<p>hey i have a couple of interviews for medical programs coming up, and i figure that the interviewer will probably ask me why i didn't do any volunteer work at a hospital if im so sure i want to be a doctor.</p>
<p>well its kind of a long story, but basically i started volunteering freshman year, but i could only go on thursdays for a few hours because thats the only time i could get a ride from my sister (i didnt drive yet). the lady in charge didnt say anything, but when i went back to volunteer the next year, she flipped out at me and said i didnt come often enough and that she didnt want me volunteering there anymore. i was just like ook, and i was pretty much just a kid and didnt really push her further - if she didnt want me to volunteer, why should i? at the time i figured i was doing her the favor by volunteering, but now i figured out that it would have helped me out a lot in the long run if i had volunteered.</p>
<p>anyway, thats my story. the lady in charge of volunteering does not like me AT ALL, so i didnt put down on any of my applications that i had volunteered for a year because if they followed up on it and called her she would tell them that i suck. should i tell my interviewer what happened? or will he think that there must be something wrong with me if the lady didnt like me? or should i just say that i never realized how important volunteering was so i never tried to do it? thanks for any help or insight.</p>
<p>that's really strange.......definately mention it all in the interview--the only thing that they might get you on is if there's another hospital in ur local area.....i mean, i don't think size of the facility really matters at all.... u do have other volunteering experiences though, right? i mean u need something, u kno?</p>
<p>hey LisaSimpsonReborn, where are you from? i think it might be the same hospital... cuz something similar also happened to me. did you meet anyone (doctors, nurses, residents, fellows, etc) who got along well with you and could give you a good recommendation? if so, you could refer the interviewer to this person for a more detailed explanation about your short commitment to the hospital... for me, the emergency room was where I wanted to be, one of the doctors saw that I was helping out the doctors by buying food and coffee for them...that doctor told the volunteer office that I was doing tasks that were "inappropriate"... the volunteer office terminated my position...however, the other doctors and nurses in the ER backed me up and called the volunteer office (VO). The VO did not listen to the what my supporters were saying...so I basically filed a complaint with the hospital...the people investigated and made the volunteer office let me volunteer elsewhere in the hospital (not in the ER so I couldn't get in contact w/ the doc who got me in trouble)...however, i still keep in contact with the doctors who totally supported me and have gotten college rec letters from them for the combined programs I was applin' to...i listed them as references on resumes...in addition, i gave the school, college, etc their names and phones numbers if they wanted to follow up with my 330 hours spent there...</p>
<p>definitely speak of any experience you had in the hospital... the quality of the experience you had in the hospital is way more important than how long it lasted...what you say about what you did and learned is more than how long it lasted...during the interview, stress on how you helped the staff and what you saw, did, and learned....tell anecdotes about what you enjoyed...</p>
<p>o yea...and whatever you do, definitely don't say "i never realized how important volunteering was so i never tried to do it"...but most importantly, don't lie :)</p>
<p>btw i ended up not taking the offer of volunteering elsewhere in the hospital cuz the new assignment meant new commitment (which was outrageous) not enough time and didn't want to have the thought of not being in the ER lurking in my mind; 330 hours was enough; but most importantly, busy w/ college apps....</p>