Length of non-medical volunteering ERAS

[Tri4thlete]

Hey all,

I did a brief search and didn't find much on this particular issue. How liberal should I be with putting volunteer experiences, particularly non-medical volunteering?

Also, how long should a "volunteer experience" be in order to include it in ERAS? For example, I was asked to volunteer to be a pacer for a half marathon (paced the 1:45 group). It was a one time event (although I put in training hours and would certainly do more), could I include that in my ERAS app, along with other "short term" volunteering?

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[gutonc]

Pro-tip...nobody cares, at all, about your ECs for residency.

 

[Keona]

Anything out of ordinary will be discussed in the interview do you want to talk about pacing runs during your interview?

 

[AdmiralChz]

Also, how long should a "volunteer experience" be in order to include it in ERAS? For example, I was asked to volunteer to be a pacer for a half marathon (paced the 1:45 group). It was a one time event (although I put in training hours and would certainly do more), could I include that in my ERAS app, along with other "short term" volunteering?

Stuff like this is interesting and neat in some cases and gives something to discuss during interviews beyond "why do you want X specialty at Y program." We had applicants talk about their (failed) start up ventures, iron man training, climbing Kilamanjaro etc... but in every case they directly related their experience to how it helped them grow as a professional and an individual in their personal statement. So, consider working it in there.

I agree that if you just pad your ERAS app with old fluff, especially one-off activities, it will crowd your application and absolutely get glossed over (and cause other things to potentially be missed as well).

 

[Tri4thlete]

Stuff like this is interesting and neat in some cases and gives something to discuss during interviews beyond "why do you want X specialty at Y program." We had applicants talk about their (failed) start up ventures, iron man training, climbing Kilamanjaro etc... but in every case they directly related their experience to how it helped them grow as a professional and an individual in their personal statement. So, consider working it in there.

I agree that if you just pad your ERAS app with old fluff, especially one-off activities, it will crowd your application and absolutely get glossed over (and cause other things to potentially be missed as well).

Superb, ya after much research everything we put in the ERAS app is up for interpretation. I agree that adding short bits of experiences here and there is probably padding for the most part. I'll try and squeeze it into my PS. Thanks yall