Volunteering Opportunities

Hi!

Just looking for some advice...

After school I want to study medicine. Therefore I am aware that my extracurriculars are very important. At the moment I volunteer at the library and the food bank in my town but I would like to do some in a clinical environment. (this could be volunteering or work experience) Does anyone have any advise on how I could go about doing this?

Also I was just wondering how important sports achievements are for a medicine degree. Basically what other things should I do aside from volunteering to help me to stand out from the crowd when applying for med school?

Side note: I am now in year 10

Reply 1

S.G.

22

Original post by vida01

Hi!

Just looking for some advice...

After school I want to study medicine. Therefore I am aware that my extracurriculars are very important. At the moment I volunteer at the library and the food bank in my town but I would like to do some in a clinical environment. (this could be volunteering or work experience) Does anyone have any advise on how I could go about doing this?

Also I was just wondering how important sports achievements are for a medicine degree. Basically what other things should I do aside from volunteering to help me to stand out from the crowd when applying for med school?

Side note: I am now in year 10

I went on my local hospital's website and looked in the "Vacancies" section and saw voluntary roles.

Go on your local hospital's vacancies section. My manager said you had to be 17 to volunteer though.

Reply 2

vida01

OP

2

Original post by SGHD26716

I went on my local hospital's website and looked in the "Vacancies" section and saw voluntary roles.

Go on your local hospital's vacancies section. My manager said you had to be 17 to volunteer though.

Thanks very much for your advice. So you think it would be worthwhile to start volunteering at the hospital cafe/shop to begin with?

Reply 3

S.G.

22

Original post by vida01

Thanks very much for your advice. So you think it would be worthwhile to start volunteering at the hospital cafe/shop to begin with?

I was 17 when I started volunteering and I was volunteering on the hospital ward.

I'm just giving this as a suggestion for the future. My manager said 17 was a minimum age. I don't know what you'll gain from volunteering in a cafe?

Also, I only did 3 pieces of work experience/voluntary work.

Reply 4

Captain127

4

Volunteering and working in non-clinical environments gives you real life experience that you can talk about. If they ask you about skills then you'll have loads of experience to go back onto such as teamwork, leadership, communication etc. and it will look nicer than the usual stuff most people use from school.

Check hospital websites, that was how I found and started volunteering. Took a while to get everything sorted out. There may be age restrictions so be aware of that. If any friends or relatives who are Dr's or relative seeing a Dr or if you are, you can ask them if they are willing to let you shadow them. Otherwise, you can phone up GP's/hospitals to enquire about shadowing.

It's not necessary to shadow a Dr, but it does give you good insight in how things work etc. Alternatively, the next best thing everyone does is volunteering at a care home/hospice. I believe they are usually short staffed and always love to take someone on. Its what I heard, not from personal experience. Try ringing them up, usually in healthcare setting volunteering there may be a age limit, an informal interview just to see your not a bad or weird guy, some forms to fill out etc.

It is good to see you are starting early. You should also get involed in some clubs and sports in school just to show your a wellrounded individual - not a person whos working constantly, knows how to relax and enjoy themselves.

Good luck!

Volunteering Opportunities

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