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Getting Experience in Health Professions

• Links to Volunteer Opportunities in Gainesville
• Links to Pre-Health Student Organizations
• Links to Research & Leadership Opportunities

Professional schools are looking for highly-motivated, committed, enthusiastic, thorough and well informed applicants. They strongly prefer people who have looked into the details of the profession and know the shortcomings, demands, and rewards of the profession through direct experience. Such people will be more realistically motivated to go through the preprofessional program, and are more likely to be accepted, all other things being equal.

Find out for yourself what the doctor-patient relationship, working conditions, life-style, and nitty gritty of health care is like. In other words, get some hands-on experience. There are several student organizations that can assist you in obtaining this kind of experience. Membership in these organizations can assist in developing a thorough understanding of the health-care professions. However, membership is not required. Pre-health students are also encouraged to seek experience on their own. Ask yourself who you would want for your personal physician, dentist, or veterinarian. Most likely the answer is: a thorough and thoughtful person who carefully looked into every aspect of the profession before applying.

Involvement in any activity which develops and demonstrates your interest, motivation, and experience in your chosen professional field will generally be helpful. Health-related jobs or volunteer experiences may be found in hospitals, clinics, dentist's or physician's offices, nursing homes, hospices, day care centers, Alachua County Crisis Center, the SPARC shelter, the Arts in Medicine program at Shands Teaching Hospital, and a variety of other settings. They provide experience beyond the superficial aspects of the profession. Pre-vet students should gain experience working with both large and small animals. These experiences, however, will not compensate for a weak GPA or poor admission test scores.

We do not recommend these activities just to fill up your application form. It is important that you participate in these activities because you are interested in them. If you find you do not enjoy this type of work, you should take this as a serious indication that this may not be the right career for you. UF's Office of Community Service is a great place to find community service and voluntter opportunities right here in Gainesville.

Links to Volunteer Opportunities in Gainesville

• Florida Department of Health Volunteer Opportunities
• Shands Hospital
• North Florida Regional Medical Center
• Camp Boggy Creek
• Florida Youth Diabetes Camp
• Haven Hospice
• ElderCare (Al'z Place)
• Sexual and Physical Abuse Resource Center (SPARC)
• Alachua County Crisis Center
• Acorn Clinic
• Gainesville Hope Lodge
• Volunteer Centers of Florida
• Tacachale
• Oak Hammock
• Victory Junction Gang Camp
• Summerville Senior Living
  
• Pre-Vet Opportunities
  • Pre-Vet Club Volunteer Listings
    
  • Alachua County Humane Society
  • Gainesville Pet Rescue
  • Retirement Home for Horses
  • Lubee Bat Conservancy
  • Florida Wildlife Care, Inc.
  • Jungle Friends
    
  • EARS
    
• Community Service
• UF Center for Leadership and Service
  
• Search for Volunteer Opportunities in Alachua County
• International Volunteer Opportunities
• Unite For Sight
• International Medical Volunteers Association
• Child Family Health International
• Global Service Corp
• Global Volunteer Network
• M.E.D.I.C.O.
• Center for International Service Learning

Student Organizations for Pre-Health Students

• Search UF's student organizations
• Pre-Med American Medical Student Association (Pre-Med AMSA)
• Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED)
• Pre-Professional Service Organization (PSO)
• Minority Preprofessional Association (MPA)
• Minority Association for Pre-Health Students
• Pre-Veterinary Medicine Club
• Gators Interested in Emergency Medical Services
• Health Educated Asian Leaders (HEAL)
• American Student Dental Association
• Academy of Student Pharmacists
• Red Cross Gators

Research & Leadership Opportunities

• UF Undergraduate Research Database
• College of Medicine Research (search for a mentor)
• College of Dentistry Research
• Investigators
• NIH Summer Research Program
• NIH Summer Research for Minority Students
• University Scholars
• Collegiate Leadership Academy
• Collegiate Leadership Academy

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