By Colter Lee
Introduction
According to Mark Roemer Oakland, volunteering is an essential part of every pre-med student for a variety of important reasons. The volunteering experience plays an essential role in fostering the abilities and skills of a pre-med student. These experiences prove that you are compassionate and selfless and help you get admission to the medical school of your choice. There are various benefits of this experience, and it must be considered necessary for every pre-med student.
The Reasons
Here are a few reasons why volunteering activities are considered essential for pre-med students:
- Strengthening your medical school application- The experience you gain while volunteering is an excellent way of strengthening your medical school application. It makes you fully prepared for success in the future. Many medical schools give due importance to these extra-curricular activities.
- Understanding the medical field better- The volunteering activities allow pre-med students to understand the medical field. It provides exposure to the real world and makes them ready for facing challenges in the future. Also, if you are confused about what to specialize in, you can volunteer in different fields to clearly understand your areas of interest.
- Showing that you are compassionate about people- These activities showcase your helping personality. When medical schools ask why you want to be a doctor, these experiences will help you elaborate on how you love helping people. It is an excellent way of impressing the admission committee by backing up your statement.
- Taking a break- Volunteering also gives a chance to take a break from your monotonous life when you are too busy with your textbooks. At the same time, it also strengthens your medical school application. You can use your weekends for volunteering activities and dedicate your whole week to studies. These engagements can help you become a competitive candidate even if you stay away from the textbooks.
- Developing skills and qualities- Medical schools look for candidates with specific skills and qualities that can be developed by volunteering in any health or non-health clinic. For instance, volunteering in a nursing home can help you develop communication skills that can help you in the long run. At the same time, you become a more compassionate and helpful person. You can also acquire leadership skills and become a better leader that can help you work smoothly in the future.
- Required hours of volunteering activities- For most medical schools, you must have at least a hundred hours of volunteering experience. It will be best to give 10 to 15 hours to any local clinic every month, and this approach will help you prove that you are dedicated to pursuing medicine.
Conclusion
Mark Roemer Oakland believes that every pre-med student must have experience of volunteering activities if they wish to be considered in some reputed medical school. However, pre-med students don’t need to participate in volunteering activities although it is highly recommended for reaching heights in the medical career.
