Premeds Getting Practical Experience

[DiDoc]

I'm very interested in becoming a doctor (obviously) but I really want to get medical experience. Every hospital that I look into volunteering at only has things like paperwork and reading books to children. Don't get me wrong, I know that stuff is very important but I'm really looking for something that is actually practical and can be usefull for my career as a doctor not just my resume.
I feel like as premeds people don't let us do anything interesting.
Does anyone know of any volunteer work that fits the criteria I'm looking for? I am willing to take classes or read books if necessary.

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[ClemsonFirst]

Keep your GPA high. My school had a class that allowed students to shadow outside of class as well as having doctors speak to the class about their field/journey to becoming a physician. However, it was imperative you kept your GPA high in order to get into the class. There may be something like that at your institution, but keep looking. There are often summer internships you can apply to.

 

[DiDoc]

Keep your GPA high. My school had a class that allowed students to shadow outside of class as well as having doctors speak to the class about their field/journey to becoming a physician. However, it was imperative you kept your GPA high in order to get into the class. There may be something like that at your institution, but keep looking. There are often summer internships you can apply to.

Interesting.
What do you mean by summer internships?

 

[Lollygag]

I understand your situation but from the hospital's perspective there really isn't that much you can do if you don't have any skills to offer; it definitely limits you. Not to sound like a negative nancy but that's why many pre-med's get EMT, CNA, BLS, CPR etc training so that you can be an ER tech, nursing assistant, hospital transport, or volunteer at an EMS squad because then you have skills that can be useful thus, someone can hire you.

The one thing that I can think of that I don't believe in my state requires prior training is ER scribing, but that is a job not volunteer. I think their are clinical research associate jobs where you volunteer a few hours and you walk around the ER doing surveys and you submit the data you get to the PI. Positions like this are things you have too really search for. Other than that try your school's career service for internships.

 

[DiDoc]

I understand your situation but from the hospital's perspective there really isn't that much you can do if you don't have any skills to offer; it definitely limits you. Not to sound like a negative nancy but that's why many pre-med's get EMT, CNA, BLS, CPR etc training so that you can be an ER tech, nursing assistant, hospital transport, or volunteer at an EMS squad because then you have skills that can be useful thus, someone can hire you.

The one thing that I can think of that I don't believe in my state requires prior training is ER scribing, but that is a job not volunteer. I think their are clinical research associate jobs where you volunteer a few hours and you walk around the ER doing surveys and you submit the data you get to the PI. Positions like this are things you have too really search for. Other than that try your school's career service for internships.

If you don't mind me asking, what is an ER Tech? and how do I go about becoming one?

 

[Lollygag]

If you don't mind me asking, what is an ER Tech? and how do I go about becoming one?

I believe they do a lot of patient transport, taking vitals, some get to do phlebotomy, and EKG's depending on what state you're in. They assist the doctors during exams, set up the rooms for patients. Basically anything that doesn't require a higher education degree, ER tech's do so a lot of it is also grunt work. Most states require EMT-B training for the job so you do everything an EMT would do except you're in the ER.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

The best practical skill you can get as a pre-med is learning how to be comfortable talking to patients. Nothing else is all that helpful in the long run. Reading books to little kids is just as productive as spending money and time to get a certification that will be useless to you after a couple of years. This isn't to say that you shouldn't get your EMT or CNA or whatever; if you really want to, by all means do so. I was both an EMT and a CNA. EMT was not terribly helpful for learning patient communication skills; CNA was very helpful. It sounds like you would not appreciate the "practical skills" that one learns from being a CNA, since you won't be changing bedpans or giving people showers as a physician. I still found this experience to be invaluable. I did learn little things like taking a blood pressure and reading basic EKGs. You will learn all those things properly as a med student and resident, though. I think if you are very dedicated to getting long-term clinical experience, CNA is the way to go.

 

[ChartaBona]

The best practical skill you can get as a pre-med is learning how to be comfortable talking to patients. Nothing else is all that helpful in the long run. Reading books to little kids is just as productive as spending money and time to get a certification that will be useless to you after a couple of years. This isn't to say that you shouldn't get your EMT or CNA or whatever; if you really want to, by all means do so. I was both an EMT and a CNA. EMT was not terribly helpful for learning patient communication skills; CNA was very helpful. It sounds like you would not appreciate the "practical skills" that one learns from being a CNA, since you won't be changing bedpans or giving people showers as a physician. I still found this experience to be invaluable. I did learn little things like taking a blood pressure and reading basic EKGs. You will learn all those things properly as a med student and resident, though. I think if you are very dedicated to getting long-term clinical experience, CNA is the way to go.

Hour per hour, I'd say CNA's get the most patient exposure of any medically-related profession. There are some patients I'd rather not be exposed to, however. I've been scratched, (lightly) hit in the face, and spit on.

 

[DiDoc]

Thanx alot.
All of those things sound exactly like what I'm looking for. But they seem like they are all jobs that require lots of time and training. I don't have any free time, (I'm sure you can relate since this is a premed forum). Is it possible (supposing I find the time for the training) to volunteer as a ER Tech or a CNA for just one day a week? or a just a few hours on multiple days?

 

[Barcu]

Thanx alot.
All of those things sound exactly like what I'm looking for. But they seem like they are all jobs that require lots of time and training. I don't have any free time, (I'm sure you can relate since this is a premed forum). Is it possible (supposing I find the time for the training) to volunteer as a ER Tech or a CNA for just one day a week? or a just a few hours on multiple days?

This aren't volunteer opportunities. They are jobs. Trying to make it fit your schedule may work out if you're lucky, but no one is going to be sympathetic if you can't work out your own schedule to meet the demands of these jobs.

I would already emphasize what has been said. Being in the hospital and actually interacting with people is probably the best practice you can get at this point. If you get lucky and find a place to do some vitals or more direct patient interaction, that would be icing on the cake. But all of these things you will learn in med school (or not at all, since many of these things doctors don't do).

Keep looking for more hands-on experiences if you can find them, but the most important thing at this point (and for your application) is to get into the hospital and start volunteering, even if it seems "boring."

 

[DiDoc]

This aren't volunteer opportunities. They are jobs. Trying to make it fit your schedule may work out if you're lucky, but no one is going to be sympathetic if you can't work out your own schedule to meet the demands of these jobs.

I would already emphasize what has been said. Being in the hospital and actually interacting with people is probably the best practice you can get at this point. If you get lucky and find a place to do some vitals or more direct patient interaction, that would be icing on the cake. But all of these things you will learn in med school (or not at all, since many of these things doctors don't do).

Keep looking for more hands-on experiences if you can find them, but the most important thing at this point (and for your application) is to get into the hospital and start volunteering, even if it seems "boring."

I guess that's out then. I'm waaay too busy.
Oh well, I guess it's just boring volunteer work from here...

 

[myronnie]

Is there a teaching hospital nearby your university? I volunteer at one and just started an awesome program where we are trained to perform clinical duties for critically ill patients in a certain department. It is awesome and really teaching hospitals allow premeds to do more than just file paperwork or sit at a desk but I think it depends on the volunteer department. If there are any free clinics affiliated with your university or a med school you could look into that. Don't give up hope! Just keep looking and I think the main idea (like someone else has pointed out) is that you want to learn how to interact with patients effectively. It really does take a bit of getting used to because it is a different type of relationship. Good luck!!

 

[mmmcdowe]

The best practical skill you can get as a pre-med is learning how to be comfortable talking to patients. Nothing else is all that helpful in the long run. Reading books to little kids is just as productive as spending money and time to get a certification that will be useless to you after a couple of years. This isn't to say that you shouldn't get your EMT or CNA or whatever; if you really want to, by all means do so. I was both an EMT and a CNA. EMT was not terribly helpful for learning patient communication skills; CNA was very helpful. It sounds like you would not appreciate the "practical skills" that one learns from being a CNA, since you won't be changing bedpans or giving people showers as a physician. I still found this experience to be invaluable. I did learn little things like taking a blood pressure and reading basic EKGs. You will learn all those things properly as a med student and resident, though. I think if you are very dedicated to getting long-term clinical experience, CNA is the way to go.

I really want to echo this. Pre-meds often place too much emphasis on the technical skills seen by medical personelle. Yes learning how to draw blood and suture is fun and exciting, but learning to do so as a pre-med in no way provides any lasting skill set that will make you better in medical school. You will learn these skills so rapidly in medical school that prior knowledge becomes irrelevant. Granted, a few years working full time as a CNA/EMT/Tech/etc could potentially help you out in certain clinical settings and earn you some gold stars, but again it is the knowledge not the technical skills that is the primary focus of medical school.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Phlebotomy is a good one as well as CNA, and I don't think the training is too terribly long, but pretty much all of the things that are going to really let you get your hands dirty with patient interaction are going to require some sort of training due to regulations and liability issues. Just being around patients though is going to be beneficial.

 

[bob99]

Finding meaningful and interesting volunteering is probably one of the hardest things to do as a pre-med. The best experience that i had was when i volunteered for an ED research team. It allowed me to interact with patients and doctors in a meaningful way (not just offering them an extra pillow) and i got to see what the day to day operations of a hospital were like. Maybe you should look in your area for any hospitals that might have a similar type of research position available (basically any kind of clinical research)

 

[Xlorgguss]

I personally work (pretty much as a CNA) in a residential setting for people with developmental disabilities. I initially went for the job because I thought it would be good since there is definitely a clinical side to it ie taking care of the clients, administering medications, etc. But I have found being around this sort of clientele extremely rewarding. So something like the ARC or any other sort of residential setup like that could be another route. If nothing else you really learn about patient care. So a Home Health Aide is another sort of option where you don't necessarily have to do the certification like a CNA.

 

[NickNaylor]

Interesting.
What do you mean by summer internships?

Here's one such example (I participated in this program - it was awesome): http://www.childrens.com/careers/students/jumpstart.aspx

I have no idea how common programs like this are, but they might be worth checking out. I don't even remember how I found this program unfortunately.