higher end like for dentists.

Try watching your dollar bills build a house for someone without the volunteers to actually do the work....with donated materials....yes, there is a need for money, but if you are donating money to get your name on a plaque on a wall, you heart is not in the right place...

 

[I want to go to there]

Really? Where did I say that? I believe what I said was "you can't really say who makes a larger difference," while you are the one who asserted "money will have much bigger impact... than your time."
We get it, you don't want to volunteer. That's fine, nobody cares.
Actually yes, many hospitals have plaques for both.
Oh honey, bless your heart.

For someone who doesn't care, you have been pretty diligent at disagreeing with my viewpoint. If you disagree with my viewpoint, that's fine. I can't make a blanket in an hour, I can work for an hour and buy a blanket. I can't work at a field for an hour and feed the hungry, I can buy them food if I work an hour. Money can buy essential things that disadvantaged people need. Volunteering time can not.

You volunteered at charities and that's great. If you really care about charity, I hope your time is not the only thing you are willing to offer.

 

[I want to go to there]

Try watching your dollar bills build a house for someone without the volunteers to actually do the work....with donated materials....yes, there is a need for money, but if you are donating money to get your name on a plaque on a wall, you heart is not in the right place...

People who are willing to build houses for free are few while those willing to build them for money are plenty. Same goes for materials. No, I don't donate money to get my name on a plaque, I was just pointing out donations mean a lot to organizations to the point they acknowledge your contribution by putting your name on a plaque.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

The reason why there is poverty is because of money and neo-colonialism, resulting in countries that we live in today to become wealthier, and the rest to live in poverty. It is our moral obligation to donate money, because quite frankly this money is not ours. You just cannot only VOLUNTEER and NOT GIVE MONEY and think you are really helping the world. Money was the problem and is the solution.

Both are necessary. as a student, I can't afford to give but my parents give yearly to the poor. The only thing I can do is to donate my time for now.

 

[ajj70]

People who are willing to build houses for free are few while those willing to build them for money are plenty. Same goes for materials. No, I don't donate money to get my name on a plaque, I was just pointing out donations mean a lot to organizations to the point they acknowledge your contribution by putting your name on a plaque.

Really??? Ever heard of Habitat for Humanity???

 

[I want to go to there]

Really??? Ever heard of Habitat for Humanity???

Is it bigger than the number of contractors and workers who build houses for money? While Habitat for Humanity is pretty big for a charity organization, it's tiny compared to construction businesses. Tech/business people just donated 5 mil to build 100 apts for veterans and homeless. It's easier and faster to get houses built with money.

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_28179159/tech-leaders-give-5-million-build-100-new