Work experience vs. Volunteer/Community Service

[sungieality]

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Hello all,

I'm new to SDN and I apologize if my post is repetitive to some of you, but I couldn't really find the answer to my question after doing a search of the forum.

I just recently decided I wanted to go to pharmacy school, so some of my background isn't as toughened up for admission, ie: my volunteer experience. I have a significant amount of work experience doing research in lab, working as a summer intern at a pharmaceutical company, etc, but my volunteer experience is sorely lacking. This is pretty much the only thing I'm really concerned about in my application.

I was hoping to apply for this year (entering Fall 2010), but would it be more wise to volunteer first and then apply for the Fall 2011 cycle?

Also, when I do volunteer, if a pharmacy volunteer position isn't possible, are other volunteer opportunities (like at an animal shelter, for example) just as viable?

Thanks in advance for your help everyone! 🙂

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

Hello all,

I'm new to SDN and I apologize if my post is repetitive to some of you, but I couldn't really find the answer to my question after doing a search of the forum.

I just recently decided I wanted to go to pharmacy school, so some of my background isn't as toughened up for admission, ie: my volunteer experience. I have a significant amount of work experience doing research in lab, working as a summer intern at a pharmaceutical company, etc, but my volunteer experience is sorely lacking. This is pretty much the only thing I'm really concerned about in my application.

I was hoping to apply for this year (entering Fall 2010), but would it be more wise to volunteer first and then apply for the Fall 2011 cycle?

Also, when I do volunteer, if a pharmacy volunteer position isn't possible, are other volunteer opportunities (like at an animal shelter, for example) just as viable?

Thanks in advance for your help everyone! 🙂

It doesn't need to be pharmacy related volunteer work. If you enjoy spending time with seniors at an adult care facility, taking care of animals at a shelter, working at soup kitchen, tutoring or whatever else you can think of then do those things. If you have a car, Meals on Wheels is another good one. IMO, pick something you enjoy and show commitment to that organization.

If you can score some volunteer experience at a pharmacy, that is always good thing too.

 

[ladyrosa]

It doesn't need to be pharmacy related volunteer work. If you enjoy spending time with seniors at an adult care facility, taking care of animals at a shelter, working at soup kitchen, tutoring or whatever else you can think of then do those things. If you have a car, Meals on Wheels is another good one. IMO, pick something you enjoy and show commitment to that organization.

If you can score some volunteer experience at a pharmacy, that is always good thing too.

I totally agree. My volunteer experience had been at a science museum, in a public library, and in a hospital transport department; my work experience, like yours, has been mainly academia-related. I applied this cycle and have no trouble getting interview invitations for more than half of the schools I applied to. So go ahead and volunteer at anywhere that interests you and that helps the society 😍

 

[trailrider400]

If you can get a job as a technician in a pharmacy then I don't think you would need to do volunteer work in a pharmacy related field. But at the same time you do need (they really favor) some kind of pharmacy experience and volunteering is a great way to get that if you can't or don't want to get a job in a pharmacy. But like the other people said and from what I've heard they just want to see that you are volunteering in the community. And on top of that they want you to show commitment so volunteering for a couple months just to get it done won't cut it. And I think you said you might apply for fall 2010. I would definitely do that even if you don't feel like your application is that strong. I didn't apply last year because I wasn't happy with my application but I wish I did. Some schools ask you on the supplemental application if you have applied before and if so how have you strengthened you application in the last year. If I would have applied last year I could have filled the page with stuff I did to improve my application. But oh well. Just start applying now and keep applying and strengthening your application until you get in. I was a new member here once too if you have any questions feel free to send me a PM.

 

[kismet]

But like the other people said and from what I've heard they just want to see that you are volunteering in the community.

Agreed.. I think it's really more about what you get out of your experience; like PumpkinSmasher said, you can hang out with adults at a senior center and it will fly - the important part is being able to articulate what you learned or how it changed your views.. So as long as you spend some time thinking about it before the interview, ANY sort of volunteer experience where you are giving your time and working with others is going to make the pharmacy schools happy as long as you are prepared to talk about the right stuff.

I didn't have a ton of volunteer experience either (one day a month at a student-run clinic for six months) but when I was asked "tell me about a time you had to work with people from different backgrounds, how did your views change and how did you have to adjust your actions?" I had some great stories about working directly with patients in the clinic and getting to work with a med student and physician to develop a care plan for a patient.

Having pharmacy experience, of course, makes you better prepared for the "pharmacy oriented" questions during an interview. But tons of students get in with little or no direct pharmacy experience.