6 months of clinical exp?

[mrfunnyman]

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Do you think any schools take students with only 6 months of clinical experience? If they did, how hard would it be to get accepted?

 

[J ROD]

Do you think any schools take students with only 6 months of clinical experience? If they did, how hard would it be to get accepted?

yes....but you need strong stats and probably good experience in those 6 months.

also, you could just be lucky or have some unique quality they are looking for.

 

[sgtbrushes]

There is no one single factor that will earn or deny you admission to medical schools. What is "six months" of clinical experience? Shadowing a doctor for 4 hours a week? Working full-time as a CNA? If you don't have much clinical experience, try to buff up the other aspects of your application.

 

[bannie22]

why not?
it really depends on what is 6months.
6 months full time? 6 months for an hour a month????


and other than that, your entire application matters, so dont worry too much about it. be more concerned about the balance of your entire application

 

[PanicAttack]

Yes, just be sure that it is not "fluff" and that you can articulate what you gained from the experience. They want to see that your clinical experience is more substantial than watching all 6 seasons of Grey's Anatomy.

 

[Longshanks]

Yes, just be sure that it is not "fluff" and that you can articulate what you gained from the experience. They want to see that your clinical experience is more substantial than watching all 6 seasons of Grey's Anatomy.

That atrocity to our pop-culture [and medicine] has last six seasons? Jeez.. the future is bleak.

 

[JJMrK]

It depends on the schedule. How often over that period did you volunteer?

 

[wahoo2010]

Make sure it's hands-on patient contact. I got rejected from one school because my clinical experience lacked it, even though I shadowed for 50+ hours and volunteered at the hospital for 100+ hours.

 

[sportsfreak]

well i started volunteering last june, 3 hours a week, applied this cycle, have 4 interviews but no acceptances yet

 

[rockaction]

I only had 8 months of clinical volunteering (4 hrs/week) and very minimal shadowing. I also went on a spring break medical mission trip to Guatemala. That may have helped, but overall, clinical experience was the weakest part of my application.

My research experience wasn't really that strong either.

I got outright accepted to 3 schools, though. Granted, my numbers were strong (35 MCAT and a near 4.0). I had other fun stuff on my application (been in lots of bands since 2005, recorded >15 albums), but all in all, I was definitely NOT a normal SDN type with 1,000 volunteering hours and 10 doctors shadowed. But I made it.

 

[Eyti]

.

 

[bravofleet4]

i think it's perfectly fair to get rejected even if you put in the hours. I'll be the first one to admit that sometimes volunteering is a complete waste of time. Too many people do things just because they think it'll impress the admissions committee. It's only when they have to put down what they specifically did do they realize "oh ****" I didn't really learn anything. I'm not talking about just clinical but research as well. Whatever you do, be passionate about it and pursue it as far as you can.

I've been in hospitals where people would spend hours just making packets or even just sitting in the volunteer lounge reading for the most part. That's not clinical experience...

On the other hand, I think you're completely awesome if you play in bands and recorded 15 albums 👍

 

[JJMrK]

I only had 8 months of clinical volunteering (4 hrs/week) and very minimal shadowing. I also went on a spring break medical mission trip to Guatemala. That may have helped, but overall, clinical experience was the weakest part of my application.

My research experience wasn't really that strong either.

I got outright accepted to 3 schools, though. Granted, my numbers were strong (35 MCAT and a near 4.0). I had other fun stuff on my application (been in lots of bands since 2005, recorded >15 albums), but all in all, I was definitely NOT a normal SDN type with 1,000 volunteering hours and 10 doctors shadowed. But I made it.

Yeah, I didn't have much clinical volunteering either, and zero true shadowing. You need to make an effort, but no real point going overboard unless you enjoy it.

 

[wanderer]

i think it's perfectly fair to get rejected even if you put in the hours. I'll be the first one to admit that sometimes volunteering is a complete waste of time. Too many people do things just because they think it'll impress the admissions committee. It's only when they have to put down what they specifically did do they realize "oh ****" I didn't really learn anything. I'm not talking about just clinical but research as well. Whatever you do, be passionate about it and pursue it as far as you can.

I've been in hospitals where people would spend hours just making packets or even just sitting in the volunteer lounge reading for the most part. That's not clinical experience...

Well it's all part of the game. Most volunteering is BS, but it's not like there's much of a choice for a lot of people.