Work, Activities, and Extracurriculars

Shadowing vs. Volunteering: Which One is More Important for Medical School?

Medical School
July 14, 2025

When preparing for medical school applications, pre-med students often ask: Should I focus more on shadowing or volunteering? Which one will make my application stand out? While both experiences play an important role, they serve different purposes in shaping your understanding of medicine and strengthening your candidacy.

At AcceptMed, we help students craft well-rounded applications that showcase their dedication to medicine. Medical schools want applicants who have explored the field thoroughly and developed the necessary patient interaction, critical thinking, and service-oriented mindset to succeed as future physicians. The key is not just checking boxes but understanding how each experience contributes to your overall readiness for medical school.

What is Shadowing and Why Does It Matter?

Shadowing involves following a physician throughout their day to observe the realities of medical practice, patient care, and clinical decision-making. It is a passive experience, meaning you do not directly interact with patients but instead observe how a doctor practices medicine in real time.

Why Shadowing is Important for Med School:

  • Demonstrates that you have firsthand exposure to the medical profession and understand what being a doctor entails.
  • Helps you explore different specialties to determine what fields of medicine interest you most.
  • Provides valuable insights into doctor-patient interactions, medical ethics, and the challenges of clinical practice.
  • Some medical schools require or strongly recommend a minimum number of shadowing hours for admission.

How Many Shadowing Hours Do You Need?

  • Recommended minimum: 50-100 hours.
  • More competitive applicants: 150+ hours across multiple specialties.
  • Key focus: Quality over quantity—shadowing multiple physicians in different specialties is better than repeating the same experience.

Key Takeaway: Shadowing is critical because it proves to medical schools that you have observed the medical profession and understand what a doctor’s daily life entails.

What is Volunteering and Why Does It Matter?

Volunteering allows you to contribute meaningfully to patient care, public health, or community service, whether in a hospital, clinic, or non-medical setting. Unlike shadowing, volunteering involves active participation, where you interact with patients and help improve their well-being.

Why Volunteering is Important for Med School:

  • Shows commitment to service, a fundamental quality of a great physician.
  • Provides hands-on patient interaction and communication skills that shadowing lacks.
  • Helps demonstrate compassion, leadership, and a dedication to underserved communities.
  • Many medical schools highly value long-term volunteering commitment over short-term activities.

How Many Volunteering Hours Do You Need?

  • Recommended minimum: 150-200 hours.
  • More competitive applicants: 300+ hours, especially in clinical volunteering roles.
  • Key focus: Consistency over time—long-term involvement is more meaningful than short bursts of volunteering.

Key Takeaway: Volunteering is essential because it shows a commitment to service and provides hands-on patient interaction, which medical schools highly value.

Shadowing vs. Volunteering: The Key Differences

While both experiences are valuable, they serve different purposes in your application.

Shadowing:

  • Passive experience—you observe but do not interact with patients.
  • Focuses on understanding the physician’s role in a clinical setting.
  • Helps you explore different specialties and career paths in medicine.
  • Typically required by some medical schools as proof of exposure to the field.

Volunteering:

  • Active experience—you engage with patients and contribute to their care.
  • Demonstrates service, empathy, and direct commitment to helping others.
  • Can be done in clinical or non-clinical settings, but clinical volunteering is preferred.
  • Strongly valued by medical schools as an indicator of long-term commitment to healthcare and patient care.

Key Takeaway: Shadowing provides necessary observational exposure, while volunteering demonstrates active involvement in patient care. Both are crucial for a well-rounded application.

Which One is More Important for Medical School?

Medical Schools Expect Both

Most medical schools expect applicants to have both shadowing and volunteering experiences because they provide complementary insights into medicine. However, their relative importance depends on the type of school and your overall application.

If you have limited shadowing:

  • You need at least 50+ hours to demonstrate exposure to the medical profession.
  • If time is short, focus on shadowing multiple physicians across different specialties.

If you have limited volunteering:

  • You need at least 150-200 hours of consistent, meaningful service experience.
  • Schools highly value long-term involvement, so prioritize ongoing patient interaction.

For Primary Care or Service-Oriented Schools:

  • Schools that focus on patient-centered care, primary care, or underserved populations may place more emphasis on volunteering because it showcases your commitment to helping others.
  • DO schools and certain MD programs may prefer strong clinical volunteering over research.

For Research-Focused or Competitive Schools:

  • Top-tier medical schools (e.g., Harvard, Johns Hopkins) expect a well-rounded application, so you should have both shadowing and volunteering, as well as research.

Key Takeaway: Medical schools look for applicants with both experiences. If you lack one, work to strengthen that area before applying.

How to Balance Shadowing and Volunteering for a Strong Application

1. Start Shadowing Early

  • Since shadowing is often a short-term experience, try to complete it before applying.
  • Shadow multiple doctors in different specialties to gain a broad perspective on medicine.

2. Choose Meaningful Volunteering Roles

  • Prioritize long-term, patient-focused volunteering in hospitals, clinics, hospice, or underserved communities.
  • Look for roles that allow you to develop patient interaction and communication skills.

3. Log Your Experiences and Reflect on Them

  • Keep a journal of what you learn from shadowing and volunteering to help with personal statement and secondary essays.
  • Focus on impactful stories that demonstrate what you gained from each experience.

4. Make Sure Clinical Experience is Covered

  • Volunteering in a clinical setting (e.g., hospital, hospice, community health programs) is preferred over non-clinical roles.
  • If your volunteering isn’t clinical, ensure you have additional clinical exposure through shadowing, scribing, or EMT work.

5. Use Both Experiences to Shape Your Narrative

  • In your AMCAS Work & Activities section, highlight what you learned from both shadowing and volunteering.
  • In secondary essays and interviews, discuss how these experiences confirmed your desire to become a physician.

Key Takeaway: Balancing shadowing and volunteering strategically strengthens your application by demonstrating both exposure to medicine and a commitment to patient care.

How to Approach Shadowing and Volunteering for Medical School

  • Both shadowing and volunteering are essential for a well-rounded application.
  • Shadowing confirms your understanding of a doctor’s role, while volunteering demonstrates your commitment to service and patient care.
  • You should aim for at least 50+ hours of shadowing and 150-200+ hours of volunteering for a competitive application.
  • Long-term volunteering in a clinical setting is more valuable than short-term experiences.
  • Medical schools want to see how these experiences shaped your perspective on medicine—be ready to discuss them in essays and interviews.
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