Choosing Meaningful Service Opportunities

There are a couple things to keep in mind when making sure that you have adequate community service/volunteer hours for your medical school application. The first, and most important, is that you are genuinely interested in the service you’re providing and the population that you’re providing it to. You can be pretty sure that you’re going to be asked about your service experiences in your interview. If you just did something because it would look good on your application, and not because you were really invested in in, that’s going to come through loud and clear. You should seek out seek out both medical and non-medical service opportunities, I’ll mention a few later in this post. You should also identify activities where you’re able to do the most good. Very strongly consider service projects that allow you to serve the underserved, folks who actually need it. Volunteering to answer phones at the local ritzy spa may get you a discounted massage, but it won’t get you into medical school. 

It’s also important that identify service activities that can be sustained, something you can do for a few years, not just a few hours. If you have already or are thinking about joining a Black Greek Letter Organization, then yes, you are going to have community service through the org. Newsflash: it’s not enough. Don’t let that be the only community service you have to put on your application. Doing a few random activities every now and then, especially if they’re ones you’re obligated to do as part of another organization looks worse than you may think to someone like me reviewing med school applications. So if your chapter passes out Halloween candy to kiddos every October and collects canned goods every January, that’s great and I’m sure it’s appreciated. But it’s not enough. Do it, of course, but also find meaningful activities that you can do repeatedly and over a longer period. 

You may even find that you can seek leadership opportunities related to service. Either through a service project that you created on your own, a campus service activity or organization, or through long-standing organizations in your community that allow student leadership. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that showing leadership skills is important, how great it would be if you could combine that with service!

Medical Volunteer Service Options

There are many volunteer options within healthcare that may also give you some medical exposure. Here are some options to consider…

Free clinic. These are often run by religious groups, medical schools, or communities and rely heavily on volunteers to be successful. From reception duties, to helping patients complete forms, to assisting the medical staff, there is much work to be done to make these clinics run smoothly. 

Hospitals. Check with your local hospital to see if they need volunteers to help at the information desk, with the phone lines, or even on the hospital floors tending to patient non-medical needs. If your hospital doesn’t have anything, also check with large clinics, like cancer centers or independent surgery centers in your area.

Hospice/nursing home. These facilities that often have visitors (outside of COVID) will usually allow student volunteers to help with answering phones, directing families to rooms, and helping with non-patient needs as well.

Non-medical Volunteer Service Options

I think it’s also important to do some service that has absolutely nothing to do with healthcare. Here are some options…

Mentor. Mentor. Mentor. This is hands down the best thing you can do as a Black college student, whether you’re pre-med or not. Find someone coming along behind you (read: a young Black child) and show them the options available to them. Show them that college is accessible to them and that they can be just like you! I worry that kids don’t get this enough these days. Be a positive role model. This can be through organized programs on your campus, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, your church, etc. You could also mentor underclassmen, such a program may already be established at your college.

Tutor. Kids or college students, in whatever subjects you like. This is a great way to give back and is certainly meaningful, especially if you could do it regularly and with the same student. There are so many projects set up through universities and community organizations that, if you are interested, you should not have a hard time finding a spot. Power to you if you decide on this, I have a niece in the 6^th grade and between hormones, new math, and history that apparently hasn’t changed but I definitely forgot…it’s a lot! But it’s so worthwhile. And who are we kidding…you can just Google anything you don’t know!

Shelters and food pantries. They’re often looking for volunteers, this is something that you could do often and really make impactful connections with patrons and help out the staff. 

Youth camps. This could be after-school camps, summer camps, theatre camps, Boys and Girls Club, Police Athletic League camps, special needs camps, etc. I bet if you explore within your community, you’ll find opportunities within these groups for after-school, weekend, and summer. Youth camps are definitely something you could do over a period of time.

Crisis services. This can be a phone help line or at a designated center. These centers and services are professionally run so don’t worry, you’ll have all the training you need before starting.

Those listed above are just a few ideas. There are sooooo many other things you could do that would be impactful to your community. Remember, you’re not doing service just to check a box on your application. That’s not what I want and it’s not what medical schools want either; they want to know that you have a heart for service that you will carry into your career as a physician. You should be volunteering because you are passionate about helping others and understand the importance of doing so…you’ll have a much greater impact that way. 

Have you identified any good community service options not listed here? Or have questions about how to find opportunities? Feel free to share in the comments section below or send me an email!