What about EC's

[Finance2MD]

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Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the forum, but I've been reading through the threads for a few weeks now.

I was wondering about ECs and what I should focus on. I'm actually lost in terms of where to even start. I know it's important, but how many ECs do nontrad applicants usually have?

I graduated from school in 2003, and didn't do much volunteering while there. I didn't really have the time. My program was intense and I made it even more intense by overloading and graduating an entire year early. I've been working since I've been out of school (w/ the exception of this last year), and never really committed to volunteering, as I moved around the country alot. I did do some volunteering with my company and Habitat for Humanity that took me as far as India once, but apart from these sporadic occasions, I don't really have much.

I'll be in school full-time when Aug rolls around. Should I be looking to volunteer in a hospital or some type of clinical setting, or is it fine for me to just find something to dedicate myself to, whether it be mentoring a child or continuing to build with Habitat for Humanity? Does it even matter?

Anyone been in my shoes in the past? What did you do? I've found something that really interests me, but it's working with animals and not people, something I can to do in conjunction w/ HFH (I really enjoy HFH and want to devote more time to it)... 😕

 

[student1799]

Should I be looking to volunteer in a hospital or some type of clinical setting, or is it fine for me to just find something to dedicate myself to, whether it be mentoring a child or continuing to build with Habitat for Humanity? Does it even matter?

Anyone been in my shoes in the past? What did you do? I've found something that really interests me, but it's working with animals and not people, something I can to do in conjunction w/ HFH (I really enjoy HFH and want to devote more time to it)... 😕

As a nontrad, you should DEFINITELY rack up as much high-quality clinical volunteer experience as you can get. This will be important in demonstrating your interest in and commitment to medicine, and could have the important side benefit of netting you a great LOR for your application.

Most people go for hospital-based volunteer work (especially the ER, because it's open 24/7/365), but any other setting with patient contact is fine as well. This could include work in a neighborhood clinic, mobile health van, long-term care facility or even a prison. The most important things to strive for are:

1. Consistency. Adcoms are much more impressed by a few hours per week, every single week, than by stretches of intense work that are only done during breaks from school.

2. Real contact with patients in a clinical setting. It's fine to make beds and run errands in the ER, as long as you're exposed to real medicine while you're there, but working in the gift shop or pushing the book cart would not be OK.

I had no medical volunteer experience before starting postbacc (I came from finance, like you), but I put in 8 hours a week very consistently for the whole 2 years (including the summer) and racked up over 500 hours and a strong LOR from an MD. I think this was a major asset to my application. For what it's worth, I think it also kept me sane, because I loved working in the hospital and learned a ton, whereas a lot of the premed work I had to do was stultifying and extremely remote from the practice of medicine.

As for HFH, if you can find a way to keep it up in addition to the medical stuff, I would. (This might be a good one to do during school breaks.) Adcoms like to see some non-medical community service on your record as well, and since you already have a history of doing this work and enjoy it, it would look great on your application if you could keep it going.

 

[Finance2MD]

Thanks! Yeah, I didn't think working at the hospital and pushing the meal cart would fly.

I'll definitely focus my search on hospital opportunities. Ummm...I don't really know what my options are, but the ER doesn't sound appealing to me in the slightest bit (maybe because I always feel like I'm being tortured when I'm there). Is that what you did?

I'll give some local hospitals a call tomorrow when I get out of class. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Finance2MD]

Would my clinical rotations from nursing school and my work as nurse mean that I don't actually need clinical volunteer experience? Any RNs or NP's with some insight?