Pre-University Extracurriculars

[Guest Heya]

Is it really important to have some hospital voluntering done before high school?

 

How many of you guys\gals did volunteering before high school anyways?

[Guest MDCY]

Not I, I only started after 1st year. I don't think it's very vital when you start provided you didn't start the year you applied. Besides that, I think they are looking more at what you learned from your experience whether it be from work or volunteering.

Cheers!

[Guest me]

Lol! I didn't even include my highschool extracurriculurs on my meds application .. I can't think why they would possibly care about stuff from that long ago, unless it is exceptionally significant.

[Guest aneliz]

Same for me. My life started in first year university as far as my application is concerned. The only things included from high school were the ones that were 'ongoing' and that I continued with in first year and/or am still doing now.

[Guest mying]

What I hear (not official, of course) is that it looks nice to have started an extra-curricular activity and continued with it throughout university, showing commitment and also your growth within that group. If that's possible.

 

Another vote for doing things before university is you get to "tick it off" the checklist, so to speak (ie, seeing inside a hospital), if you have the time in high school. On the other hand, you might find it easier to get *good* experiences out of a hospital when you're older (ie, they may trust you more).

 

But no, it's not necessary, and I doubt it makes a huge difference, other than those subtle "personal growth" things.

[Guest Liana]

It certainly does show integrity in your application if you have been volunteering for years, but that is by no means necessary. Similarly, volunteering in hospital is not a requirement, but different interviewers may have different opinions of how necessary this experience is. If you have at least some experience helping out in a humanitarian setting (eg, working in a nursing home, or even volunteering with kids) then you can reasonably account for having gotten a taste of what medicine is all about.

 

I know most people who volunteer at hospitals end up doing crappy tasks anyway. At my local hospital, the most esteemed volunteering position was running general errands throughout the hospital; most people sold coffee or worked in the gift shop. A lot of applicants will have this experience on their resume, so it certainly won't stand out or add extra value to your application; however, if you were to volunteer at something more unique, you would be investing your time more efficiently. By this, I mean, not only will you be getting an experience that will make a stronger impact on your resume, but you will probably also get the opportunity to play a more significant role when you do volunteer. Most hospitals have immense competition for volunteering positions; my hospital had a waiting list of a year long. However, other community programs are in dire need of volunteers; you could start immediately and they'd give you much more responsibility, and much more to talk about afterward.

[Guest AniyaSG]

I was turned down from one school for not having any hospital "experience", ie volunteering. I would recommend you do hospital volunteering at some point before applying.

[Guest Champ]

Interestingly, I started hospital volunteering in highschool for a few years and then again 10 yrs later after my Phd.

 

If you really want to find out if you would enjoy a career in medicine and have the inner strength to do so, I suggest a few months in the emergency ward and following this, some time in a palliative care terminal cancer ward. Both experiences were extremely rewarding and I was able to learn about myself as well.(eg...how do you speak to a 22 yr old law student who is dying of brain cancer.)

 

In my opinion these were tangible learning experiences in the hospital environment.

 

 

 

 

just a few suggestions.

 

champ

[Guest utapp]

I didn't have a lot of volunteering experience when I applied...but, I did do a bunch of interesting coop jobs. For example at Health Canada and the DND. Most of these jobs would be inappropriate for a volunteer since the demands are more and you may be working with sensitive information. Don't overlook paid positions. You may not be doing the job out of the goodness of your heart (ie volunteering) but it is the interesting and meaningful experience that you walk away with (and write in your application).

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Volunteering before high school? Definitely beneficial, but not for your CV - if I remember correctly OMSAS only wants you to list stuff you've done after 15. But volunteering before High School gives you the satisfaction of helping people, and might help you decide whether you enjoy working with people.