I'm just a premed myself, but from my understanding, you do not need paid medical work experience for medical school in the same way that other health professions (i.e. PA programs) require it. That said, you need to show in some way that enjoy working with the ill or infirm in a medical setting, which can be through EITHER volunteering (hospice volunteering, hospital volunteering, free clinic volunteering, etc.) or paid work (MA, CNA, EMT, etc.). Sometimes people find that clinical jobs can be less flexible hours wise than other college student type jobs (waiting tables, retail, nannying, etc.), so please be aware of that. Also, the AAMC sends out a survey to medical school admissions committees every year and, in the most recent one, volunteer clinical experience was actually ranked of greater value/importance than paid clinical experience. At the end of the day, they are both good and you should do what works the best for your life.
Additionally, medical schools like to see some volunteering with people who are less fortunate. My personal suggestion would be to find a cause or a population that you are passionate about and stick with it. This can be kids, women, the underserved [homeless, incarcerated, poor, populations like that], mental illness, developmental disability, the possibilities are endless. Think about something you are passionate about and odds are there is a nonprofit organization out there looking for volunteers that you can get plugged into.
If you are new to the forum and/or the premed process, I highly recommend the thread titled "Essential SDN wisdom". It is at the top of the list of threads on the Pre-Med page. (The forum you are in right now-What are My Chances-is a subforum of the pre-allopathic forum.)
