400+ hours over 6 month of clinical experience be enough?

[lialalala]

I am working as a sitter in a hospital right now that I sit with the patient for 8 hours and help them stay calm and safe during their stay.
I started in May for 3 days a week, which summed up to be 400+ hours.

Then I started studying MCAT (planning to take it in March). I tried to do both studying and working, but I feel like it is not as productive.
I am considering working until October and focus on MCAT only. If I work until end of October, it will be 500 hours for 6 months. Will this be enough hours?
After I get scores, I can start working for more clinical hours. But I am worried that 6 months would be seen as a short amount of time.

Or would it be better to work at least once a week?

Thank you in advance!

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[frosty42]

I think it's fine! It's important to do well on the MCAT and if you think that requires focusing solely on studying and that's an option for you, go ahead and do it.

I have fewer clinical hours than you (worked part-time as a medical assistant for 6 months) and I currently have 7 interviews so take that for what you will. Of course, every application is different and there are a lot of factors that go into it. As long as you can demonstrate to adcoms that you have a good understanding of what you're getting yourself into and have a good answer to "why medicine," the hours are not as important after a certain point.

It also may be beneficial to get a more traditional clinical type job like scribing or working as a medical assistant where you have a somewhat more active role in caring for patients. It may not be necessary, but just a thought for after your MCAT to get a different perspective on patient care.

I'm just a fellow applicant so I'm not an expert, but those are my thoughts. Best of luck!

 

[Catalystik]

I am working as a sitter in a hospital right now that I sit with the patient for 8 hours and help them stay calm and safe during their stay.
I started in May for 3 days a week, which summed up to be 400+ hours.

Then I started studying MCAT (planning to take it in March). I tried to do both studying and working, but I feel like it is not as productive.
I am considering working until October and focus on MCAT only. If I work until end of October, it will be 500 hours for 6 months. Will this be enough hours?
After I get scores, I can start working for more clinical hours. But I am worried that 6 months would be seen as a short amount of time.

Or would it be better to work at least once a week?

I agree with your concern.

It's not about the total hours, it's about the longevity. Your application should give evidence that you gave thoughtful consideration to going into medicine and tested your interest through various means. I'd suggest that you might seek some sort of volunteering where you interact directly with sick and/or injured patients for 2-4 hours per week after October and until you apply in summer 2022 (or feel able to return to work).

Have you already accumulated physician shadowing hours? If not, what is your plan for that?

 

[YCAGA]

GPA comes first and the MCAT comes second. You can always get other clinical experience after a “dedicated” 6-8 week MCAT study period. Much better to focus on the MCAT full time and crush it, and then go back to clinical stuff, than try to juggle both over multiple months and do both halfway. There is a reason we get dedicated time for our board exams in medical school.