Volunteering

[koreanwar]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I was wondering when you volunteer, do you think that pharmacy schools would accept on a patient floor in a hospital rather volunteering in the pharmacy? On the ward I was on, I assisted patients with eating, stocked the servers with supplies, ran errands, assisted patients with going to the bathroom, taking patients on walks....I mean I had a lot of patient contact, that shoud sort of count, right?

I probably am going to volunteer at the hospital pharmacy but not for that long because I'll probably have to not volunteer at all since I work full time and will be going to night school post bac program, which is another sort of bad thing, but I just dont think I'll be able to go to work at temple in north philadelphia, then go to MCP drexel in center city for class, then go to Jefferson University hospital for volunteering....

I just want some opinions

 

[rougemarie]

I was wondering when you volunteer, do you think that pharmacy schools would accept on a patient floor in a hospital rather volunteering in the pharmacy? On the ward I was on, I assisted patients with eating, stocked the servers with supplies, ran errands, assisted patients with going to the bathroom, taking patients on walks....I mean I had a lot of patient contact, that shoud sort of count, right?

I probably am going to volunteer at the hospital pharmacy but not for that long because I'll probably have to not volunteer at all since I work full time and will be going to night school post bac program, which is another sort of bad thing, but I just dont think I'll be able to go to work at temple in north philadelphia, then go to MCP drexel in center city for class, then go to Jefferson University hospital for volunteering....

I just want some opinions

I would think that any experience with patient contact counts, it's all a matter on how you "sell" yourself during interview/on your personal statement. I volunteered at a pharmacy dept. in a hospital but there was very limited patient contact; I spent most of my day pulling/sorting medications, loading/unloading IV, filing order, etc. Good luck 👍

 

[koreanwar]

I would think that any experience with patient contact counts, it's all a matter on how you "sell" yourself during interview/on your personal statement. I volunteered at a pharmacy dept. in a hospital but there was very limited patient contact; I spent most of my day pulling/sorting medications, loading/unloading IV, filing order, etc. Good luck 👍

thanks!

 

[endlesslove]

I'll probably have to not volunteer at all since I work full time and will be going to night school post bac program, which is another sort of bad thing

whoever said you HAD to volunteer? I don't see that explicitly stated anywhere in the applications. Quite frankly, people (in general, not pointing fingers) should volunteer because they WANT to (for charitable reasons) and to gain experience, rather than for the selfish reasons (to look good on the resume or for such and such a school to gain admissions). 👎 Seems like everybody I know these days is so hyped up on getting a pharmacy position here or there or getting the "right" experience to "look" good to the AdCom--quit worrying about that aspect and just get the position because YOU (indirect, again, not to the person who posted this) yourself want it so you can ENJOY the experience more. If it's not related to pharm but is in the healtcare field, then fine--make the best of it.

At any rate, your work experience seems to be sufficient. I don't think the schools expect you to kill yourself and not sleep at all in order to do it all. I'm sure you'll be fine--just make the best of what you have. 👍

 

[jamboo54]

I was wondering when you volunteer, do you think that pharmacy schools would accept on a patient floor in a hospital rather volunteering in the pharmacy? On the ward I was on, I assisted patients with eating, stocked the servers with supplies, ran errands, assisted patients with going to the bathroom, taking patients on walks....I mean I had a lot of patient contact, that shoud sort of count, right?

I probably am going to volunteer at the hospital pharmacy but not for that long because I'll probably have to not volunteer at all since I work full time and will be going to night school post bac program, which is another sort of bad thing, but I just dont think I'll be able to go to work at temple in north philadelphia, then go to MCP drexel in center city for class, then go to Jefferson University hospital for volunteering....

I just want some opinions

Hi. I volunteered at a hospital pharmacy. There was no patient contact, however. I just filled calendars with pills for nursing homes. The point of volunteering is just to gain experience in the field and to show that you know what you are getting into. It has nothing to do with "wanting to help people". To show that you need to volunteer at like a child crisis center or something. One of the questions you will be asked in an interview would be something like how do you know pharmacy is right for you. Then you can use your experience in the pharmacy setting to show that you have had personal experience and that you enjoyed working in that environment and so forth.

I used to be like you too. I would always wonder what type of volunteering i should do or what would impress the adcom. If you have any other questions feel free to pm me.

 

[trishias]

whoever said you HAD to volunteer? I don't see that explicitly stated anywhere in the applications. Quite frankly, people (in general, not pointing fingers) should volunteer because they WANT to (for charitable reasons) and to gain experience, rather than for the selfish reasons (to look good on the resume or for such and such a school to gain admissions). 👎 Seems like everybody I know these days is so hyped up on getting a pharmacy position here or there or getting the "right" experience to "look" good to the AdCom--quit worrying about that aspect and just get the position because YOU (indirect, again, not to the person who posted this) yourself want it so you can ENJOY the experience more. If it's not related to pharm but is in the healtcare field, then fine--make the best of it.

At any rate, your work experience seems to be sufficient. I don't think the schools expect you to kill yourself and not sleep at all in order to do it all. I'm sure you'll be fine--just make the best of what you have. 👍

Good response! 👍

 

[eslboy2005]

You guys didn't do any research about pharmacy schools guys. Most of the school I called, they said, "it doesn't matter if you voluteer in the hosptal or community..as long as u show volunteering"

Why do u want to volunteer in the hospital??

I asked about 10 schools. You need to call the school u're applying to ask them. You don't want to ask people here...maybe they don't know it. Call the school to ask them.

 

[koreanwar]

whoever said you HAD to volunteer? I don't see that explicitly stated anywhere in the applications. Quite frankly, people (in general, not pointing fingers) should volunteer because they WANT to (for charitable reasons) and to gain experience, rather than for the selfish reasons (to look good on the resume or for such and such a school to gain admissions). 👎 Seems like everybody I know these days is so hyped up on getting a pharmacy position here or there or getting the "right" experience to "look" good to the AdCom--quit worrying about that aspect and just get the position because YOU (indirect, again, not to the person who posted this) yourself want it so you can ENJOY the experience more. If it's not related to pharm but is in the healtcare field, then fine--make the best of it.

At any rate, your work experience seems to be sufficient. I don't think the schools expect you to kill yourself and not sleep at all in order to do it all. I'm sure you'll be fine--just make the best of what you have. 👍

I didn't mean it like that. I enjoy working with my patients and it is a learning experience for me--I primarily wanted to go to learn more about working in the medical profession and when I was undergrad I had similar experiences where I worked in music promo and media, but through volunteering I discovered media was not for me. However, it ( volunteering ) is a time commitment and an obligation because I am responsible for going whereas a lot of people drop off and I dont want to be like that. Sorry I should have stated that better, but I thought people would know what I meant in general 🙂