volunteering

[mdsquared]

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Does it matter what kind of volunteer work an applicant does? I have about 6 months of ER volunteer, 3 months in the OR, and 3 months in a clinic. I have not done much in any setting and learned almost nothing. Other than observing what physicians do, how they treat patients, and sometimes helping some of the patients by getting them a juice box or a warm blanket I have done nothing else.I also volunteered for about 4 months tutoring at a boys and girls club and I think I have been more useful there than the ER or the OR.
So does it matter how much volunteer time I have and if it's medical or not?

 

[wendywellesley]

Does it matter what kind of volunteer work an applicant does? I have about 6 months of ER volunteer, 3 months in the OR, and 3 months in a clinic. I have not done much in any setting and learned almost nothing. Other than observing what physicians do, how they treat patients, and sometimes helping some of the patients by getting them a juice box or a warm blanket I have done nothing else.I also volunteered for about 4 months tutoring at a boys and girls club and I think I have been more useful there than the ER or the OR.
So does it matter how much volunteer time I have and if it's medical or not?

i think you are in really good shape and you have learned more than you think you've learned. what are you really going to learn from watching and volunteering? you aren't even a med student yet! i think the point of being in the hospital as a pre-med is to get an idea of what it's like, watching the doctor-patient interaction, and listening to how doctors think about their patients. you have also showed that you are caring and respectful. i don't think anyone expects you to learn how to diagnose or treat anyone at this point, that is why we are going to med school.
don't worry about it. you have lots of experince. what you might want to do is talk to someone about what you did and maybe they can help you realize all the things you've learned and how to articulate that in an essay or for interviews.
good luck!! I wish i had all that clinical work you have!

 

[funshine]

honestly, how worthwhile is volunteering in a hospital?

i prefer tutoring kids because you really feel like you are making a difference. plus kids are so much fun =)

i don't volunteer at a hospital anymore, but i remember in high school, all we were allowed to do was push around a magazine cart, do filing work, run the gift shop, etc...
i guess you have to be a certified nurse's asst to do more.

 

[wjin06]

volunteering in a hospital mainly gets you exposed to the hospital environment. also, although it's good to do stuff in an ER, it's usually suggested to do "real" clinical volunteering by participating in activities that allow you build a long-term connection with patients, something I'm pretty confident, although not positive, that your hospital offers. Volunteering in a home for people with disabilities or in a nursing home are other options.

 

[NeuroChicMD]

How heavily does something like time spent volunteering weigh with adcoms?? As compared to GPA/MCAT scores? Thanks!

 

[Dr. Starostik]

How heavily does something like time spent volunteering weigh with adcoms?? As compared to GPA/MCAT scores? Thanks!

NeuroChicMD, I'm from Buffalo, too!!!!!!!

 

[Amxcvbcv]

How heavily does something like time spent volunteering weigh with adcoms?? As compared to GPA/MCAT scores? Thanks!

I'd say it weighs pretty heavily; I was rejected last year chiefly because I had no current volunteer experience.

My take on it now is that volunteering also shows that you really want to help people.

Look at it this way; without any volunteer experience you're just a person with good grades that says they want to become a doctor. Prove it!

 

[Siggy]

honestly, how worthwhile is volunteering in a hospital?

i prefer tutoring kids because you really feel like you are making a difference. plus kids are so much fun =)

i don't volunteer at a hospital anymore, but i remember in high school, all we were allowed to do was push around a magazine cart, do filing work, run the gift shop, etc...
i guess you have to be a certified nurse's asst to do more.

It varies from hospital to hospital. Generally, HS students only get to do those meantioned things. OTOH, there are volunteer programs that are cropping up, especially in southern california, where you get to volunteer through out the hospital. I think the major difference between the two programs is that the programs geared towards pre-meds are more department specific. For example, in the program I'm in (Clinical Care Extender at Hoag Hospital) we work 1 4-hour shift a week in a specific department (example, main OR, out-patient OR, labor and delivery, mother-baby unit, oncology, med/pulm, surgery overflow, ER, etc) for each 3 month "rotation." During that time, we really have a chance to get to know the staff (read LOR from charge nurses) as well as have an oppurtunity to see how the hospital works as a whole.

True, somedays we fill like free CNAs (without the CNA of course), but it also helps getting used to working with patients. I think one of the biggest things that I have gotten out of working in the program is that I started to view myself as an important member of the health care team (albeit fullfilling a small, easy to fill niche) instead of just a lowly volunteer.

 

[Code Brown]

How heavily does something like time spent volunteering weigh with adcoms?? As compared to GPA/MCAT scores? Thanks!

At 5 out of the 6 interviews I've been at so far, my interviewers asked me to talk about the volunteer work/community service I have been involved in.

 

[NeuroChicMD]

Ok, I currently work at a local doctor's office (FP and IM) and although I do not actually have the certification, I am basically an acting CNA. I am responsible for taking the vitals on the patients and bringing them back to see the doctors, along with some minor lab work. I've also been a patient-liason on the phones getting answers from doctors regarding patients' medications and different symptoms. I plan on staying with this office for as long as I can, even into med school if possible, and I know I can get some great LORs from the office manager and the docs I work with. BUT since this is a PAID position, will it still help me? (I'm also going to be volunteering with kids at the zoo this summer and at either Women and Children's Hospital or Roswell Park Cancer Institute since we are SO fortunate to have that wonderful facility in lovely Buffalo, NY (**shameless plug)...

 

[45408]

How heavily does something like time spent volunteering weigh with adcoms?? As compared to GPA/MCAT scores? Thanks!

Some schools care about the raw number of hours you spent volunteering, but many just like to see that you know what medicine is like in the real world (as opposed to TV or movies). More exposure is obviously better, so if you work in the medical field, it's not going to be hard to get 500-1000 hours in a clinical setting in a year, let alone a few years. On the other hand, if you're volunteering, good luck getting that much. I was told that in terms of clinical exposure, it's as valid to be an employee as it is to be a volunteer.

Overall, just make sure that you're getting a balance of various activities. If you're really in doubt, see if you can meet with someone from a nearby med school to talk about what you're doing.