Service Mindset: Where and Why You Should Volunteer as a Pre-Health Student

Community service is an important part of applications to healthcare professional school programs, but why? Its importance goes way beyond the number of volunteering hours you have on your application—there are so many ways to learn and grow through your community service involvement.

Why Service?

“Service Orientation” is listed as a pre-health competency by the AAMC, with the reasoning that service, “Shows a commitment to something larger than oneself; demonstrates dedication to service and a commitment to making meaningful contributions that meet the needs of communities” (AAMC, 2024).

Campbell McNorton, student coordinator for HandsOn KSU, indicated that service is important for pre-health students because as a healthcare provider you are, “providing a service to others—[your job is] scientific, but you also need to be in touch with actual community members. [Community service shows that] you want to do more than make money and truly do want to help people and take care of others.”

What Can You Learn from Community Service?

• Cultural Competence and Cultural Humility- Drew Pearl, Assistant Professor of Leadership and Community-Engaged Learning at the Staley School, said that in a professional healthcare environment, solutions to problems are often very complex and require understanding “why someone might not be able to afford healthy food or might have to make the decision between buying medication and buying healthy foods, which might influence the way we take a holistic approach to the work of healthcare.”

• Bedside Manner- Pearl also discussed the benefits of service on developing bedside manner: “[Volunteering gives] students an opportunity to explore what their eventual bedside manner could be by meeting people from different communities with different experiences and can help students learn more about what has led to certain healthcare problems.”

• Communication and Problem-Solving- Austin Drake, Graduate Assistant for KSU Leadership programs, said, “Through service learning, I've learned what my own strengths are on a team as well as how to manage conflict when it arises. I've also learned valuable problem solving and communication skills. “

• Identifying Your “Why”- Pearl discussed how community service can help students understand, “why [they] want to do this work, beyond being smart.” Additionally, he said it can help students learn about different career pathways in healthcare. Pearl gave an example of a student who only generally knew she was interested in a career as a medical doctor. After she got involved in community engagement, she decided to work in primary care in rural communities because she saw the gaps in healthcare access firsthand.

How to Get Involved

As a pre-health student, your volunteer experience does not need to be in a healthcare setting. We recommend identifying causes and missions you genuinely care about and dedicating your time to volunteering for organizations in that area.

K-State’s Staley School of Leadership helps students connect with volunteer opportunities through various programs:

• HandsOn KSU: Provides opportunities to volunteer with a variety of organizations in the Manhattan Community. To get involved, you can directly email HandsOn KSU your name, major, and service interests. In addition, you can sign up for their monthly newsletter, which is the best way to keep up with what HandsOn is doing in the community.

• Alternative Breaks: Travel domestically for 2-5 days and serve. Site partnerships for Alternative Breaks include Kansas City, MO; Springfield, MO; Tahlequah, OK; and Dallas, TX. Each of these sites focuses on a different social issue, such as food insecurity, education, environmental stability, and agriculture.

• International Service Teams: Travel abroad for 3-4 weeks to live, learn, and serve in a different culture. Site partnerships for International Service Teams include Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and South Africa. Similar to Alternative Breaks, each of these sites focuses on a different social issue.

For volunteer opportunities in Manhattan, you can also connect with the Flint Hills Volunteer Center.

If you do want to volunteer in a healthcare setting, some opportunities are listed below.

**This is not an exhaustive list.

 

**Special thanks to Drew Pearl, Austin Drake, and Campbell McNorton from the Staley School of Leadership for contributing to this blog.