Volunteering

[xnfs93hy]

Hey, as a high school student looking to become a future physician I want to get familiar with the field. I will be a junior and I am really very serious about going into medicine, I have one other post asking about salaries of physicians and well that didn't really go very well at all to say the least. Anyway, I volunteer at a local university medical center. Here is the link http://www.jerseyshoreuniversitymedicalcenter.com/

It has only been a month or so but I love it. I am doing it for two main reasons.

-I really love helping people (I know this is a pretty vague reason but...w/e)

-Volunteering in high school just about anywhere looks absolutely stellar on college applications because, well, not many teens do it.

So, basically what I wanted to ask was what can I do to further educate myself about this field? Where else, besides just this hospital, can I volunteer or intern at? Keep in mind that I am still in high school. Any advice will help. Thanks in advance.

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[xnfs93hy]

Also, if anyone on here remembers me from my last thread, I said that I am "very serious about going into medicine", someone replied that I should not be "very serious" about anything right now. I am trying not to be pre-set on anything but I have always wanted to become a doctor since I was in elementary school and my interest in medicine has just grown stronger and still is.

 

[Chemist0157]

You could shadow a private practice doctor. I come from a small town with few serious emergencies and really benefited more from observing a local physician. He is a great doctor, and I got to see how he interacted with his patients.

 

[sully677]

You SHOULD NOT be worrying about med school as a junior in high school. Chill out and enjoy your last few free years. Also, most of the high school resume stuff is worthless on a med school application.

 

[Caesar]

OP

It is never to early to figure out what you are interested in. Shadow your PCP for a couple hours someday.

If only there was a special place to post on SDN for high school students.........

 

[UVAbme2009]

You SHOULD NOT be worrying about med school as a junior in high school. Chill out and enjoy your last few free years. Also, most of the high school resume stuff is worthless on a med school application.

I second this.

 

[shiftingmirage]

You could become a liscenced EMT and do it part time while in school...but I'm not sure what the age limit is...

 

[silverhorse84]

You could become a liscenced EMT and do it part time while in school...but I'm not sure what the age limit is...

Age limit depends on where you live. In my area to work on a rig you have to be 21. I'm not sure about in the hospitals though, it may be 18 to cover liabilities

 

[135892]

Also, if anyone on here remembers me from my last thread, I said that I am "very serious about going into medicine", someone replied that I should not be "very serious" about anything right now. I am trying not to be pre-set on anything but I have always wanted to become a doctor since I was in elementary school and my interest in medicine has just grown stronger and still is.

Give me a break... you're kidding me, right??

 

[sully677]

I can't emphasize how many "pre-meds" from high school changer their career path during first semester. High school is supposed to be enjoyable and not to worry about your career plans. A lot of things can happen in the next 2 years.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Give me a break... you're kidding me, right??

No I am not, oh and I AM NOT GOING TO MED SCHOOL, I meant I could put this on a college application, of course it is worthless on a med school application. Also not that anyone cares but am a LOSER in school, honestly, the least you guys can do is just answer the question, sorry.

 

[xnfs93hy]

No I am not, oh and I AM NOT GOING TO MED SCHOOL, I meant I could put this on a college application, of course it is worthless on a med school application. Also not that anyone cares but am a LOSER in school, honestly, the least you guys can do is just answer the question, sorry.

I meant I am not going to med school YET. Not YET.

 

[xnfs93hy]

I can't emphasize how many "pre-meds" from high school changer their career path during first semester. High school is supposed to be enjoyable and not to worry about your career plans. A lot of things can happen in the next 2 years.

This thread is probably dead now and I see where you are coming from but I can tell you that now is a good time to know what I want as a career, and I have considered other careers, I hear you out though.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Oh, and how would I go about shadowing a doctor? I know pre-med students do that but I had no idea a high school student could.

 

[sully677]

No. A 17 year old does not know what their career will be. Come back to this forum in two years and see where you are at.

 

[xnfs93hy]

No. A 17 year old does not know what their career will be. Come back to this forum in two years and see where you are at.

In two years I assure you I will have the same career choice I know this is what I want to do, and I am not your typical seventeen year old kid I assure you. We could argue this out all night in this thread but I stand by what I just said.

 

[sully677]

Are you going to Harvard as well?

 

[ksmi117]

You could shadow a private practice doctor. I come from a small town with few serious emergencies and really benefited more from observing a local physician. He is a great doctor, and I got to see how he interacted with his patients.

I agree. Shadowing is a great idea. However, you may want to wait until college to do that. High school activities cannot be put on the AMCAS. However, use what you do now to make good relations with doctors. It will definitely help you down the road.

 

[Caesar]

Boys, play nice.

I agree. Shadowing is a great idea. However, you may want to wait until college to do that. High school activities cannot be put on the AMCAS. However, use what you do now to make good relations with doctors. It will definitely help you down the road.

Meh, I think it is a good idea. He may find out he hates it, and not waste any time in college on it. Also, as you mentioned he can start making connections. I've never been a big fan of the "don't do it if you can't put it on the app thing". I think it's better to have something brand new you can talk about in interviews.

 

[Lukkie]

You SHOULD NOT be worrying about med school as a junior in high school. Chill out and enjoy your last few free years. Also, most of the high school resume stuff is worthless on a med school application.

i agree. its way too late. he should have decided by 4th grade at the latest

 

[ksmi117]

Meh, I think it is a good idea. He may find out he hates it, and not waste any time in college on it. Also, as you mentioned he can start making connections. I've never been a big fan of the "don't do it if you can't put it on the app thing". I think it's better to have something brand new you can talk about in interviews.

Good point.

OP, just make sure to get some clinical experience in college, as well. Doing it in high school and then "checking it off" is not a good idea at all. Med schools will wonder why you stopped if you only do it in high school.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Are you going to Harvard as well?

Don't be a smartass.

 

[xnfs93hy]

How the heck would I even go about shadowing a doctor in the first place?

 

[sully677]

Profanity is not nice.

 

[cavalier329]

im going into my 3rd year at UVA and Ive wanted to be a doctor since freshman year of HS. Like you, I asked many people how I can get a jump on things while in HS. Just as is happening to you now, people told me I shouldn't be so sure about what I wanted and that it was too soon to be worrying about anything.

DONT LISTEN TO THEM...ITS NEVER TOO EARLY TO START.

Heres what I suggest-if you want some clinical exposure, join EMS. You may be able to join a local volunteer agency as a youth member or an observer and then when you are of age (this depends on the state) you can become an EMT. This is what I did. You can try to see if a doctor will let you shadow him/her. Chances are, they wont because you are still in HS and there is liability involved.

Your best bet is to look into EMS. Now, before you do this I must warn you that if you do decide to pursue EMS, YOU MUST BE GENUINE AND SINCERE about the job. You will be dealing with people's lives during their time of vulnerability and need. This is not something to be taken lightly, nor is it something just do to for medical school. It will expose you to medicine, but it will not show you what its like to be a doctor.

In addition to this, I advise you to get serious about your studies...if you think you are serious, then get more serious. GPA in college is more important than any clinical exposure. DO NOT FORGET THIS!

The benefits to starting early is that when you do put together your application, you will have 4+ years of experience in certain things, whereas many of your peers will have 1-2. This is my situation. I have been in EMS for 7 years, many are just starting a year before medical school. I have had an opportunity to really dive into the field, get some good experience, see a lot, and really become actively involved and discover a true passion.

Good luck to you. If this is your dream, don't let anyone tell you that its too early or that you are too young to worry about it. Dont stress out too much and take things one step at a time. Work hard and don't be discouraged.

Good luck again, dont hesitate to ask any questions.

 

[ksmi117]

How the heck would I even go about shadowing a doctor in the first place?

I heard of many different ways. Talk to your doctor. Talk to a doctor where you volunteer. I personally contacted a clinic and asked if I could shadow someone there. Now, I'm getting experience in the OR and in the clinic. Just be assertive about it.

"Hi, my name is jefgreen. I am very interested in medicine and would love to learn more about what exactly a doctor's job entails. Do you know anyone whom I could shadow, or would you be willing to allow me to shadow you?"

The worst they can do is say no...

 

[Caesar]

And some will say no, you just gotta keep looking. Teaching hospitals are best if that is an option for you.

 

[cbrons]

Also, if anyone on here remembers me from my last thread, I said that I am "very serious about going into medicine", someone replied that I should not be "very serious" about anything right now. I am trying not to be pre-set on anything but I have always wanted to become a doctor since I was in elementary school and my interest in medicine has just grown stronger and still is.

I thought I wanted to be a cop, and I was just as sure as you are. Try to have fun... seriously that'd be my suggestion. Let's focus on getting into undergrad. first here.

 

[Chemist0157]

To those who think he shouldn't start now because you think he's not sure of what he wants to do, why are you telling him not to shadow a physician? It takes very little time/effort to just spend a couple hours with a doctor each week. It's a perfect opportunity for him to "be sure.'

And so what if you can't put it on your application because you're in high school? Shadowing is about discovering what's right for YOU, not what adcoms think is right (it just so happens that physician observation does look good).

OP, do your relatives have a family doctor? Maybe go talk to him/her. There is a medical group in town, and one of the doctors is internal medicine. Since that's what I want, I just called his office up, sent over a resume, and he graciously allowed me to shadow him. Awesome guy.

 

[Lukkie]

And so what if you can't put it on your application because you're in high school? Shadowing is about discovering what's right for YOU, not what adcoms think is right (it just so happens that physician observation does look good).

because the only thing that matters is my application, who cares about learning?

 

[betheltim]

I don't recall anyone or anything saying you can't put high school experiences on an AMCAS application. I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong) it says to list any significant experiences. That means that if something in high school grabbed you and held onto you, and impacted your life throughout high school and even college, why not?

Thus, if you have a few hours every week, why wouldn't you try to shadow someone, medical field or otherwise? If you're having a good time doing whatever you're doing in high school and college, whether that be playing video games or shadowing and volunteering, do it. Do what you DESIRE to do. Who knows, if you shadow a physician and say to yourself, "Whoa, maybe I DON'T want to do this..." or, "Whoa, this is great," more power to you. I'm no doctor, I'm no guidance counselor, and I'm certainly no expert on anything, but I would say have a good time, whatever you do.

Again, I'm no expert, but hopefully something I said is worth something to you, haha!

 

[Caesar]

OP

It is never to early to figure out what you are interested in. Shadow your PCP for a couple hours someday.

If only there was a special place to post on SDN for high school students.........

annnnd If my hint didn't give it away, for the first time EVER, I get to say:
Moving to SDN ASPIRE!

yay!

 

[themule]

I don't recall anyone or anything saying you can't put high school experiences on an AMCAS application. I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong) it says to list any significant experiences. That means that if something in high school grabbed you and held onto you, and impacted your life throughout high school and even college, why not?

You can put it on the AMCAS but it would be worthless. Med schools care very little about what happened 4 years ago particularly if you haven't followed it up with ever greater exposure to the field. If you started shadowing/volunteering in high school and continued it through college that you could put on your AMCAS and it would have some meaning.

OP you might ask your pediatrician if you can shadow him/her.

 

[Depakote]

Let's keep the commentary in this thread constructive.

The OP has made it clear that the volunteering in question is for his college applications.

 

[Sunfire]

Hey, as a high school student looking to become a future physician I want to get familiar with the field. I will be a junior and I am really very serious about going into medicine, I have one other post asking about salaries of physicians and well that didn't really go very well at all to say the least. Anyway, I volunteer at a local university medical center. Here is the link http://www.jerseyshoreuniversitymedicalcenter.com/

It has only been a month or so but I love it. I am doing it for two main reasons.

-I really love helping people (I know this is a pretty vague reason but...w/e)

-Volunteering in high school just about anywhere looks absolutely stellar on college applications because, well, not many teens do it.

So, basically what I wanted to ask was what can I do to further educate myself about this field? Where else, besides just this hospital, can I volunteer or intern at? Keep in mind that I am still in high school. Any advice will help. Thanks in advance.

How very sad that there are any people in this world who would try to dissuade anyone from reaching their goals and dreams. To those people, I urge you...please look into a profession other than medicine. Anyone who has the nerve to attempt to rip hope away from another human being belongs nowhere near sick people who are trying to get well. Good luck to you in whatever career you do end up in.

Jefgreen, you are to be commended for your interest in the art of caring for lives, at such a young age. You'll probably continue to learn that there are those who will be jealous of your spirit and who will try and beat you down, so you might as well learn that lesson now. Don't let those types affect you. You go for your goals, and you work hard to reach them. This is YOUR life, it belongs to no one else but you. Live it how you decide and see fit.

Shadowing can sometimes be as easy as asking while you're volunteering (is there a friendly doc who you might be able to ask?), other times you might have to write letters of request and submit them to Docs in your local area (or call, as betheltim suggested). And it's true...even if you shadow and find it's not what you want, it's all a part of experiencing a facet of life. Knowledge is power, and that includes experience!

One thing...did I read correctly that you consider yourself to be a "loser" in school? I'm not sure what that means...if you're saying that your grades are poor, you'll want to plan on upping your chances through your college GPA. It can certainly be done, requiring alot of dedication and diligence. If you're saying that you're a 'nerdy' sort, well, join the club with many of the rest. Either way, don't be so fast to put yourself down. Recognize where you need work and do what you need to do.

cavalier329, congrats on your achievements thus far!

 

[cavalier329]

Thanks, Sunfire.

I hope these posts don't discourage you, jefgreen. That would be a real shame.

Some of the best doctors out there are the ones that are most passionate about what they do...just like any profession. The doctor I shadow is a radiologist and he would probably compare a good image of the hepatic vein to a fine steak dinner. He's funny to watch because he gets so excited and we all do usually laugh at him, but hes passionate and he is probably the doctor I would choose because of his passion.

If you get started now, you will be ahead of the curve come time for college. If you decide you enjoy medicine after you shadow in HS and you know its right for you, then it will give you that much more motivation when things get rocky during undergrad....and believe me they will.

The more passionate you are, the more unbreakable your determination is, and the more likely you will become a doctor someday. Get started with shadowing, volunteering early. Decide if medicine is indeed your true passion and hit the ground running.

This is my warning to you though: Dont do anything just for your application. Since this will be relevant to you soon enough, I will go ahead and say it. Don't do research because you hear you NEED it for medical school....do it because you ENJOY what you are researching (if you do at all). Don't be a science major because thats what most premeds are....do whatever you enjoy because IT DOESNT MATTER!! Im a history major, I love history, especially since I am at one of the most historical universities in America. If you are in a major you enjoy, your GPA will be higher. Its as simple as that. You may love bio, and thats awesome, so be a bio major. I enjoy certain aspects of biology....but to give me four years of straight up biology in every form possible will be torture to me---there is more to bio than things that are relevant to health professionals like doctors. I don't want to learn about plants or fish for an entire year...id rather learn about the French Revolution haha.

Bottom line, don't do anything because you think that without it, you won't get into college or medical school. If you do something you enjoy, you will develop a deep passion and the experience will be meaningful to you.

Don't listen to anyone trying to discourage you, go out there and work for what you want. If you want to shadow, call doctors who practice specialties you are interested in. Do some research about those specialties prior to speaking with these doctors too. If you want to try EMS, call your local ambulance agency. Whats the worst that could happen, they say no? Fine, at least you tried. You wouldve gotten the same result if you DIDNT try. Best situation---they say yes and you will get an incredible experience.

Good luck!

 

[Terpskins99]

You SHOULD NOT be worrying about med school as a junior in high school. Chill out and enjoy your last few free years. Also, most of the high school resume stuff is worthless on a med school application.

Not if its something they continue to be involved with as a college student. Besides, any extracurricular activity involving medicine/healthcare will provide an edge towards getting into a good college.

 

[Nikki2002]

To the OP:


I don't think you are too young to have a serious interest in medicine. When I was in high school, most of my volunteering activities were tied to school--like volunteering in the national honor society, for student council, etc.

I did most of my shadowing during undergrad. As another poster suggested, you could try to shadow a private practice doc. I shadowed a psychiatrist at his private practice one summer on multiple occasions and it was a great experience.

If you are unsure how to get in contact with doctors to shadow them, a great place to start is at the hospital where you volunteer. Some of the staff at the hospital where I volunteered hooked me up to shadow with some pediatric emergency room docs.

Your goal right now should be to get into a good undergrad, so just continue volunteering and gaining leadership experience for the rest of your time in high school, and then once you start undergrad, you can start the heavy duty volunteering/research/shadowing/etc. that will get you into med school.

 

[Marigold]

Jefgreen, I'm sorry there have been some unhelpful responses to your valid question in this thread.

I had my first shadowing experience as a freshman in high school...it was just for a week during the summer, but it was enough to confirm (even just a little bit) that I might want to be a doctor. High school is not too early to dip your toes in the water, so to speak. I agree that what you do in HS might not matter too much on your med school application, but go ahead and do it for the personal value! Do it because you want to!

I agree that you should have fun during high school, but if you can manage to do that and still take your studies seriously, you might find that things down the road are easier because of it (i.e. you may have less or no debt from undergrad if you get a scholarship because of your good grades/test scores in HS). You'll likely incur at least SOME debt (and maybe a lot) in med school, so if you can come out of college without debt, you'll be that much further ahead of the game. I just use this as one example of how your work now might pay off in the future.

I'm not trying to say you should start busting your tail and don't ever stop (please don't...do have fun, do extracurriculars, etc), but I also want you to know that it's OK (and pretty cool, actually) for you to be taking your future seriously at this point in your life!!

Feel free to ask any more questions you may have...that's what the Aspire forum was made for.

 

[yeahman67]

Okay, so I'm volunteering at a hospital, the only reason I'm doing it is so I have a better chance at getting accepted into medical school. Are you guys saying that volunteering at a hospital during high school/college doesn't mean anything towards medical school admissions?

 

[Depakote]

Okay, so I'm volunteering at a hospital, the only reason I'm doing it is so I have a better chance at getting accepted into medical school. Are you guys saying that volunteering at a hospital during high school/college doesn't mean anything towards medical school admissions?

It could still help your college admissions, but in general volunteer work that you start in high school is not considered for your medical school applications unless you continue it on through college.

If you continue working at this hospital (or at another hospital in a similar capacity) through college, then it would be worth mentioning on your medical school applications and it would show a strong long-term commitment that you could point to.

Any volunteer work you do in college is fair game for your med school apps.

Hope that clarifies things.

 

[yeahman67]

Yes it does, so what would you put on the transcript to show that you continued volunteering through college?

 

[Depakote]

Yes it does, so what would you put on the transcript to show that you continued volunteering through college?

there really isn't a transcript, but when you're filling out the application there are start/end dates that you can fill out. If the start date is when you were in HS and the end date is either present or when you were in college, they'll be able to put 2 and 2 together.

on top of that, you can put down a description of the experience and elaborate a bit on when you started, what your responsibilities were, etc.

 

[HumidBeing]

If you continue to volunteer at the same place, it can be reflected under the beginning and ending dates in the activity section. That's the part where you list your activities. Each one has a an area to show the range of dates when you were involved.

If you are volunteering in different places, it can be possible to work the high school experiences into your Personal Statement, if it is appropriate to what you are attempting to say.

 

[cavalier329]

if the only reason you are doing it is to increase your chances to medical school then chances are you aren't putting your heart into this.

If you do something for a long time, you can bet you will be asked about it. A lack of a genuine interest or passion will be clear to see...its a difficult thing to hide.

Do you even enjoy what you are doing?

 

[QofQuimica]

So, basically what I wanted to ask was what can I do to further educate myself about this field? Where else, besides just this hospital, can I volunteer or intern at? Keep in mind that I am still in high school. Any advice will help. Thanks in advance.

What is your favorite subject in school or an extracurricular activity that you are passionate about? It would be great if you could tutor other students at your high school, or teach younger children about that subject. The best doctors are all excellent teachers. (In fact, the word "doctor" comes from the Latin word for "teacher.") As a doctor, you will spend your entire career teaching your patients, your colleagues, your students, and yourself. Thus, I am always impressed by applicants who not only embrace activities that they love, but teach other people to do them, too.

 

[ylrebmik]

Hello I'm going to be a senior in high school this upcoming year and I've wanted to be a vet for about 2 years and going strong. I'm probably just as determined as you but I've had so many friends change. My really good friend was sooooooo determined about being a surgeon... did everything she was supposed to.. shadow, volunteer, AP classes, etc but in reality... we're young and most of us change our mind. (she's going to be an english teacher now) But I'm sort of like you, don't think that I'm going to change and trying to do everything possible now to get ahead and figure out what I should be doing now. Well for me.... I volunteer at a lot of different places. I don't shadow because I can't find clinics around here to shadow. I also work at the hospital as a Nutrition Aide. There are actually 3 jobs at the hospital in my area that allows teens to work. My mom always wanted me to go into human medicine and be a pediatrician and just working in the hospital and seeing the workers and the atmosphere of working like that makes me not want to go into human medicine... so try everything! but keep you're mind open!

 

[MilkmanAl]

To the OP and others: if you have a family friend in medicine, shadow that person. My advice is to attend the most gruesome surgeries you can possibly find, though others will probably disagree. My shadowing experience started off my junior year of high school, and during my first two trips, I saw an arthritic patient's feet totally rearranged, a hip replacement, and an ICU patient code a couple times and die. If you can handle (or enjoy) the intense stuff now, you should know that a career in medicine might at least be a possibility for you.

If at all possible, get a clinical job. Volunteer experience really just doesn't teach you much, even though it's necessary for med school apps. Anything ending with "tech" would be a good position to have. You'll be doing the bulk of the scut work, but you'll be immersed in the field you're planning/hoping to enter professionally later on.

 

[xnfs93hy]

What is your favorite subject in school or an extracurricular activity that you are passionate about? It would be great if you could tutor other students at your high school, or teach younger children about that subject. The best doctors are all excellent teachers. (In fact, the word "doctor" comes from the Latin word for "teacher.") As a doctor, you will spend your entire career teaching your patients, your colleagues, your students, and yourself. Thus, I am always impressed by applicants who not only embrace activities that they love, but teach other people to do them, too.

I am also looking into tutoring kids this fall, elementary level though, not high school.

 

[xnfs93hy]

To the OP and others: if you have a family friend in medicine, shadow that person. My advice is to attend the most gruesome surgeries you can possibly find, though others will probably disagree. My shadowing experience started off my junior year of high school, and during my first two trips, I saw an arthritic patient's feet totally rearranged, a hip replacement, and an ICU patient code a couple times and die. If you can handle (or enjoy) the intense stuff now, you should know that a career in medicine might at least be a possibility for you.

If at all possible, get a clinical job. Volunteer experience really just doesn't teach you much, even though it's necessary for med school apps. Anything ending with "tech" would be a good position to have. You'll be doing the bulk of the scut work, but you'll be immersed in the field you're planning/hoping to enter professionally later on.

That sounds good too but how would I go about doing all this? I know I have asked that question a few times already but it has to be asked. Like an EM tech? (EMT is guess?) or a tech who works in a hospital. Elaborate please. I am open to all ideas and suggestions.