question about volunteer work

[mjolnir80]

is volunteer work required for entry into med school?

if so how much?

[AndreaM]

All medical schools in Canada assess non-academic qualities, such as leadership, service ethic, motivation, compassion etc. They do this by looking at your non-academic experiences. They do not have to be volunteer based, but they often are. For example, someone working as a tutor for a developmetally delayed child is not volunteering per se, but they are gaining experience outside of school that could potentially help them be a good doctor. A high gpa can compensate for low non-academic qualities, but it is not the only thing that adcoms are looking for.

[rmorelan]

is volunteer work required for entry into med school?

if so how much?

 

It is not required specifically, and there is are no preset time commitments etc. Many do and put in several hours a week at such things

 

When I was wrestling with stuff like that (how much/what type of research, where/how much to volunteer, courses to take, travel experience needed/not needed..... gives me a headache even now thinking about it ) I think it is better to look at it from an adcoms point of view - why are they even asking for volunteer experience at all? Everyone has different thoughts on that but I think it is because:

 

1) Shows your commitment and interest in the field - if you really want to be a part of X, you don't wait around to be involved, you find some way to involve yourself immediately.

2) Can show you understand what you are getting yourself into. Volunteering in health care etc gives chances to learn about what people really do in the field. People with forsight I suppose take efforts to make sure they really do want to be a doctor which requires actually meeting and learning from them

3) It shows you can handle time managment, multiple competing demands on yourself

4) If you are doing it for more than just checking a item off of the premed list of things to do (high GPA - check, MCAT - check, blah exposure at a hospital - check....) it can show your concern for others.

 

Anyway my point is that volunteering is just one way of showing this things off. Research commitment can, many types of employment can, heavy involvment at your school, as well as can a whole bunch of other things.

 

Just imagine yourself as an adcom asking those sorts of questions and whether your background and ECs can demonstate these sorts of things, and demonstate it with a touch of passion and enthusism.

[mjolnir80]

thanks for the replies

[A-Stark]

I had an interesting conversation with an Obs/gyn yesterday who was disagreeing with the notion that applicants should have social science/humanities courses as a requirement. She commented that you can't teach life experience, intuition, or empathy - it's experience that matters. Taking courses helps, but it's not substitute for getting out and doing stuff, whether it's volunteering, travelling, or working. Or anything.