Is Volunteering as a Premed a Waste of Time? | Extracurriculars Explained

it's one thing to say you want to become a doctor in order to help people but it's another thing to actually do it do jual medol insiders.com while the pay is good eventually being a doctor is an inherently altruistic vocation volunteering your time and energy to a worthy cause shows admissions committees you're serious about improving the lives of others which is why extracurricular volunteering is an essential piece of your application this video is part of our extracurricular Explain series where we take a deep dive into extracurriculars to help you decide which ones are right for you let us know what you'd like us to cover next in the comments first let's discuss how to find volunteer work and what to look for since there are so many volunteering opportunities to choose from the difficult part isn't finding a position it's finding the ones that are truly meaningful to you unlike research experience and clinical exposure where you're limited to what your school has available you'll have more than enough volunteering opportunities to choose from the main avenues for finding volunteer opportunities are asking fellow classmates and upper your students about their volunteer experiences asking your program advisers and Premed clubs for recommendations and going to local clinics and hospitals to ask if they need help experiment with a few but once you figure out what you like commit to a couple and discard the rest you only have so much time for unpaid experiences so choose meaningful opportunities that will augment your clinical exposure and application narrative limit the trial and error by speaking with your advisers as well as senior students ask about the student experience the environment and the people you'll be working with for example stocking the shelves at a hospital every week may feel unfulfilling however they could open the door to being a care coordinator at a free clinic helping care for people who don't have health insurance this will immerse you in the clinical environment allowing you to work alongside residents nurses and doctors keep in mind that some medical schools will ask how you specifically plan to help underserved populations in your career you may not be paid in a monetary sense but the experience you gain is invaluable first and most importantly volunteering can help you establish the overall Narrative of your application what's the story you want to convey to admissions committees for example let's say you want to show admissions committees you care deeply about helping the less fortunate you are currently working as an em and often work with the homeless regularly volunteering at a soup kitchen is an excellent compliment to working as an EMT as it supports your narrative that you want to help the less fortunate and shows your commitment to the population you want to serve second volunteering opens the doors to meeting people who share your values as well as experiences you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else if you're volunteering in a hospital or clinic you'll get to work with medical students residents nurses Pharmacists and doctors you'll you'll get to see how a hospital operates and pick the brains of people a few years further than you in their own medical Journey when I was volunteering at my university hospital I was able to hit three birds with one stone I was volunteering doing clinical research and interacting with patience by combining these three different experiences into one my volunteering time became that much more valuable it was through this experience that I got exposed to neurology and neurosurgery which helped solidify my interest in neuroscience I got to explore that Curiosity and see what it was actually like to work as a practicing physician I wasn't just shadowing doctors I was enrolling patients in a clinical study alongside them I was even able to observe some procedures this type of real world experience is much harder to find outside of volunteering third volunteering gives you the opportunity to stand out it's easy to separate yourself from the competition through volunteering since many people don't take it as seriously without the paycheck it's common for students to slack off show up late or put other commitments first they do it to check a box not because they're passionate for and invested in the work the more you put into volunteering the more you get out impress your supervisors enough and they'll remember you down the road by putting in the work you can get noticed and secure a strong letter of recommendation volunteering allows the people you're working with to get to know you your enthusiasm and your work ethic next unlike more competitive curriculars like research there's no shortage of volunteer opportunities you'll find a wide variety of options and since you're donating your time there usually aren't many Hoops to jump through to gain a position many opportunities are entry level and if you find something you enjoy you can work your way up from there potentially even securing a leadership role speaking of negatives let's discuss the drawbacks of volunteering first off volunteering is not a paid position you are donating your time and energy to a worthy cause as a Premed you have very little time or money to donate not only are you not getting paid for your time but you're also missing out on other opportunities that do pay not making money for the hours upon hours you'll spend volunteering is a definite drawback but the beauty of volunteer work is that you're often getting a better experience where you have more opportunities to excel this is the trade-off and The Balancing Act preds must manage another downside is that you may not feel as appreciated as you would in other paid positions you're often doing the grunt work as a volunteer you might go many days without hearing words of appreciation or affirmation from the people or Community you're working with this can sink your self-esteem and enthusiasm this can wear you down and weigh on you you may also not see the impact of your work as certain volunteering experiences won't feel as rewarding as others if you cannot see how your commitment is helping your interest and motivation May Wayne despite the disadvantages volunteering is a huge opportunity for prits it is critical that you don't look at volunteering as a box to check off but rather as a chance to network expand your skills and build upon your application narrative let's go over four tips for getting the most out of volunteering first don't overcommit although there are countless opportunities to volunteer you can't do everything picking one or two opportunities and committing to them fully both gives you a richer experience and looks much better on your application when you are helping those in need it can be tough to say no because you want to help but taking on more than you can handle hinders your schooling application mental and physical wellness and ability to give your all to your volunteer work second treat volunteering experiences like a job not being paid for your volunteering position doesn't make it any less important than your other commitments you must take volunteering seriously as people are depending on you you plus it's your own integrity and possible letters of recommendation on the line we're not saying this will be easy volunteering organizations are often underst staffed if you notice gaps in how things are run see if there's an opportunity for you to take on more ownership and responsibility admissions committees love to see students take on leadership roles it shows initiative and demonstrates the kind of skills it takes to become a successful doctor third show up with passion and enthusiasm be someone other people want to be around medicine is a team sport and volunteering is a great opportunity to hone your social skills and work with the public the more energy enthusiasm proactiveness and professionalism you bring to volunteering the more you will be noticed by your supervisors they will likely aim to return the favor by offering to teach you a new skill or writing you a strong letter of recommendation lastly treat everyone with empathy and remember your job is to help not judge the popular population you're serving may not be particularly grateful for you and the people you work with may be stressed or overextended be patient and be kind all connections and relationships are important you never know who you will meet and you never know who will see you on a bad day and remember it lead with empathy when dealing with each person you interact with it won't always be easy and people will try your patience but dealing with difficult people in a calm and empathetic way is an invaluable experience to take with you into medical school and Beyond if you want to be a doctor you very likely want to help people and make a difference in the world volunteering your time energy and empathy is doing just that many applicants think the work and activity section is no big deal but this could not be further from the truth admissions committees look at this section first to get a sense of who you are and whether or not you'll make a meaningful contribution to their student body it's from serving on medical school admissions committees ourselves that we understand the importance of the application and how each piece fits together we've helped over 7,000 students get into medical school and residency and we can do the same for you at med school insiders.com for more information about volunteering as a Premed check out our volunteering guide which includes additional strategies and resources we couldn't fit into this video or go watch our other extracurricular videos on Research or being an EMT

Channel: Med School Insiders

Views: 12,076

Keywords: Pre-med, Premed, Med Student, Medical School, Med School, Medical Student, extracurriculas explained, extracurriculas explained series, extracurricular explained, volunteering for medical school, volunteering in a hospital, clinical volunteering, how many volunteer hours for medical school, volunteering in hospital, hospital volunteering, pre med volunteer, the value of volunteering, How to Find Volunteer Work, The Benefits of Volunteering, The Drawbacks of Volunteering

Id: XtOoOLldsiY

Length: 9min 27sec (567 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 14 2023