Academic, BKK Prep, Event, News, Secondary January 20, 2023

Applying to Medical School:

The Benefits of Volunteering in a Care Setting

If you’re looking to apply for medical school in the near future, you’ll no doubt want to make sure your application stands out from the crowd. One way to do this is by making sure you have lots to talk about in your personal statement and volunteering in a care setting can really help with this.

In this article we’ll take a look at:

Why medical schools value volunteering
The types of volunteering you could do
What skills you can learn from volunteering
How to arrange volunteering to support your medical school application

Why Do Medical Schools Value Volunteering in a Care Setting?

Medical schools value volunteering because it shows long term commitment and dedication to gaining the skills and experience needed to be a great doctor. They also value that students who arrange to volunteer are proactive and motivated, as they appreciate it can’t always be easy to fit things around your studies. Finally, they find that volunteering gives an interesting angle to read about in personal statements, making your application memorable and engaging.

What Types of Volunteering Could You Do?

There are endless options when it comes to volunteering, and if it’s related to the healthcare or care industry, this can prove invaluable for your medical school application. Here are a few ideas:

Care homes
Charities who support vulnerable adults or children
Care organisations like St John’s Ambulance. Find out more here.
Hospital charities who provide support for patients
The Red Cross. Find out more here.
Volunteer schemes run by NHS trusts (Places for these are often limited. Find out more here)
Community support organisations or social clubs
Palliative care hospices
Voluntary organisations abroad, if you’re planning to take a gap year or are able to travel during school holidays
Charities or organisations linked to a personal interest, for example a football club supporting others in the community to access sport

There are also a number of ways to volunteer remotely if you find it difficult to arrange face-to-face opportunities. For example, you can volunteer to meet with a disabled person who would be matched with you based on your interests, online for an hour a week, through the charity Sense.

What Skills Can You Learn from Volunteering in a Care Setting?

Volunteering offers the perfect opportunity to expand your communication and teamwork skills whilst giving you the chance to work with a number of different people from society. It’ll help you know how to adapt your communication skills for different situations and also how to empathise with others.

Depending on the type of volunteering you do, it may also help you to learn further transferable skills such as administration skills and organisation skills.

Reflecting throughout your volunteering is also an important skill you can take away and this will help you when writing your personal statement. By keeping a journal throughout your sixth form studies, you can keep a note of any experiences you think will be worthwhile to mention in your personal statement and potentially any subsequent medical school interviews. Always try to think what you have learnt from the experiences too as that’s what medical schools will be looking to find out.

Top Tips for Arranging Volunteering in a Care Setting

Most organisations and charities will accept volunteers from the age of 16 and upwards, so this is something you could look to set up from year 11 throughout your sixth form studies. We recommend you:

Put together a CV and a clear and concise cover letter that explains why you would like to volunteer with the chosen organisation and what qualities you would bring
Use the internet to search for any national or local care organisations or charities you would like to volunteer with as they often have pages dedicated to volunteering
Be prepared to persevere to find a volunteer post as they can be hard to secure and don’t feel too worried if you find it’s talking a while
Talk to family and friends to see if they have any contacts at any local organisations who may be able to help you secure a post
Think about how you could combine volunteering with a personal interest of yours as then it’ll be something you really want to do and get a lot of enjoyment from
Think outside the box. Is there anything quite niche that you’d like to get involved with? The more unusual experiences you have, the more likely you are to stand out on your medical school application

It’s important that volunteering is done alongside some work experience in preparation for your medical school application. We have lots of articles that are designed to help you arrange this too:

Success Canada Forum

2023-01_Newsletter#88_Jan14 (Thai).pdf

Hospitality Workshop and Seminar

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nX3wEpIXehLYukJorfnfFPp-xK2VqCTQ/view?usp=share_link

Subject: Important Information for Successfully candidates Students at Thai University

Dear Year 13 Students,

Congratulations on your acceptance to Thai University! We, the university guidance counsellors team, would like to extend our warmest congratulations on your acceptance to the University. This is a great achievement and a testament to the hard work and dedication that you deserved.

As a next step, we would like to remind you that it is crucial to confirm your seat at the MyTCAS system on 7-8 February 2023 (2 days only). Failure to confirm your seat within this timeframe will result in automatic rejection/cancellation from the system.

Please note that even if you have already confirmed your seat with the faculty/program, it is still necessary to confirm your seat through the MyTCAS system as well. This process is extremely important and we urge you to not forget.

We wish you all the best as you embark on this exciting new chapter in your life.

Best wishes,

The University Guidance Counsellor Team.