Volunteering

[Zeloy]

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So I just started volunteering in the ER at my local hospital. All is going well but I only work once every week, sometimes every two weeks. I'm not sure if it is enough. How much do med schools expect you to do? About how many hours or years?

Also, the nurses at the hospital I work at decided to go on strike! I'm not sure what I should do. Should I cross the picket lines to volunteer? I think I will because they probaly really need help there now that the nurses are on strike. I just don't look forward to going in there with people protesting it or something.

 

[stifler]

do schools ask how long you volunteer? i thought you just list what you did 😕

 

[Severus]

Ah... protest shmotest. I say walk through those lines and run through those sit-ins. You're the volunteer, so it's not like you're a scab or anything. 😉

As far as hours/ years, I don't think there is any requisite number for either. However, I do think it would look a bit suspicious to start right around application time (if it's your year), so, just make sure you have some months in at least.

Sev

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I would think a complete list of ECs *should* include the amount of time you volunteered. And just once a week or every other week does seem a bit on the meager side. What else are you doing to occupy your time? Just be sure you can substantiate usefulness of hours not devoted to hospital work. (between volunteering at a clinic and a hospital, it utilizes 30-40 hours of my time every week and i'm also going to summer school...i thought this was the norm; let me know if i'm wrong)

And defintely cross the picket lines; you are not being paid and therefore not a scab. Someone has to give the patient care if the nurses won't and i think that would be an asset.

Good luck.

 

[gaf]

do schools ask how long you volunteer? i thought you just list what you did 😕

AMCAS asks when you started, when you stopped and how much time per week.

"Post-Secondary Experiences Average Hours Per Week
"How many hours each week were devoted to this experience?"
- AMCAS Instruction Book for the 2005 Entering Class, page 15

 

[Rugger81]

I don't think once a week is meager. I work once a week in the ER, once a week in pediatrics. But I'm also out of college a year and working. You can't be expected to volunteer 5 days a week, or even 20-30 hours a week unless you are unemployed or only taking one or two classes.

And by the way...THERE IS NO VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENT FOR MED SCHOOL.

 

[Febrifuge]

I was an ED volunteer for about 8 or 9 months... I only stopped because I earned a certification and they hired me. 😀 A story like that one ought to have a little weight (I hope). I think it's less the raw number of hours (although more is more, if you know what I mean) than what you get out of the experience, and how well you can relate it to your larger process.

"I hung around an ER for almost a year, and did some stuff" is one thing; "my time assisting patients and working alongside healthcare providers helped me to make solid decisions and ask a lot of questions" is another. Y'know?

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

I would think a complete list of ECs *should* include the amount of time you volunteered. And just once a week or every other week does seem a bit on the meager side. What else are you doing to occupy your time? Just be sure you can substantiate usefulness of hours not devoted to hospital work. (between volunteering at a clinic and a hospital, it utilizes 30-40 hours of my time every week and i'm also going to summer school...i thought this was the norm; let me know if i'm wrong)

And defintely cross the picket lines; you are not being paid and therefore not a scab. Someone has to give the patient care if the nurses won't and i think that would be an asset.

Good luck.

I don't necessarily know if 30-40 hours per week in the summer is the "norm". I would say it might be on the high end. Because, as for what to do with your time, I have had to find paying jobs each summer to help pay for my undergraduate education. THis means that like 4 hours a week has been a good amount in the summer. And during the school year, its going to be hard to do much over like 10 hours per week, especially if you are invovled in other time-intensive activities.

I think all adcoms look for is more than perfuntory participation. As long as its a decent amount of time on a regular basis, you should be ok. Also, it doesn't matter how much you do if you can't explain why you enjoyed it/what you got out of it.

 

[Severus]

Indeed, 30-40 does seem a might high. I'm not sure if hours really matter, as long as you're doing things that demonstrate your passion for helping others (even if you can only contribute 3-10 hrs per week due to work, school, etc.)

Sev

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

According to the chair of admissions at a top UC med school, ADCOMs look favorably on hospital volunteer work because it shows the applicant has clinical experience and a feeling for what they are getting into, not because it shows the applicant is altruistic and cares about volunteering. As long as you get experience in the hospital, I wouldnt worry to much about building a ton of hours. Learn what hospitals are like, and then move onto some other type of experience, whether that be a different hospital dept., or an entirely different type of work. Thats my opinion.