What is sufficient??

[WantsThisBad]

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I just finished my freshman year of undergrad and I’m on summer break taking some classes. I was thinking I would start doing some volunteer work. I haven’t done any yet and I was wondering how much volunteering/shadowing/research is good to have on your application? To be honest, I would be doing this stuff even if it wasn’t required to get into med school since it all interests me. I was just hoping someone could give me an idea of the quantity that most people do or rather, what's sufficient.

They type of answers I’m looking for are: Shadow a doc once a week for 3 years, or volunteer twice a week for 2 summers, or do at least one research activity and get 200 publishing’s...I don’t know you tell me!

Thanks in advance - Nick

 

[relentless11]

Get some volunteering in, but ultimately favor quality over quantity. Its a given that you will have some kind of clinical experience, and really 1000 hrs vs. 100 hrs isn't all that different in the grand scheme of things. Key point is to do something that you like, and can talk about.

It can be something unique, or something that is common (like volunteering in the ER) that provided you with a unique perspective on medicine. All of which comes down to discussing at your interviews.

I had something like 250 hours of shadowing (over 1 year), 300 hours of volunteering at a hospital, 400 hours of some kind of community service, and an incalculable amount of hours doing research (6 years and counting) which also included additional clinical exposure as well. The research yielded over 25 publications, with more coming (in press).

Now, the thing is, I have known people with less than this, same as this, or more than this, who have successfully applied to medical school. Ultimately it is your entire application that gets you in, not the bells and whistles that adorn your application. These extracurriculars are merely icing on the cake, and thus it is your call on how much you have, and what you get out of it.

 

[WantsThisBad]

Get some volunteering in, but ultimately favor quality over quantity. Its a given that you will have some kind of clinical experience, and really 1000 hrs vs. 100 hrs isn't all that different in the grand scheme of things. Key point is to do something that you like, and can talk about.

It can be something unique, or something that is common (like volunteering in the ER) that provided you with a unique perspective on medicine. All of which comes down to discussing at your interviews.

I had something like 250 hours of shadowing (over 1 year), 300 hours of volunteering at a hospital, 400 hours of some kind of community service, and an incalculable amount of hours doing research (6 years and counting) which also included additional clinical exposure as well. The research yielded over 25 publications, with more coming (in press).

Now, the thing is, I have known people with less than this, same as this, or more than this, who have successfully applied to medical school. Ultimately it is your entire application that gets you in, not the bells and whistles that adorn your application. These extracurriculars are merely icing on the cake, and thus it is your call on how much you have, and what you get out of it.

Thank for the quick response. Could you elaborate on how you got involved in research and how that led to publications?

 

[relentless11]

I called up professors as an undergrad, was lucky and found a good professor that published a lot, and gave students more responsibility. Thats pretty much it.

Some labs publish a lot, others do not. It depends on the professor, and what they are doing. Simple as that. There's no magic to it. Its kind like meeting the right girl (or guy). Sometimes you luck out and hit it off right at the beginning, other times you are doomed to burn in hell 😉 .

In my case, I lucked out. Others have too, while some have not been so lucky.