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Becoming a doctor, or at least becoming ready to apply to medical school, starts years before you apply. Getting good grades in High school and University will make you technically eligible to apply, but development of yourself through interesting work and volunteer activities will give you the skills you need to succeed in medicine. Using your time to better yourself and your community not only demonstrates that you are truly interested in helping those around you and are committed to life long learning, but it gives you a chance to see if spending time with sick or vulnerable people, dedicating your life to continually improving your skills and working in sometimes very stressful team situations is really for you. Although in medicine it is quite difficult to “try before you buy”, experiences that challenge your perceptions, your ability to communicate and your ability work in an emotionally charged environment will help you know if you would enjoy a career in medicine. To learn about the lives of Doctors, have a look at the Medical Insider page.
Here you will find a list of volunteer activities, both in Canada and abroad. Have a look through them and see if anything piques your interest. Both long term (eg. Every Saturday for 3 years) and short-term (lived in a different country for a summer) volunteer activities can give you an opportunity to give and grow.
General LinksA well as using this list of organized opportunities, see if you can seek out needs in your community and start something yourself. This may take more time and effort, but you will be addressing something meaningful to you and flexing your leadership, initiative, and creativity muscles!
Needs in a community may be:
An old age home where the residents need recreational or social activities
Kids in the neighborhood need to be walked home
A local park needs to be cleaned up
A public unsafe area needs to be restructured, or attention from the local
government
Shelters where people need help with life skills
New immigrants may need or want a tour of the city/neighborhood
An after-school group wants to start a soccer team
Look around you and you will find opportunities waiting for you!