Strong interest in the Medical Services Program at Madison House left prospective volunteers in lines lasting longer then two hours and stretching from the doors of Madison House to the Mad Bowl yesterday.
While the doors to sign up officially opened at noon, students arrived as early as 9 a.m. in hopes of getting their desired shift. Many students who arrived later said they were unaware of the annual wait and worried about their chances of getting a shift at all.
Not only has the new member interest increased, but the number of returning members, who were able to sign up on Saturday, is greater than in the past.
Around 110 returning volunteers signed up Saturday and, as of Sunday afternoon, around 160 new members had already registered, according to Head Program Director Jen Pitotti.
Last year, the number of students in the Medical Services Program totaled 350, and program directors are planning to accept around 375 volunteers this year.
Many of the interested students said they are pre-med and are hoping to gain valuable experience for graduate school.
"I wanted to volunteer at Madison House anyway, and this coincides with the career I want to have," said third-year College student Layton Hill, who wants to be a dentist.
Pitotti said she thinks pre-med students feel the need to perform medical community service to make their medical school applications more competitive.
"I think a lot of people think they have to do this for experience," Pitotti said. "Medical schools, though, just want to see some type of community service on a resume."
Accepted students are assigned to work in local hospitals where they are given the opportunity to do anything from administrative duties to playing with children. Pitotti said that despite the exposure to hospitals, the program does not always offer clinical experience in the form of interaction with patients and doctors.
Whether for the medical experience or just to serve their community, long lines appear to be a staple of the Medical Services Program.
"There are always a couple of people that get here five or six hours ahead of time and are camping out on a blanket," Pitotti said.
Students new to the program expressed frustration with the competitiveness of securing a spot.
"I did community service at my local hospital, so I thought I would get involved in this," first-year College student Gina Lenzi said. "But the line for that wasn't this long."
Pitotti said she believes that most volunteers who lined up Sunday will be accommodated, but the program has to contend with the loss of 20 volunteer slots because of the removal of one medical unit. She also said she is doubtful that there will be any shifts left for students who try to sign up later this week.
"The only people that got turned away last year are people that came late and the open shifts did not fit their schedules," Pitotti said.
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