Some people camp out for concert tickets. Some stand for hours in amusement park lines. Here at the University, students pitch tents in the front lawn of Madison House to land a spot as one of 400 Medical Services volunteers.
"I actually thought it was pretty fun," said first-year College student Nora Lee, who held the coveted number one space in the Med Services line for registration at 11 a.m. last Saturday.
Lee arrived at 7:30 the night before registration with her roommate Guenevere Lindgren, who camped out with her all night just for moral support. Bundled up in a royal blue North Face jacket, Lee said she felt she needed to be one of the first in line to land a highly coveted spot in either the pediatrics or maternity units.
"The only problem was that this ground is pretty hard and I think I bruised my tailbone sleeping," Lee said.
|
Whether they're regular students who just want to help out at the hospital because the field interests them, or they're pre-med students who want the experience as a resume-builder, one thing's for sure: They show up in hordes.
"It's the nature of the field," said fourth-year Commerce student Jason Chen, who is pre-med. "You want to see what you're going to do."
But fourth-year College student Paul McIntosh never waited in line. He couldn't. He would have needed to skip class because registration was held on a school day when he was a first year, something Madison House has changed for volunteers' sakes. Signing up late his first year, McIntosh took an alternate position for the pediatrics unit. Now, three years later, he serves as the Head Programs Director of Medical Services.
"Shows how far an alternate can come," McIntosh said.
But on the day of registration, hundreds of students who are not willing to risk losing an opportunity continue to line up before the sun even comes up.
"It seems ridiculous that you have to go out of your way to do community service," first-year College student Yvonne Mowery said from inside a nylon tent on Madison House's front porch. Accompanied by her friends, first-year College students Christie Kim and Laura Stanley, the three girls said they filled the night with granola bar feeding frenzies and discussions spurned by "If," a book of questions they read by flashlight.
"Watching the frat scene last night was quite interesting," Kim said. "One guy actually came over and looked in our tent and I could smell all the beer."
Nevertheless, as Mowery crawled out between the green mesh doors of their shelter, she claimed she probably got more sleep than she had all week.
"We got to go to the bathroom in Madison House all night because someone knew the code to the door," said Stanley, a self-described supportive suitemate who had no intentions of signing up for Med Services herself.
"I wish I'd known what to expect," said first-year College student Katie Dorfler farther down the line, eyeing the Gortex sleeping bag to her right. "I'm cold and tired and it's hard to do homework when you're sitting on a hard sidewalk."
Dorfler, who arrived at 5:30 a.m. perked up as she recalled the highlight of her groggy morning. The pre-med student said a random man had come through the line early that morning and delivered hot chocolate he bought down at the Lucky Seven.
Besides trying to improve the quality of life in line, some students suggested alternative ways for Madison House to run registration altogether. Jason Chen suggested signing up online like many students do for classes or simply opening the doors earlier so students would not have to camp out for so long.
Second-year College student Stefan Eomrenke, who landed a spot in line at 2:30 a.m. in hopes of signing up for a specific time slot, also had a suggestion for a different method of registration.
"I think the only other option would be to have a lottery, complete randomization," Eomrenke said.
But Madison House Associate Director Dave Norris emphasized that "it's just a product of the way we do registration, on a first-come, first-serve basis."
"Every year we consider other options for registration and every year we come back to doing it this way," Norris said. "It's sort of a rite of passage now."
The phenomenon of camping out in order to volunteer with Med Services began 10 to 15 years ago, he said, and as far as he knows, the ritual is unique to the University.
"I'm a little disappointed in this crowd, they don't seem as dedicated," Norris said jokingly, explaining that last year the first person arrived at 5:30 p.m., two hours earlier than Lee.
In fact, Madison House discourages camping out in concern for the students' safety. Norris added that he has seen students come as late as the day after registration and still get a time slot and unit they wanted.
First-year College student Megan Force did not arrive until 9:45 a.m. to register. Force, unlike the majority of the line, said she plans to major in foreign affairs and simply wants to volunteer; she does not need hospital experience to add to a medical school resume.
"I think if people just wanted to volunteer, it wouldn't be so important what unit they got," Force said.
So if pre-med students are just looking for a resume-builder, are they looking in the right place?
"We consider health care experience an absolute and necessary requirement for admission," said Beth Bailey, Director of Admissions for the University School of Medicine.
But while Madison House provides the type of experience medical schools are looking for, Bailey emphasized that students do not have to get their experience during the academic year, or even during their time at the University. And there are other outlets for pre-med students at the University, she added, such as working with a rescue squad, at a nursing home or through Hospice, a new student group that works with terminally ill patients.
Med Service volunteers have to complete two training sessions even before the day of registration, and then are committed to spending three hours a week with their unit.
"Waiting in line seems ridiculous," said Dorfler from her position at the end of the line. "But I've heard people have life-changing experiences through this"
Read More
Virginia Policy Lab — a hub for student-led policy action
By Katherine Haden | December 9, 2024Students propose their own projects and collaborate with other members to research their issues of interest, brainstorm solutions and write policy proposals.
Perfecting the subtle art of the ‘sexile’
By Val Vixen | December 7, 2024Approach this sacred college ritual with a newfound confidence.
Top 10 ways to ring in the holiday season in Charlottesville
By Sam Saks | December 5, 2024With temperatures down, lights up and spirits high, not even pesky final projects and exams can dampen this holiday season.
