In my opinion, hospital volunteering is the greatest thing you can do for a typical pre-med. This assumes a "typical" college student who previously wasn't involved in significant volunteer work before becoming pre-med (true altruism is rare).
Ultimately, hospital volunteering is what you make of it, since it's kind of like Vegas (minus 99% of the fun). If ADCOMs end up verifying your experience, then they will ask if you completed the said amount of hours. They won't know about your actual performance at the hospital, unless there's that highly unlikely possibility that the volunteer director is friends with the ADCOM you're interviewing with. Therefore, most people will naturally embellish their experiences.
As for my personal experience, it mirrors what most of you have said. Over the few hundred hours I accumulated before gaining admission, I did have a few nice moments here and there (which was all I needed for the PS and interview), but mostly did scut work while being bossed around by the techs. But hey, I was happy because it was only four hours per week, which allowed me to spend time doing things I actually enjoyed while studying for my classes and the very important MCAT.
With this said, hospital volunteering has something for everyone. If you are really passionate about what you're doing and want to make a difference, then you can become proactive and just about become an honorary member of the hospital team! Are you just checking off a box to get into medical school? Then you can do the minimal amount of stuff that's asked for you, and then spend the rest of your time studying or doing whatever you'd like!
People like hospital volunteering because you can kill numerous birds with one stone. It's great when you can check off both the clinical experience plus volunteering boxes at the same time, all while doing something that involves a minimal commitment. But, depending on what you want, you can kill more than two birds! You can kill a third bird with one stone if you decide to shadow a physician during your volunteer time. You can even kill a fourth bird with one stone if you decide to spend your volunteer hours studying for classes or the MCAT. It sucks that you're not getting paid, but ultimately, you're paying a price for this convenience.
I know that people think that they should do paid entry-level clinical work, but in my opinion, it's not worth it. Entry-level clinical work will pay you, which is nice, but the money is pocket change compared to what you'd make as a physician. These jobs require a serious time commitment. If you manage to blow your grades and MCAT and are forced to take an extra year to do an SMP or improve your application some other way, you're missing out on way more money than you'd ever earn doing this job. Since these jobs are so common, they won't set you apart.
As you all know @
LizzyM , she says that if you can smell the patient, it's clinical experience. She didn't say that if you can lance the patient, put an IV in the patient, clean the patient, take the patient's blood pressure, etc (and the list goes on and on) it's clinical experience. Hospital volunteering is seriously all you need. There's no need to learn a skillset that you're unlikely to ever use once you get into medical school. Therefore, hospital volunteering will do everything you need with such a small time commitment. Use the time you save (versus entry-level clinical work) and do things that matter most to you, like improving your stats or MCAT (since ECs won't make up for a poor applicant). The experience in itself can range from horrible to amazing. But for most part, it's up to you to make it what it is. And don't forget why you're here. You're here to get into medical school, not to become the next Mother Teresa. So think wisely, and remember...
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
😉
