Every university will have a health worker program where undergrads can volunteer to become the point of contact for health information from their peers.  Many times, these health workers live in the community (i.e. fraternity, sorority, co-op, dormitories) and can answer basic health questions or help connect them with people who would know the answer.

The most frequent duty will be to provide health information on diseases (i.e. HIV, H1N1 flu, STD), provide contact information for peers who need information on finding doctors, and provide condoms.  These programs will train you before the school starts during the summer and train you on first aid and CPR.   There will also be weekly meetings where you learn numerous aspects of college health and preventative health information for young adults.

Furthermore, as a health worker, you should ask physicians working at the student health center if they are willing to let you shadow them.  Being a health worker is a great way to get that inside connection to shadowing a physician which is a must if you are applying to medical school.

So, being a health worker is a great opportunity to give back to your community.  You will learn a lot about health care issues facing young adults which will be critical for your future career as a physician.  Plus, it helps your medical school application shine.

Student-run Health Clinics for the underserved are a popular way of gaining clinical experiences.  Many large undergraduate universities will often have these organizations that serve the need of an underserved population as well as give the participants hands on clinical experiences for pre-health applicants.  Typically, these Clinics have one or several physicians volunteer at the clinic and see patients free of charge. Volunteers for these Clinics help with the patient intake by recording vitals (blood pressure, heart rate, weight) and take a brief patient history.  Other tasks involve doing back end clerical work organizing patient records and their visits.  Some more well established clinics will also have a "pharmacy" that distributes medication to patients who cannot afford them.  This is a great opportunity for future pharmacists. 

Why are these clinics valuable for your application?  First, they provide you hands on experiences with taking patient histories. Secondly, you can get a good letter of recommendation from a volunteer physician who you actually work side to side with.  Most importantly, the organization is student run, so that means there will be leadership opportunities available to you.  Volunteer to be a shift leader or to be one of the officers that helps with contacting drug companies for donations or recruits new physicians to volunteer for the organization.  One of the qualities that medical schools are looking for in potential medical students is leadership!  Demonstrate your leadership experience by volunteering.