volunteering

[sportsfreak]

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so I have been volunteering at a hospital for couple of month now, but I am starting a full time job soon and cannot volunteer during weekdays as I did before. So I asked if they can move me to a weekend hour and I was told that on a weekend I could only volunteer on clerical duty with no patient interaction

so should I just stick with this for the weekends or should i start searching for somewhere else to volunteer?

Also how hard is it to get volunteering positions at free clinics?

 

[armybound]

do you want to do some clerical stuff? if yes, continue. if no, quit.

 

[sportsfreak]

i don't mind doing clerical stuff, but i don't know how adcoms will look at it since it doesn't have patient interaction

 

[armybound]

is that your motivation for volunteering? how it looks on your application?

at the end of the day, the adcoms will ask you either why you volunteered, how you liked it, or what you learned from it. those are the only things they can really ask you about volunteering. if your answer is "because it looks good on my application," "I hated it," or "I didn't learn anything," you shouldn't get involved in it.

do something you enjoy because you WANT to do it.

 

[JediZero]

Even if you're not working with patients, it's still medically related service. So it is better than nothing.

I'd recommend looking for another program you can do on the weekends or in the evenings. Alternately, I don't know what kind of work you're doing, but if there's a way you could work a different shift on one day during the week to allow you to volunteer in the morning.

BTW, I'm in a similar situation right now, I just started some temp work that stops me from doing my usual clinic assistant volunteering, but I'm going to start coming in at night now. So it's possible. Find a way to make it work!

 

[fishbait63]

Free Clinics would not be the way to go seeing as most PCP's will not be working on the weekends. Also it may not be as easy to get as you think medical directors feel that volunteers are often more trouble than they are worth.
In my opinion: Why not just stick with it ultimately I think the longevity of volunteering will be more impressive and will not raise an eyebrow when they see several shorter programs as you try to have more patient contact

 

[J ROD]

Just volunteer one night or early morning after or before work. That's the easiest and best solution.

My friend and myself did that.