<p>when does one start? how long does one do it?</p>
<p>I've lately been worried because I hear stories of people doing hundreds of hours of volunteer at a hospital. I've done...none so far and I'm in my second semester of college. Am I screwed? What are you doing so far in terms of volunteering?</p>
<p>Personally, I didn't start volunteering until 2006 and took a year off for personal reasons. However, I also am a non-traditional applicant and was already graduated when deciding to go into medicine. I typically do about 50 hours a semester at the children's hospital and have spent additional time at a hospice and a local teen shelter for a semester each. </p>
<p>My adviser told me that 120 hours of quality volunteer time (not stapling paper together) is what he typically recommends as a "minimum" (although he stresses there is no way to quantify this, 40 hours of extensive patient/doctor contact is much more important than 400 hours of standing against a wall or filling copy machines with paper).</p>
<p>I recommend that you find a new opportunity each semester, some you are comfortable with, some that you are uncomfortable with (at least initially). I keep my spot volunteering at the children's hospital on top of my new experiences each semester because I enjoy it. If you are in your 2nd semester (I don't get why so many people freak out so early, you are acting like you are taking the MCAT and applying this year) then 50 hours/semester (plus 50 hours/summer) gives you ~350hours which is far more than what would be "needed." In other words, you have plenty of time, so don't look at it as a quantitative obligation.</p>
<p>Eee, something else I needed clarification on. I'm actually just a high school senior (recently accepted to Johns Hopkins) who wanted to get a head start on medical school admissions. If I start volunteering now (since it's officially 2009), on my application will I be able to count the hours I build up even when I was in high school now? So, I would write 2009-20XX and write the hours I accumulated during the period? Basically, if I started volunteering, say, tomorrow, then would these hours still count towards medical school admissions since it's 2009, or would they not because I'm still in high school and not graduated?</p>
<p>I'm under the impression that anything after high school graduation is fair game for medical school ECs, but I can't remember where I got that impression from.</p>
<p>Ah sorry, when i said second semester, i meant next semester will be my second semester of sophomore year. Does that change anything?</p>
<p>MichEngGrad, how many hours per week would you say you spent volunteering. I'm not planning on volunteering until my sophomore year (and even at that I may just end up volunteering during the summer), but how much time do you alott? I'm going into my second semester as a freshman and have already begun applying for summer research positions. Thanks for your help!</p>