Pre-Nursing Students & Volunteer Work

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As an inexperienced Pre-Nursing student, I am researching what it takes to get accepted into Nursing Programs. We all know GPAs and Pre-Req classes are a major factor, but I'm curious about all the other factors that determine whether we meet criteria or not. I know there are specific criteria for each Program, but I'm talking about in general. Basically, I'd like to know if any Pre-Nursing students out there can tell me about what they are currently doing or plan to do in order to gain experience in the feild and having created a better application to the Nursing School of their choice because of it. What specific volunteer work can we do???:uhoh3:

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

Some of the volunteer work that I included on my application:

  1. Clerical work at a low-income community health clinic
  2. Grant-writing (HIV prevention) at the same clinic
  3. Youth motivational speaker and coordinator for at-risk middle-schoolers
  4. Volunteer math and science tutor for high school and college
  5. Boy Scout leader
  6. Volunteer firefighter

I have no idea what difference any particular item made but I did get into the only program to which I applied.

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I think ever if it isn't health related, volunteering in any community oriented activity would be a positive. But if you have strong grades, strong scores, good essay etc. I think they understand if you haven't been able to volunteer. Volunteering is probably best for the applicant because it solidifies that you really want to be in the health field.

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I think it depends on the school. Mine gives points for various things--how well you did with your pre-reqs and how many of the general ed requirements you have completed, actual healthcare work experience, etc. What they specifically don't count, though, is volunteer work even, if it is in healthcare. At an informational session for nursing program admissions, they told us that they used to, but then many potential students who had very full lives complained that it was unfair, that they were disadvantaged because they did not have time to volunteer as they had a full-time job, family, and study to deal with. Because of that, they stopped looking at/giving points for volunteer work. Sigh. I volunteer at my "local" hospital, but it won't get me anywhere when it comes to getting into the program.

The best thing you can do is ask the school(s) you intend to apply to whether or not they look at it and if so, what type is best.

Good luck!

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Wow, now that is a big font.

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Wow, now that is a big font.

I just don't understand this. I started a thread in another forum asking how I could increase the size of my font because to me it looked tiny compared to everyone else's. Everyone said my font looked fine (even big), and now you say it looks huge too. On my computer it still looks smaller than the surrounding fonts on the page (the other posts). This is so weird!

Sorry if it looks big to everyone else--I am at a loss! :o

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It doesn't really matter - it is kind of funny that it is so big. Maybe you need to refresh - I forget the short cut for doing that, but you could restart your computer and see if that helps. Otherwise, like I said, it is no biggie. (Well it *is* a biggie but you know what I mean....LOL ;)

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I've been volunteering on the Birth Unit at a local hospital for almost 2 yrs now. It is not a requirement for the nursing school I will be attending, but I really like the hospital and I'm hoping once I graduate it will help me to land a job there.

I've also learned A LOT just from volunteering. I've met a lot of nurses who really like me and give me the low down on things... and I've kind of figured out how things work around there. I feel that without my experience, I might be much more nervous to start clinicals than I feel I will be now. If you have the opportunity to try it, I would recommend it. It will also give you a feel for the different areas within nursing.

HTH's... good luck.

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Specializes in Wannabe NICU Nurse.

]Well, I know its not required for every nursing program, but there are some hospitals that team up with local community college nursing programs and they require that you be a employee or volunteer to get into their program. With these kind of programs, you get your tuition paid for for all four semesters but you have to work for them after you graduate for two years, which is a plus also because its a guaranteed job. I currently volunteer at the info desk and I deal with patient information. I love it. Its neat to read all of the kind of surgeries people are having or why they are in the CCU or Neuro-Intensive Care. Reading all the medical term and actually understanding it is great. Plus, I get to interact with people of all types of background . I only do it about once a week, but I really enjoy it, I feel great at the end of the day there. I'm looking forward to starting nursing school though. I'm not sure if you are doing ADN or BSN but if you are doing either or I would check into some programs such as this, it will save you a lot of money.

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One college I applied to required some volunteer work and if you didn't have any they said even if you were a 4.0 you would not get in. I luckily had volunteered as a caregiver for seniors through the local hospital, and I was accepted, however, I ended up going to another school that only considered GPA and TEAS test scores. Both schools I applied to gave extra points for being bilingual and or having worked in a patient care setting. (which I had neither), but I did get accepted to both schools I applied to.

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I currently volunteer in the local hospital emergency room. It isn't much in terms of a commitment... just a couple hours a week. Personally, I don't really care for it because I pretty much do NOTHING while I am there. Occasionally I get someone a cup of ice or something, but they won't let volunteers do much more then that (I can't even register patients, or push them to other areas of the hospital). I really just do it for the application benefits. I've thought about trying to volunteer elsewhere (where the actually need me), but I'm afraid it would look worse to leave and go elsewhere then to just stick it out, especially since I am a second degree student and already have to explain away my change in careers. One of the schools I'm interested in says pretty blatantly on their website that they highly value volunteer work.

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i volunteered at a hospital for several months. I don't feel like I learned a ton from the experience, but in an advising session I went to, they had said they wanted to know if you had ever seen the backside of a patient.

It wasn't a noteable experience, but I figured it may have helped my acceptance a bit.

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