So I read and hear that many schools look for volunteer work. I have a free healthcare clinic and volunteer EMT that I’m looking at; they both interest me. However how much time? How much per week? With the EMT it would be a 12 hour shift so if I do that I would just do the shift. With the clinic I would just do about 4 hours. Either or? Both and? Too much? Not enough?
I don’t want to get so caught up in volunteering that it turns into a job and takes away from my studies.
On another note…does anyone ever really check the numbers? Does anyone call these places to verify the hours? I’ve met too many premeds who I know for a fact were not volunteering and yet are now physicians so I just wonder if this is where some of the ethical dilemmas start in medicine…on the application… 
I’m not in medical school, I’m still monkeying around with volunteering/pre requisites.
That being said, it seems like the general consensus is that either EMT OR clinical volunteering would be fine. Both would be great, but most people don’t have both and they still get into medical school, so I don’t think it’s a unsaid requirement.
If I were you I would just choose one or the other, unless you have gobs of free time you’re looking to burn. Between classes, clinical volunteering, nonclinical volunteering and a 50hr/week job, I’m about done at the end of the week. Don’t burn yourself out. It’s a marathon, not a race.
Hey croooz,
I found volunteering helpful in that it brought me both exposure to various clinical environments and also solidified my decision to go to medical school.
Over the past 3-4 years, I’ve volunteered at a local ambulance service (riding the ambulance, assisting EMTs), hospital (refilling cabinets, checking up on patients, running charts), and as an after school tutor (elementary school kids in the not so good part of town). Even now, after being accepted to medical school, I still devote about 6 hours a week to volunteering. Even unpaid, helping people is what I want to do!
From the interviews I’ve had recently, it seems schools are looking for a variety of volunteer experiences. When are you looking to go to medical school? Maybe you can try 6 months at a free clinic, 6 months as an EMT, etc? It may help you figure out what kind of doctor you want to be in the future. The number of hours you should spend depend on your course load and/or workload. I would start off small (4 hours a week) and ramp up if you have the extra time.
I don’t think anyone checks the number of volunteer hours. But I would hesistate to compare myself to others. You’ve chosen this path to become a doctor for your own reasons. Don’t pay attention to what other people do, stick with it, and you’ll be a doctor before you know it. Good luck.
I never heard of anyone getting accepted to med school without volunteer experiences (not to say it hasn’t happened). And as an older nontrad, I’m not going to give ANY school a reason not to accept me.
My work at the church is considered volunteer since I don’t get paid. I was just wondering how much. I like the idea of variety but they don’t allow us to break it up into 6 month periods. So I figure I’ll do a shift at the firehouse and a couple hours at the free clinic, and then the regular ministry stuff. It’s mostly preaching and counseling at the jail, so I’ve got enough volunteer experience. I just worry sometimes that if I don’t volunteer in some medical capacity some adcom might question “why medicine?” when looking at my app. If I have EMT/Fire and free clinic along with the prison work I think that will give me a well rounded volunteer section.
My point about people not checking has to do with I know of people who’ve been accepted to med school and never volunteered YET their app listed hundreds if not thousands of hours of volunteer experience. Disgusting I know but it is what it is. Just a reminder that a lot of applicants will say and do whatever to get in…which translates into saying and doing whatever to stay in…get into residency… 
Sorry about the negative vibe. Had a friend who was lied to and about and what was listed in his treatment record never happened. We got to talking about how can this happen with doctors and I had to remind him all docs were not awesome and honest OPMer’s. 
There’s no such thing as pure altruism. If you go into volunteering (especially with the underserved) with an earnest attitude and an open mind it can enrich your life greatly. That, in turn, will make you a stronger applicant overall (think sop and interview) beyond just padding your application.
- croooz Said:
Think of it this way. If you are asked (And I WAS asked in my interviews) why medicine and you have volunteer work in a medical area, you can talk about those experiences which covers two bases. One, it gives you the opportunity to answer the question based on some real life medical experience/exposure and two gives you chance to demonstrate that you have volunteer experience.
Personally, I think these questions make for the best interview questions, at least from an interviewee point of view.
Hey Croooz,
I don’t know if you are familiar with your local volunteer EMS, but if they have a station you stay at waiting for calls, there is your study time. The first of the shift would be the busiest performing truck check, medical supply inventory, and then a food run. The rest of the time you would most likely be at the station waiting for calls to come in. Most volunteer EMS do not have a high call volume, so you should have plenty of down time.
I will say though, some entities like to stage at parking lots waiting for calls. These are usually the busier services though.
Thanks all. I get it for those who weren’t a Navy corpsman for 10 years but think it’s ridiculous to ask for volunteer experience. I mean I have plenty of paid medical experience as well volunteer medical and nonmedical I’m just venting on how ridiculous this is. I’ll do what I have to but doesn’t mean I have to like it. 
I had very little medical vonlunteer service - though I had some clinical experiences as a patient and with family members, and did shadowing. My volunteering was mostly with my church and what not, and I give my time carefully, to causes and missions I feel are worthy. I suspect this came through in my application, as I was offered several interviews. For the interviews I was able to speak passionately about my volunteering, and be sincere about it. I think that is a good way to go about it, but just my opinion.
- terevet Said:
Thanks. Exclude the last four words though.
- pathdr2b Said:
Hey Crooz, and quoting pathdr2be, I have been accepted with no volunteering experience. I mean, as an adult, I have not volunteered like most applicants. For one, I had a job. Secondly I now have two kids, and I care for them full time, while teaching night and week-end classes. In between I took pre-requisites.
I did inquire about this, and I was told that expectation with older applicants with responsibilities are not the same. I guess if you communicate your passion well enough, and still put up a consistent narrative, show how past and present fold into the future, it doesn't really matter if you volunteered or not. Of course it is a plus, but it is not if
1- volunteering takes time away from your classes and get Bs and Cs
2- If you can't prep well enough for the MCAT because of volunteering
3- If you don't spend time on your application (I wrote well over 20 versions of my narrative)
4- If the volunteering experience is not inline with your interests
I think volunteering for the sake of volunteering is a waste of time. Doing so, to perhaps dig in your soul, see what things would be like in a healthcare settings will benefit you, and will help your application if you can communicate your experiences in a meaningful way.
However I did shadow, so it is not volunteering, and I think the committees have seen that as a genuine attempt to show motivation, given my schedule. I also was questioned multiple times on that and what I learned from it. I guess my answers were good enough.
Bottom line: no volunteering experience (in adult life, but did as a teenager), and it still was OK.
Good luck
Here is my perspective as a “volunteer junkie” 22 years continually volunteering in health care:
- Pick some volunteer area that you an get into, but not so much that it drains you or ruins your GPA. The area you choose does not need to be direct health care, but also allied fields like social work, social service, etc. are also good ones to consider.
- You may want to check out several venues, discuss their pros and cons with staff and other volunteers, to see if they are what you can really put your heart and mind into.
- If you love your volunteer work enough, it will no longer be “fake” altruism but become “authentic” altruism.
- Choose one or two volunteer gigs and stick with them for a long time, assuming you really like them. By “long time,” I mean at least one year, if not more.
Given that you signed up here on OPM in 2003, it is may be shame that you have not been volunteering long-term since then. 10 years of long-term health work, especially if it is meaningful, can suggest a lot given that so many premeds opt for short stints here and there, it looks like they cannot make up their minds. Of course, it is the quantity not the quality that supposedly counts, but why not do both: long term volunteer work of a high calibre nature.
Unfortunately, I don’t know if AdComms can tell the difference between fake and real altruism.
- datsa Said:
I agree about how meaningful it is to show long term volunteer experiences. Personally, I'd take an applicant with experience over one without, with NO hesitation.
I also think that when it comes to what I call "side-stepping" steps in the admissions process, a mention of any inside scoop you may have had in the process (like being a kid of a Doc, doing research with the Dean of the med school, URM status, ect), should be mentioned.
- pathdr2b Said:
Path, I couldn't agree more. I think this actually helped me a lot this year. I have minimal clinical exposure (hospital volunteering and shadowing...but maybe 100 hours tops), but admissions people were very interested in my business "behind the scenes" knowledge about running a physician's practice. Two different interviewers said things like, "Wow, you have such an inside perspective that most med students don't have...this gives you a huge leg up as you head into the actual practice of medicine..." and "I hope you get the chance to share all this inside info with your med school peers...I wish all our students left school with this kind of knowledge" etc. etc. It was a frequent enough conversation that I realized that while my experience wasn't conventional, it certainly did count. So I pushed it as a strength, and I think it paid off.
You never know what may end up setting your application apart...don't discount any experience without careful consideration as to how you can frame it to help your admissions process. I've definitely learned something this year. By the time you get to interviews, everyone looks good on paper, and everyone has satisfied the basic requirements. At that point, it's not really about being better than everyone else. It's about being different. Memorable. OPMers can really shine in that regard...
- carrieliz Said:
I think you're absolutely right, nontrads typically come to the table with some built-in "uniqueness factors" over other applicants. And I fully expected you to have a (very well deserved) good applicant season based on your background!
Ah, another reason I’m happy that I found this board!
The volunteer ‘thing’ is yet something else that has me asking the question “what the heck should I be doing?” As you have all pointed out, volunteering is very difficult while working and going to school AND studying.
I have volunteer experience from undergrad and currently looking for more. However, one is a crisis counselor and the other is an ER gopher. It seems that the ‘in demand’ experience is shadowing and or research. Has any one done this? I am taking classes as a student at large so I do not belong to a formal program that will set this up for me.
I should add that I am working on the insurance side of medicine so, not sure how valuable that is.
Seth,
Volunteer where you feel like volunteering. Do not look for the “in demand” options because what is in demand is the altruistic “gene” not where. I got caught up with this when I asked the question after speaking with a premed advisor. Too many premed advisors just dish out the same advice regardless of who is sitting in front of them. Take me, 10 year Navy Corpsman, worked with physicians MD&DO in sick call, immunizations, ER, field medic, lab tech, and OR tech working on renal rhesus transplants. I’m on five pubs and also worked two years as a civilian lab tech at the NIH. Volunteer at the church as a minister since forever with visits to prisons and senior centers. Her advice? I need more volunteering because “none of that other stuff counts for adcoms…Medical schools like to know that you’re aware what you’re getting into. Plus it wouldn’t hurt you to give back to the community…” 
Initially I agreed and sought advice. Now? Volunteer where you want to make a difference. It will come out during your med school interviews versus volunteering where you think you have to and not like it. I’m looking at EMT and a free clinic. The EMT is because I always enjoyed that work and will probably go into EM. The free clinic because they need Spanish translators and I remember what it was like as a little guy translating for my mom and dad at the hospital. So volunteer where YOU want to do some good. It would make sense that it would be some type of medical setting since we are applying to medical school. However so is everyone else. Whatever you do, distinguish yourself.