This blog post explains, with concrete examples, how volunteer activities can be restructured not as a simple list of experiences, but as a core narrative revealing the nursing applicant’s values, major suitability, and field understanding.

Writing about Academic Experience and Reflections

“Research Project Exploration for Science Learning”
Since my first year of high school, I demonstrated talent in math and science, leading me to study in the school’s interdisciplinary science program. In this program, a select group of 20 students gathered to pursue science learning together. Initially, we engaged in learning that deepened the content covered in textbooks, developing problem-solving skills by tackling external materials and science competition problems. After acquiring a solid foundation in subjects like physics, chemistry, and life science, I began full-fledged interdisciplinary science lab classes starting in the second semester of my first year of high school.
In these lab classes, we conducted experiments that weren’t confined to the learning content of any single subject, truly embodying the term ‘interdisciplinary science’. Regular science courses taught at school have clear boundaries between textbooks, leading to experiments tailored to specific units. However, in our learning classroom, such limitations did not exist, allowing us to explore research projects that reflected creative ideas. We devised new plans for each experimental session. We developed each other’s ideas into experimental procedures and discussed them to ensure the experiment’s purpose and hypothesis were precisely defined. This process led to the design of an experiment based on my idea, ‘Layered Drinks’. My friends’ ideas were added, resulting in an experiment that used the density difference of liquids to create drinks with different colors. Furthermore, we incorporated other classmates’ ideas to develop experiments like the “bubble snake” using the catalytic decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide and building a roller coaster to explore potential and kinetic energy.
In my second year of high school, the experiments in the integrated science classroom became more specialized. We conducted professional external activities and experiments, such as developing a simple greenhouse gas measuring device, exploring methods to eliminate antibiotic-resistant bacteria using discarded medications, and investigating the actual heavy metal content in soil around shooting ranges. Furthermore, through specialized experiments like fabricating flexible CIGS solar cells using polyamide film, I experienced the joy and fulfillment of research project exploration.

Writing about major school activities and reflections

“Building the Foundation of Health through the Korean Medicine Research Club”
I developed an interest in medicine early on, with a particular fascination for Korean medicine. Consequently, I began steadily building foundational knowledge in the field by reading Korean medicine-related books starting in high school. There was actually a club on campus conducting medical volunteer activities related to Korean medicine, so I joined this club. A particular advantage of our club was the opportunity to receive instruction through educational volunteer programs led by undergraduate students from Gachon University’s Korean Medicine Department.
Our classes primarily centered around the Korean medicine textbook ‘Eumuncheoeon’. Senior university students visited about once a week, taking turns to teach. They prepared detailed lessons enabling us to acquire foundational knowledge in areas like Sanghanron (Theory of Cold Damage), Kobang (Classical Formulas), Huseobang (Modern Formulas), Acupuncture, and MPS (Muscle Point Syndrome). As high school students, the focus was on acquiring medical knowledge rather than hands-on practice. When gaps in understanding or questions arose, we borrowed books recommended by the seniors to use as reference materials. There was a significant difference between what we knew through studying and what we didn’t know due to lack of study. Therefore, when we followed our university mentor seniors to nearby Korean medicine volunteer sites, we could greatly feel the effectiveness of the educational volunteering.
For instance, before starting my Korean medicine studies, my volunteer work was limited to very basic tasks like cleaning or checking the number of waiting patients. However, after gaining knowledge, I could observe the university seniors performing medical volunteer work and assist by handing them necessary medicines or medical tools. I also learned to identify which patients should wait in which line for efficiency. Furthermore, by observing the treatment process, I gained a comprehensive understanding of the treatment content, its purpose, and the desired outcomes. In this way, while participating weekly in volunteer activities at a free clinic near the school, I helped open a free Korean medicine clinic and conducted promotional activities myself.
This clinic activity involved medical professionals working in actual medical settings, senior university students, and high school volunteer participants. We first divided visiting patients by their residential address. To maintain order, we guided them to receive waiting numbers in the order they arrived and ensured they could undergo preliminary examinations. During the preliminary examination process, I observed seniors checking blood pressure and temperature and assessing simple symptoms. For patients who could receive herbal prescriptions after a simple consultation, I verified the prescription forms filled out by the seniors and dispensed the herbs accordingly. Having previously studied the types and characteristics of medicinal herbs, we packaged the medicine into pills or powdered form for distribution. Despite receiving detailed instructions from the seniors, we sometimes got confused about the types or quantities when individually packaging the herbs. However, as we participated in the volunteer work each week, we developed a keen eye for identifying the herbs. Additionally, for patients going to the main hospital, we wrote their names on a separate board, confirmed they received their medicine, and then crossed their names off.

Examples of Care, Sharing, and Cooperation and Reflections

“Visiting an Injured Friend in the Hospital”
When I became a senior in high school, I took on the role of class president. At the time, there were students in our class who smoked and rode motorcycles, and this group caused problems within the school. I often caught students smoking or riding motorcycles, yet the problematic behavior persisted. Then, one of the group members had a serious accident while riding a motorcycle, and our classmates felt deeply sorry for him. As class president, I visited the hospital multiple times to wish him a speedy recovery.
The injured friend, in particular, couldn’t attend school for an entire semester due to treatments for fractures and other injuries, making it difficult to keep up with the academic progress. I felt I needed to do more than just visit him; I needed to help him catch up on his studies. So, I collected copies of notes from classmates who took good notes and compiled them with reference materials to create study resources. I delivered these materials during my visits to help him prepare for exams. Midterms and finals were especially crucial, so he needed to study independently. Although he had been reprimanded multiple times at school for smoking and riding motorcycles, seeing his renewed motivation to learn after his injury made me strongly want to support him.
Since I was among the top students academically in our class, I frequently visited him in the hospital to help him prepare for his exams. Through my efforts, my injured friend and I became inseparable friends. He was deeply touched and grateful for my care and spirit of sharing. On the day he recovered after major surgery, several classmates and I visited him in the hospital, bringing flowers and food. At the hospital, we wished for my friend’s recovery and offered encouragement for successfully completing the surgery. Through our persistent efforts and visits, my friend was discharged earlier than expected, which made me feel very proud.

Select two books read in high school that had the greatest impact, including the reason for reading them, evaluation, and their influence on you

“A Nurse Speaks About Nursing”

I encountered this book while seriously considering the nursing profession. Until my first year of high school, I was interested in medicine and Korean medicine, thinking I would become a Korean medicine doctor. However, my career thoughts shifted slightly in my second year. At the time, through a medical volunteer club, I participated weekly at a Korean medicine clinic, experiencing the entire process of patient care. While assisting with the clinical activities, I felt that the role of a Korean medicine nurse suited me better than that of a doctor. So, I read this book while seriously considering nursing as a career, and I felt it offered a vivid glimpse into the lives of nurses working in the field.
Of course, the nursing profession covered in this book mostly focused on the experiences of nursing students majoring in modern medicine, and nurses working in private Korean medicine clinics were rare. There were a few interviews with nurses from private clinics, and what I gathered from these was that the characteristics of the nursing profession are likely similar regardless. To that extent, I learned that nursing, regardless of the workplace, universally demands physical strength, endurance, patience, and passion that knows no day or night. While nursing is a demanding job, I sensed it’s a challenge worth taking on with affection for patients and passion for medicine, allowing me to feel pride in my career path.

“The Body, Reborn Through Korean Medicine”

Through an educational volunteer program, I encountered a Korean medicine textbook titled “Yugumcheoeon” and attended lectures on it given by university seniors. Back then, when questions remained unanswered by our major textbooks alone, the seniors would recommend easier books. Among those we received were ‘Bonsocheongjeong’ and “119 Common Misconceptions About Korean Medicine.” I was newly introduced to the book “Body, Reborn Through Korean Medicine,” written by Professor Ahn Se-young of Kyung Hee University’s Korean Medicine Department, co-authored with other professors.
First, this book referred to our bodies as microcosms, teaching that the essence of Korean medicine views the human body as a unified form of body and mind. While modern medicine typically views the body as an objective, separable entity, Korean medicine holds that the body and mind are one, making the regulation of the mind equally important. Reading the authors’ selection of 60 topics—ranging from hair to eyes, nose, ears, mouth, uterus, skin, and constitution—provided an opportunity to reexamine the characteristics of my own body. Even while volunteering in medical services before, I focused on others’ illnesses and medication prescriptions but paid little attention to my own body and organs. So, reading this book, I re-learned traditional Korean medical terminology and applied it to my own body as an example, striving to grasp the core principles of Korean medicine.