Do Med schools look into what you did while volunteering at hospitals?

[Future Doc1]

I want to volunteer at a hospital and get some community service hours as well as some hours of experience for med schools. I'm too young to get certain certifications to advance my experience while volunteering at the hospitals but I still want to volunteer. It's kind of implied that it is appealing to med schools what you did while volunteering at a hospital but will the hours I did stuff without the certifications count at all where I probably wouldn't do stuff totally medically relevant?

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[DrYoda]

They basically just take your word for whatever you did. There is a place for contact information on the application's activity list, but it's not the norm for them to call and look into what you did.

and lots of stuff volunteers do isn't horribly medially relevant, I wouldn't worry about that. Just try and do stuff that puts you where the doctors and patients are.

 

[FuturaDocta]

^agreed.

You kinda just say you did it. It should be fun... Go for it. Plus, you may have a story to tell at your interview one day.

 

[NickNaylor]

Hospital volunteering is just one of several hoops that you have to jump through, regardless of its relevance with respect to a medical career.

 

[Future Doc1]

Hospital volunteering is just one of several hoops that you have to jump through, regardless of its relevance with respect to a medical career.

Ok...

 

[LittleRocker]

Ok...

I think he was trying to say if you're doing something like standing by the front door at the hospital, greeting people, then it isn't exactly relevant nor useful towards becoming a doctor.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Most things you'll do while volunteering aren't useful or relevant to medicine. Like Cole said, you just kind of have to do it. Adcoms know that and thus probably don't really give a crap what you did unless it was truly unique or inspirational for you.

 

[sleepy425]

Hospital volunteering is just one of several hoops that you have to jump through, regardless of its relevance with respect to a medical career.

I would say that clinical experience is required, but not hospital volunteering. I've never volunteered at a hospital in my life, and it didn't hurt me.

By clinical experience, I mean enough experience to have some idea of what you're getting yourself into. It's up to you how much is enough, I think the amount that people suggest is necessary on SDN (hundreds of hours or w/e) is total BS, but to each his own. It's the value of an experience, not the amount of time.

OP, if you are truly interested in volunteering in a hospital (not because you think it'll help you get into med school, but because you have some free time and you really want to volunteer simply to volunteer), by all means go and sign up and do whatever stuff they ask you to do. If you're doing it just because you think it'll help you for med school, then I wouldn't do it.

If you can find a physician to shadow (which you can do in high school), that would be much more worthwhile. You learn a lot more, and it's more fun.

My point is, do stuff that'll make you happy and that'll help you make an informed career choice (notice that I didn't say the "right" career choice, because there's no such thing). Don't do things because it'll help you get into medical school, do them because they are enriching, or because you will enjoy them.