am i wrong in not volunteering in a charity shop?

Working with elderly people is much more appropriate voluntary work in my oppinion :smile:

Reply 3

Astudentinneed

OP

yeah, but do you think i should have still volunteer if only to show a committement or something?

Reply 4

GreenMan

As long as u hav don some sort of volunrary work....charity shop is not essential, and to be honest, helpin the elderly is a lot better and more proacive.

Btw does any1 know how to get the spoiler on their signature???

Reply 5

Esquire

Well I really hope you get into medicine because your heart's in the right place as regards charity work :rolleyes:

Reply 6

Astudentinneed

OP

is that sarcasm?

O_o

the greater good my friend, the greater good

Reply 7

Helenia

Esquire

Well I really hope you get into medicine because your heart's in the right place as regards charity work :rolleyes:

Why should wanting to be a medic require you to also want to work in a charity shop?

Reply 8

kiaora

my sustained period of voluntary work was in a charity shop. presumably i was up against people who had spent the last three years doing something far more medically related for charity, and i still got a place. i think it depends what you can say about it on your personal statement. provided you can supplement your work at a charity shop with something more 'appropriate'.... but then i don't think i would have stood a chance had i applied to some of the more competitive schools like UCL, Imperial or Nottingham for example.

Reply 9

MaryKay

8

ant87

my sustained period of voluntary work was in a charity shop. presumably i was up against people who had spent the last three years doing something far more medically related for charity, and i still got a place. i think it depends what you can say about it on your personal statement. provided you can supplement your work at a charity shop with something more 'appropriate'.... but then i don't think i would have stood a chance had i applied to some of the more competitive schools like UCL, Imperial or Nottingham for example.

Many people are finding it seriously difficult to obtain voluntary placements in "appropriate" areas, I'm sure that a period of voluntary work in an area such as a charity shop would be looked upon favourably, seems to me that med schools are looking for a sustained effort in voluntary it's not as though you wouldn't absorb some of the ethos of the charity :smile:

Reply 10

Esquire

Helenia

Why should wanting to be a medic require you to also want to work in a charity shop?

I'm not saying it should, infact I think the opposite. What's the point in anything if you're only doing it to look good? Doing charity work should not be used as a means to the end of getting onto a Medicine course. To me it's quite obvious that this is quite a ruthless attitude.
If you don't want to do charity work then don't, but don't do it when you don't want to just to get ahead of the competition in Medical applications and then expect reassurance from me...

Reply 11

Astudentinneed

OP

indeed, i perfectly agree with you

however payed job > volunteer job

if i want a job in a shop, i might as well get a paying job and save up as well as doing it

Reply 12

Helenia

Esquire

I'm not saying it should, infact I think the opposite. What's the point in anything if you're only doing it to look good? Doing charity work should not be used as a means to the end of getting onto a Medicine course. To me it's quite obvious that this is quite a ruthless attitude.
If you don't want to do charity work then don't, but don't do it when you don't want to just to get ahead of the competition in Medical applications and then expect reassurance from me...

I wonder how many medical students would have bothered with all their charity work if it wasn't for the need to put it on UCAS...? I'm not saying people don't enjoy it once they've started, but how many would bother starting?

Reply 13

mayakuku

yeh your right. i bet the only reason people really do voluntary work is to get places in medicine etc. i don't think thats a good thing but i did it and got a place so i'm not exactly good now am i? but then again i may have done it if i didn't have so much other work to do, i don't know!

Reply 14

ThePenguinMafia

Not entirely fair.

I did some to complete my DoE too!!

Reply 15

randdom

mayakuku

yeh your right. i bet the only reason people really do voluntary work is to get places in medicine etc. i don't think thats a good thing but i did it and got a place so i'm not exactly good now am i? but then again i may have done it if i didn't have so much other work to do, i don't know!

I don't think thats true, the voluntary work that I did was started before I was even thinking about UCAS . My sister (who is applying to medicine this year) has been doing charity work for ages and really enjoys it again she started before she was thinking about medicine.

Reply 16

Kicky

I don't think thats true, the voluntary work that I did was started before I was even thinking about UCAS . My sister (who is applying to medicine this year) has been doing charity work for ages and really enjoys it again she started before she was thinking about medicine.

Same here; I'd been volunteering for ages before deciding, and it was my volunteering that made me think about medicine.

:smile:

Reply 17

Helenia

Well, I'm halfway between - I started my main voluntary work (Brownie leader) when I was 15 without UCAS in mind, but then all my work experience etc was planned solely for that end. But I didn't do any care home work or anything. It sounds terrible but I don't like old people's homes. I might have liked working in a hospice but we don't have one near enough.

Reply 18

Revd. Mike

17

I just spent all evening voluntarily giving various chemistry demonstrations to little people at my school's open evening, that count as good voluntary work? :biggrin:

Reply 19

randdom