<p>I'm currently working with a friend of mine to establish a medical club at our high school. The reason we started this was because of the fact that we have "Quidditch" clubs, and even GameBoy club that go us thinking, "Why the heck do we not have a club that matters educationally?" </p>
<p>Anyways we currently have over 45 prospective members, however in order to stay a club, we must host volunteer events and have a certain amount of volunteer hours each quarter. My friend and I are currently stumped, we have a good event however we can not use the same one each quarter, and I was hoping I could get some insight on what others do and what others recommend.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>p.s We reside in Southern California, and volunteering at a hospital has been frowned upon due to them disliking such a large group of students wanting to volunteer (It essentially pushes other students away from the program).</p>
<p>Contact local hospitals and find out what they need. At a club in my school we’ve made finger puppets for a pediatric hospital and care packages for troops. I definitely think the retirement home thing is a great idea if you can find a center that would allow you all to go in.</p>
<p>Get a reading list together of great books about being a doc and have discussions about what you’ve read: Atul Gawande’s books - Better, Complications and Check-list are all excellent. Read The Soul of a Doctor: Harvard Medical Students Face Life and Death by Susan Pories, et al, Something for the Pain: Compassion and Burnout in the ER by Paul Austin, First, Do No Harm by Lisa Belkin, Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon’s First Years by Michael Collins, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder, and The Spirit Catches you and you fall Down by Anne Fadiman. '</p>
<p>Invite docs to come and speak to the group about their specialties, why they chose it and how it’s changing and what’s exciting and interesting about it. Invite other medical professionals to do likewise- hospital administrators, medical researchers, epidemiologists, pharmacists, emergency med techs</p>
<p>My guess is that between the books and the speakers, your calendar will be full.</p>
<p>How about starting to put together a seminar series on medical topics for high school students in the region…e.g. Medical Explorers (google for examples) or
“Mini Medical School” </p>
<p>Organize to have a CPR class or First Aid class held at your school</p>
<p>Put together info on volunteering opportunities in the area for future students</p>
<p>Have alumni that have gone on to med school come back and talk to your club about how they got there</p>
<p>Your club members should volunteer a hospitals anyway…maybe you don’t do it as a group, but you do it at various hospitals…then have someone talk about what they do in the ER or various other departments.</p>