When Should I Volunteer Abroad?

[New Yorker]

Hi! I'm going into university this fall. What is the best year to volunteer abroad that will look best for med school applications? 

 

[NotASerialKiller]

Any time, probably sooner rather than later. Summer can be great for getting research experience (NSERC-USRA) so if you're thinking about that then the summer after first year might be your best bet to volunteer abroad. If you were thinking of doing it over christmas or reading week(s) then whenever you feel like it!

[sdj78we9jtf2o3mgfvj298j]

Volunteering abroad is one of those traditional premed activities that's slowly died down in recent years (and is even starting to be looked at in a negative light in some schools). One of the lessons you'll learn quickly in university is that you shouldn't be doing activities for the sake of looking good on an application. A lot of the time with these abroad trips is that you have limited impact since you're there for such a short period of time, and you might even be doing a lot more harm than good (like doing things that you're ill equipped for, you can read up articles on this). It's better to do volunteer activities that you care about in your local community for long periods of time.

[New Yorker]

Any time, probably sooner rather than later. Summer can be great for getting research experience (NSERC-USRA) so if you're thinking about that then the summer after first year might be your best bet to volunteer abroad. If you were thinking of doing it over christmas or reading week(s) then whenever you feel like it!

Thank you so much! 

[NotASerialKiller]

Volunteering abroad is one of those traditional premed activities that's slowly died down in recent years (and is even starting to be looked at in a negative light in some schools). One of the lessons you'll learn quickly in university is that you shouldn't be doing activities for the sake of looking good on an application. A lot of the time with these abroad trips is that you have limited impact since you're there for such a short period of time, and you might even be doing a lot more harm than good (like doing things that you're ill equipped for, you can read up articles on this). It's better to do volunteer activities that you care about in your local community for long periods of time.

 

Are you sure it's ever viewed negatively? I'd believe that it doesn't add much in certain situations, especially if it's obvious from speaking to them that it was just padding, but if you're volunteering abroad for 2-4 months I can't see that ever being a drawback.

[New Yorker]

Volunteering abroad is one of those traditional premed activities that's slowly died down in recent years (and is even starting to be looked at in a negative light in some schools). One of the lessons you'll learn quickly in university is that you shouldn't be doing activities for the sake of looking good on an application. A lot of the time with these abroad trips is that you have limited impact since you're there for such a short period of time, and you might even be doing a lot more harm than good (like doing things that you're ill equipped for, you can read up articles on this). It's better to do volunteer activities that you care about in your local community for long periods of time.

Thanks for your insight but I will be applying to American medical schools.

Look at PAGE 7 on the AMCAS selection guide pdf. It will show you a table that says it is important that I experience populations unlike me and very important that I serve underprivileged people. So I think volunteering abroad would look good for American schools. Correct me if I'm wrong.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/267622/data/mcatstudentselectionguide.pdf

[sdj78we9jtf2o3mgfvj298j]

Thanks for your insight but I will be applying to American medical schools.

Look at PAGE 7 on the AMCAS selection guide pdf. It will show you a table that says it is important that I experience populations unlike me and very important that I serve underprivileged people. So I think volunteering abroad would look good for American schools. Correct me if I'm wrong.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/267622/data/mcatstudentselectionguide.pdf

If that's the case, then go ahead. Just make sure you're careful about what you do. I've had a lot of friends go to third world countries as first year students and started giving injections and diagnosing people. Do a lot of research in whether the organizations you are working for are ethical and well known.

 

Traveling abroad isn't the only activity that involves working with underprivileged people, just so you know. You can work in a homeless shelter or aboriginal communities as well.

[NotASerialKiller]

Thanks for your insight but I will be applying to American medical schools.

Look at PAGE 7 on the AMCAS selection guide pdf. It will show you a table that says it is important that I experience populations unlike me and very important that I serve underprivileged people. So I think volunteering abroad would look good for American schools. Correct me if I'm wrong.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/267622/data/mcatstudentselectionguide.pdf

 

Helping underprivileged communities is definitely a plus, and a big focus with US schools, but I think even they're more concerned with applicants helping those groups within their own community. Again I don't think volunteering abroad would be BAD, but if this is the only reason you want to do it there are plenty of things you can do to help people where you're living. Volunteering with a big brother/big sister group is a great way to do this, for example. Chocolatecheese is right that if it comes off as something you did just for the sake of getting into med school (which I'm sure volunteering abroad can have the stigma of) it will add little to your application.

 

Cultivating a passion for helping a certain group is your best bet. Even if it feels like you're forcing yourself to volunteer at the start, if you pick something that has some significance to you it can be extremely rewarding and end up looking great on an application or lead to a glowing letter from someone at the organization. Personally I started off by volunteering as a mentor to struggling students, and then ended up volunteering with several groups that provide both academic and social support to students. Now I have hundreds of hours of volunteering and employment all with that same theme, and can talk with conviction about how it has affected my life because I am genuinely passionate about it.

 

At the end of the day the important thing is to spend your time volunteering for something that matters to you. It will be obvious in an interview, or even on an application if you just have a few things here and there that look like stereotypical resume padding. Don't let that stop you volunteering abroad if you're passionate about that though. Helping build a hospital for a poor community in a foreign country might be the perfect fit for you, in which case you'll be able to justify why you did it to the satisfaction of any panel.

[Bambi]

There is absolutely no necessity to volunteer abroad ever and you can accomplish what you wish more effectively in your own backyard.

[LeBronto2019]

For the first time on this forum, I'll try to not respond harshly to this kind of thread. I agree with the above responses and that while it does have many benefits on your application (learned about that fact from people on adcoms), it is not ideal for yourself or the people that you work with depending on what you do.

 

For you, I feel like you may not gain enough insight into the entire experience if you go for a summer, especially without having any chance to work with marginalized groups before. If you want to learn about the medical effects of hepatitis and HIV on people, you don't need to go to a third world country, go work with inner-city community. If you want to a unique cultural experience, work with First Nations communities. If you want to understand remote access to healthcare and problems with distribution of resources, spend time in rural Canada or in the North. I felt I was ready to go on a trip to Ghana one summer because I spent tons of time in undergrad working with the inner-city, teaching immigrants and refugees, conducting visual acuities in children from lower-income families, and generally having the knowledge of third-world situations from my parents and grandparents who grew up in Africa. I understood social determinants of health through those experiences and through my research and wanted a new perspective of these issues in a global setting. This is just based on my and other people's suggestions. But if you're only worried about your application, then I'll stay out of this before I lose my sh*t. 

 

For the people there, don't think that even 4 months of time spent on a project will have much positive impact on them or their community. Tons of students go to build homes and schools and bring resources, which is great, but don't think of it as changing the entire infrastructure of their community and contributing positively for their futures. Development takes time and being an undergrad student, you definitely won't be able to make a difference unless you have some creative solutions to problems they have. But without even looking into what problems exist, how will you do anything? Find an organization that is sustainable and does positive things. At best, use that opportunity to learn about them and just be there to assist. Engaging in medical procedures or providing healthcare to them without any experience is highly unethical so if you do that for your own interest or application, for shame. 

 

Basically, going abroad for a short period will not be beneficial to anyone involved unless you take the time to learn about the problems people deal with or that you support an organization that has a positive impact. You may even end up doing harm to them. 

[xcon2run]

There is absolutely no necessity to volunteer abroad ever and you can accomplish what you wish more effectively in your own backyard.

 

 

This. I think until you have marketable, needed skills (i.e., medical, construction, logistics etc.) then there is little use. There are amazing opportunities in both Canada and the US where you can "experience populations unlike you." Nursing homes, special needs facilities, aboriginal communities and the list goes on and on. 

[MSWschnoodle]

Thanks for your insight but I will be applying to American medical schools.

Look at PAGE 7 on the AMCAS selection guide pdf. It will show you a table that says it is important that I experience populations unlike me and very important that I serve underprivileged people. So I think volunteering abroad would look good for American schools. Correct me if I'm wrong.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/267622/data/mcatstudentselectionguide.pdf

 

I think the best place to start off is with a statement that is going to sound very harsh so OP please know it is not directed at you but rather directed at this strange "volunteer abroad!" obsession that has plagued medical school admissions for years:

 

Volunteering to work with marginalized populations solely for the benefit of your (proverbial your, not directed at OP) own medical school application is like having a token minority friend so you can bring them to fancy parties and brag about how "not racist" you are. It does more harm than good and hurts more people than it helps. The last thing that any marginalized/disenfranchised/underprivileged population needs is someone swooping in looking to be a saviour and complete a quick project that looks good on a resume.

 

There are ABSOLUTELY volunteer abroad organizations that bring highly skilled volunteers to complete specific tasks that cannot be completed by local residents due to a lack of training/resources or manpower (think Doctors without Borders) but there are also way too many "volunteer abroad" organizations that make a profit by convincing well-meaning students to pay them thousands of dollars to head off on a trip where they "build" something in the community or perform some other task. The result? A bunch of people with no relevant skills providing "services" or completing "projects" that a community may not want or need... or even worse... actually doing harm to the local economy/local residents by performing skills or providing services without expertise. Yes, it makes the students feel warm and fuzzy and it gives them a nice tidy project to list on their ever-expanding resume. But when these 'volunteers' leave and the building is unsafe because it is structurally unsound (happens more than you think) the locals are no further ahead and, in fact, may even be behind because now they not only have to rebuild the building... they have to figure out how to safely take down what the "volunteers" built first. 

 

Please don't be a voluntourist. I know several people who went and did INCREDIBLE projects in their time abroad that expanded their world view and produced meaningful projects that continue to benefit the community years later... I also know several people who skipped off to "volunteer" and came back with some great selfies for Facebook and absolutely no meaningful understanding of culture or marginalization. What was the difference? The people that had a big impact knew exactly why they were going and exactly what skills they were bringing to the table. They took the time to be thoughtful and to find a community that would benefit from their skills. They worked WITH the community once they got there to fine-tune the project they were doing based on local needs and committed to be present and involved for the entire the 6-12 months that the project would take to complete. Because they had community input from even before their arrival they knew that once the project was done that the community had the resources to continue the work. Most of all, they brought a very deep sense of passion and purpose to the work as well as a complete willingness to immerse themselves into the culture of the community they worked in.

 

OK, Rant over... on to your question...

 

If you are super keen on volunteering abroad, then by all means do your homework, select your project carefully and go for it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with volunteering abroad when you bring along a meaningful set of needed skills that can help in that area. Before you decide on a project I would really strongly recommend reading this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/little-white-girls-voluntourism_b_4834574.html. This article does a much better job of summing up the problems with voluntourism than I can. There is lots of meaningful work to be done abroad if you can avoid the voluntourism trap.

 

Now, on to the next point... populations that are "very unlike you" and underprivileged populations are EVERYWHERE. You can get these experiences without volunteering abroad. Working with homeless populations or being a community support for those who have intellectual disabilities or chronic mental illness are ways of experiencing populations that are both unlike you and disenfranchised. Join Big Brothers/Big Sisters or another youth organization that works in low SES communities. Habitat for humanity, Special Olympics, your local breakfast club... There are SO MANY wonderful opportunities available for you to meaningfully connect with people in your home community that have been marginalized and disenfranchised. I would also recommend that you read "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" as it contains a ton of good information on understanding the idea of what 'privilege' is and why it is so unequally distributed.  

 

EDIT: In the time it took me to type this a whole bunch of people chimed in with similar thoughts... so Ditto to them! :-)

[New Yorker]

I think the best place to start off is with a statement that is going to sound very harsh so OP please know it is not directed at you but rather directed at this strange "volunteer abroad!" obsession that has plagued medical school admissions for years:

 

Volunteering to work with marginalized populations solely for the benefit of your (proverbial your, not directed at OP) own medical school application is like having a token minority friend so you can bring them to fancy parties and brag about how "not racist" you are. It does more harm than good and hurts more people than it helps. The last thing that any marginalized/disenfranchised/underprivileged population needs is someone swooping in looking to be a saviour and complete a quick project that looks good on a resume.

 

There are ABSOLUTELY volunteer abroad organizations that bring highly skilled volunteers to complete specific tasks that cannot be completed by local residents due to a lack of training/resources or manpower (think Doctors without Borders) but there are also way too many "volunteer abroad" organizations that make a profit by convincing well-meaning students to pay them thousands of dollars to head off on a trip where they "build" something in the community or perform some other task. The result? A bunch of people with no relevant skills providing "services" or completing "projects" that a community may not want or need... or even worse... actually doing harm to the local economy/local residents by performing skills or providing services without expertise. Yes, it makes the students feel warm and fuzzy and it gives them a nice tidy project to list on their ever-expanding resume. But when these 'volunteers' leave and the building is unsafe because it is structurally unsound (happens more than you think) the locals are no further ahead and, in fact, may even be behind because now they not only have to rebuild the building... they have to figure out how to safely take down what the "volunteers" built first. 

 

Please don't be a voluntourist. I know several people who went and did INCREDIBLE projects in their time abroad that expanded their world view and produced meaningful projects that continue to benefit the community years later... I also know several people who skipped off to "volunteer" and came back with some great selfies for Facebook and absolutely no meaningful understanding of culture or marginalization. What was the difference? The people that had a big impact knew exactly why they were going and exactly what skills they were bringing to the table. They took the time to be thoughtful and to find a community that would benefit from their skills. They worked WITH the community once they got there to fine-tune the project they were doing based on local needs and committed to be present and involved for the entire the 6-12 months that the project would take to complete. Because they had community input from even before their arrival they knew that once the project was done that the community had the resources to continue the work. Most of all, they brought a very deep sense of passion and purpose to the work as well as a complete willingness to immerse themselves into the culture of the community they worked in.

 

OK, Rant over... on to your question...

 

If you are super keen on volunteering abroad, then by all means do your homework, select your project carefully and go for it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with volunteering abroad when you bring along a meaningful set of needed skills that can help in that area. Before you decide on a project I would really strongly recommend reading this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/little-white-girls-voluntourism_b_4834574.html. This article does a much better job of summing up the problems with voluntourism than I can. There is lots of meaningful work to be done abroad if you can avoid the voluntourism trap.

 

Now, on to the next point... populations that are "very unlike you" and underprivileged populations are EVERYWHERE. You can get these experiences without volunteering abroad. Working with homeless populations or being a community support for those who have intellectual disabilities or chronic mental illness are ways of experiencing populations that are both unlike you and disenfranchised. Join Big Brothers/Big Sisters or another youth organization that works in low SES communities. Habitat for humanity, Special Olympics, your local breakfast club... There are SO MANY wonderful opportunities available for you to meaningfully connect with people in your home community that have been marginalized and disenfranchised. I would also recommend that you read "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" as it contains a ton of good information on understanding the idea of what 'privilege' is and why it is so unequally distributed.  

 

EDIT: In the time it took me to type this a whole bunch of people chimed in with similar thoughts... so Ditto to them! :-)

 

WOW thank you so much for your comment. That really changed my perspective in going abroad for making my resume "fancy". I guess I will have to do some more research. 

[amichel]

People who take selfies with children in developing countries and then put them on Facebook... Ugh. I bet 99% of them don't ask parent's permission. Would never be okay here, but somehow is there... Because, they're poor?

 

Anyways sorry for rant.

 

OP, thanks for being willing to listen.

[GH0ST]

Thanks for your insight but I will be applying to American medical schools.

Look at PAGE 7 on the AMCAS selection guide pdf. It will show you a table that says it is important that I experience populations unlike me and very important that I serve underprivileged people. So I think volunteering abroad would look good for American schools. Correct me if I'm wrong.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/267622/data/mcatstudentselectionguide.pdf

 

 

For the first time on this forum, I'll try to not respond harshly to this kind of thread. I agree with the above responses and that while it does have many benefits on your application (learned about that fact from people on adcoms), it is not ideal for yourself or the people that you work with depending on what you do.

 

For you, I feel like you may not gain enough insight into the entire experience if you go for a summer, especially without having any chance to work with marginalized groups before. If you want to learn about the medical effects of hepatitis and HIV on people, you don't need to go to a third world country, go work with inner-city community. If you want to a unique cultural experience, work with First Nations communities. If you want to understand remote access to healthcare and problems with distribution of resources, spend time in rural Canada or in the North. I felt I was ready to go on a trip to Ghana one summer because I spent tons of time in undergrad working with the inner-city, teaching immigrants and refugees, conducting visual acuities in children from lower-income families, and generally having the knowledge of third-world situations from my parents and grandparents who grew up in Africa. I understood social determinants of health through those experiences and through my research and wanted a new perspective of these issues in a global setting. This is just based on my and other people's suggestions. But if you're only worried about your application, then I'll stay out of this before I lose my sh*t. 

 

For the people there, don't think that even 4 months of time spent on a project will have much positive impact on them or their community. Tons of students go to build homes and schools and bring resources, which is great, but don't think of it as changing the entire infrastructure of their community and contributing positively for their futures. Development takes time and being an undergrad student, you definitely won't be able to make a difference unless you have some creative solutions to problems they have. But without even looking into what problems exist, how will you do anything? Find an organization that is sustainable and does positive things. At best, use that opportunity to learn about them and just be there to assist. Engaging in medical procedures or providing healthcare to them without any experience is highly unethical so if you do that for your own interest or application, for shame. 

 

Basically, going abroad for a short period will not be beneficial to anyone involved unless you take the time to learn about the problems people deal with or that you support an organization that has a positive impact. You may even end up doing harm to them. 

 

 

I think the best place to start off is with a statement that is going to sound very harsh so OP please know it is not directed at you but rather directed at this strange "volunteer abroad!" obsession that has plagued medical school admissions for years:

 

Volunteering to work with marginalized populations solely for the benefit of your (proverbial your, not directed at OP) own medical school application is like having a token minority friend so you can bring them to fancy parties and brag about how "not racist" you are. It does more harm than good and hurts more people than it helps. The last thing that any marginalized/disenfranchised/underprivileged population needs is someone swooping in looking to be a saviour and complete a quick project that looks good on a resume.

 

There are ABSOLUTELY volunteer abroad organizations that bring highly skilled volunteers to complete specific tasks that cannot be completed by local residents due to a lack of training/resources or manpower (think Doctors without Borders) but there are also way too many "volunteer abroad" organizations that make a profit by convincing well-meaning students to pay them thousands of dollars to head off on a trip where they "build" something in the community or perform some other task. The result? A bunch of people with no relevant skills providing "services" or completing "projects" that a community may not want or need... or even worse... actually doing harm to the local economy/local residents by performing skills or providing services without expertise. Yes, it makes the students feel warm and fuzzy and it gives them a nice tidy project to list on their ever-expanding resume. But when these 'volunteers' leave and the building is unsafe because it is structurally unsound (happens more than you think) the locals are no further ahead and, in fact, may even be behind because now they not only have to rebuild the building... they have to figure out how to safely take down what the "volunteers" built first. 

 

Please don't be a voluntourist. I know several people who went and did INCREDIBLE projects in their time abroad that expanded their world view and produced meaningful projects that continue to benefit the community years later... I also know several people who skipped off to "volunteer" and came back with some great selfies for Facebook and absolutely no meaningful understanding of culture or marginalization. What was the difference? The people that had a big impact knew exactly why they were going and exactly what skills they were bringing to the table. They took the time to be thoughtful and to find a community that would benefit from their skills. They worked WITH the community once they got there to fine-tune the project they were doing based on local needs and committed to be present and involved for the entire the 6-12 months that the project would take to complete. Because they had community input from even before their arrival they knew that once the project was done that the community had the resources to continue the work. Most of all, they brought a very deep sense of passion and purpose to the work as well as a complete willingness to immerse themselves into the culture of the community they worked in.

 

OK, Rant over... on to your question...

 

If you are super keen on volunteering abroad, then by all means do your homework, select your project carefully and go for it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with volunteering abroad when you bring along a meaningful set of needed skills that can help in that area. Before you decide on a project I would really strongly recommend reading this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/little-white-girls-voluntourism_b_4834574.html. This article does a much better job of summing up the problems with voluntourism than I can. There is lots of meaningful work to be done abroad if you can avoid the voluntourism trap.

 

Now, on to the next point... populations that are "very unlike you" and underprivileged populations are EVERYWHERE. You can get these experiences without volunteering abroad. Working with homeless populations or being a community support for those who have intellectual disabilities or chronic mental illness are ways of experiencing populations that are both unlike you and disenfranchised. Join Big Brothers/Big Sisters or another youth organization that works in low SES communities. Habitat for humanity, Special Olympics, your local breakfast club... There are SO MANY wonderful opportunities available for you to meaningfully connect with people in your home community that have been marginalized and disenfranchised. I would also recommend that you read "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" as it contains a ton of good information on understanding the idea of what 'privilege' is and why it is so unequally distributed.  

 

EDIT: In the time it took me to type this a whole bunch of people chimed in with similar thoughts... so Ditto to them! :-)

 

Can't agree with the responses enough. Working with diverse people, I hate the term underprivileged... it's like we're marginalizing people without even considering them as people and experiences... as if them not having material goods makes them have less "privilege." How do you think it makes orphans feel when they hear that? or survivors of domestic abuse? That language when I read that manual makes me think that these stigmas continue to be pervasive in our society. When I talk to sensitive clients who need my help... that language is just abysmal. Maybe that's my bias but I hate that language.

 

If you do want to travel and help a different demographic of people, then do your research and go in with the understanding that spending a few weeks is just resume padding and a nice clap on the back to make people feel better about the underwhelming difference they make. You want to do something you care about and make it matter? Spend a longer time getting to know the locals, learn about their experiences, pass that on. Take up initiative and more responsibilities. Do it with the thought that even if it doesn't amount to anything that you can write about... that you and everyone you've affected were able to gain something. Keep that internal victory within.

 

Other than that... there are so many different types of "underprivileged" populations. Victims of sexual assault, 3rd party suicide, domestic abuse... some veterans, people living under different SES contexts... students struggling with depression, loneliness etc. Your community can benefit just as much from the contributions you make. 

 

Fortunately you've been very receptive and actually read what we type and that's great. You will likely reflect and make an informed decision.

 

Good luck and keep on fighting for that dream

 

- G

[MSWschnoodle]

WOW thank you so much for your comment. That really changed my perspective in going abroad for making my resume "fancy". I guess I will have to do some more research. 

 

I really appreciate you taking the comment in the spirit with which it is intended! That's always a risk on the internet.

 

I also wanted to say - if you are really keen on going abroad because you want that cultural experience... I know someone who went overseas to do a Participatory Action Research Project with seniors in a specific community. It turned out amazing. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is FANTASTIC for working with diverse communities because the participants become researchers themselves. The whole thing operates very much from an empowerment perspective with a emancipatory/transformative framework. You can also apply different lenses (feminist theory, queer theory etc) to PAR. There is absolutely nothing to stop you from pursuing a project like this as an undergrad... it's a very 'friendly' research model for newer researchers. It sounds like you have a bit of time left in your degree so that should be more than enough time to do the ground work (finding a prof to be PI, finding a community to work with, clearing ethics etc.). The really nice part of doing a PAR project like this is that the work you need to do abroad (the part of the project that requires you to physically be in another country) can be done in a condensed amount of time (weeks vs. months). 

 

Depending on your project, you could wind up with some very compelling results that you can use to advocate for real change. PAR centres the participants as experts, so you really capture the participant's 'voice' within the research. It makes it a great research method when you are working with populations that people either don't know a lot about or populations that are plagued by stigma/discrimination.

[commanderadama]

Thanks for your insight but I will be applying to American medical schools.

Look at PAGE 7 on the AMCAS selection guide pdf. It will show you a table that says it is important that I experience populations unlike me and very important that I serve underprivileged people. So I think volunteering abroad would look good for American schools. Correct me if I'm wrong.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/267622/data/mcatstudentselectionguide.pdf

There's been specific US med schools that look unfavourably upon volunteering abroad. Remember that medical schools want you to serve their area, so it would be of your best interest to get to know the people in your area and have an interest in their well-being, rights, etc. Here's a tweet from UMich: https://twitter.com/UMichMedAdmiss/status/82182892637270017