How Volunteering at Steadwell Prepares You for Med School or Grad School

When most people think about preparing for medical or graduate school, they picture shadowing doctors, grinding through and getting jobs. What often gets overlooked is the importance of real-world experience, the kind that teaches you how to work with people, think critically, and problem-solve. That’s exactly the kind of preparation Steadwell offers.

In most pre-med or pre-grad experiences, you only a small slice of the system, maybe a hospital floor or a single research topic. At Steadwell, I got to zoom out. I learned about rural communities where access to care isn’t just inconvenient, it’s often nonexistent. At Steadwell, we work on real projects aimed at identifying gaps in care, crafting outreach strategies, and even designing sustainable solutions for health equity.

This kind of work forced me to ask bigger questions. What good is innovation if it never reaches the people who need it most? How can we build systems that serve everyone, not just those in cities or with insurance?

Learning to Think Like a Problem-Solver

Healthcare consulting doesn’t give you a checklist to follow. It gives you a problem, and it’s up to you to figure out how to tackle it. At Steadwell, we worked on team-based projects where we brainstormed, researched, drafted, scrapped, and started over.

This experience teaches us how to take initiative, communicate effectively, and keep going even when the path forward wasn’t clear. These aren’t just workplace skills, they’re life skills, especially in the fast-paced, high-pressure world of medicine and grad school. You learn how to manage deadlines, juggle multiple tasks, and think through complex issues.

Collaborating with People Who Actually Care

One of the things that makes Steadwell special is the people. Everyone here is driven by purpose. You’re surrounded by people who believe change is possible, and who are actively working to make it happen. That kind of energy is contagious; you feel like part of a movement, and being part of a community that shares your values is a powerful motivator, especially when you're deep in the

trenches of med school applications or graduate research proposals.

Building a Story That Stands Out

Admissions committees want to see more than just good grades. They want to know who you are what drives you, what you care about, and how you’ve put those passions into action. At Steadwell, it’s not just the tasks I remember, it’s the purpose behind them. I think about the communities we were trying to serve, the thoughtful discussions we had as a team, and the moments where we pushed past our comfort zones because we believed in the impact of our work. That’s the kind of story that sticks. It shows that you’re not just in it for the title. You’re in

it for the people.

Volunteering at Steadwell isn’t your average pre-health experience. It challenges you to think beyond yourself. It equips you with skills you don’t get in a classroom. And most importantly, it reminds you why you chose this path in the first place: to make healthcare better.

If you’re thinking about med school or grad school and want an experience that actually prepares you for the real work, Steadwell is where you want to be.