Best Extracurricular Activities for High Schoolers Interested in Medicine

If you're a high schooler who thinks you might want to go into medicine, the hardest part is usually just knowing where to start. Here's a practical list, roughly ordered from easiest to access to most involved.

1. Join a Health-Focused Student Organization

Youth healthcare organizations (like Dr. Interested) exist specifically to give high schoolers structured access to mentorship, events, and verified volunteer opportunities that would otherwise require connections most students don't have.

2. Hospital or Clinic Volunteering

Most hospitals have junior volunteer programs for students 14+. It's often administrative work (wayfinding, restocking, running materials between departments), but it puts you inside a clinical environment and gives you verified hours.

3. Shadowing

Ask family friends, your family doctor, or program coordinators for shadowing opportunities. Come prepared with questions and take notes afterward — what you learned matters more than how many hours you logged.

4. Science Fairs and Research Competitions

You don't need a university lab. Independent research projects, even ones based on public datasets, teach you the scientific process and give you something concrete to discuss in interviews and essays.

5. First Aid / CPR Certification

Practical, cheap, and directly relevant. It's also a prerequisite for a lot of other volunteer and camp counselor opportunities.

6. Peer Health Education

Running a workshop for younger students on mental health, nutrition, or first aid builds public speaking skills and shows initiative.

7. Advocacy and Policy Work

Writing to local representatives, contributing to a health-policy blog, or joining a youth advisory council shows you understand medicine as more than just clinical work.

The common thread: pick activities where you can build something over time and speak to it specifically, not just activities that sound impressive on a list.

Where Dr. Interested Fits In

Dr. Interested is a youth-led healthcare education nonprofit, and everything above is easier with the right team behind you. As a member, you get real, verified extracurricular credit for the work you're already trying to do:

• Experience working with an international organization that strengthens your resume
• Letters of recommendation from medical students
• Verified volunteer hours you can list on any application
• Access to microgrants and travel grants to fund your own projects and ideas
• 100+ virtual workshops and in-person events every year with mentors and civic leaders
• A National Service Recognition Certificate after 120 hours, signed by a federal Minister