A Few Qs: Does Training Count? Only 1 Research? Nonclinical volunteering Question.

[klever]

Hello all, I saw some posts on SDN and they prompted me to have more questions regarding my current standing and future planning:

1. As I was getting my EMT cert, I did ridealongs (~50 hours) and did most of the patient monitoring etc. However, I know this is a gray area as it was during my education. Should I add these hours to my clinical employment hours that I have or just leave them off the app as a whole?

2. Is it okay to have several hundred research hours all from 1 lab/project? Obviously the project evolves from what it was initially, but is it okay basically if all my research is from 1 lab/project working under the same PI and ideas? Do I need to have breadth in research or is 1 main topic okay for all my research hours?

3. Lastly, as I have mentioned previously, I volunteer at an assisted living home (for those w disabilites and dementia). I host events for residents, learn about their lives and play games with them, help out with dining (like cutting their food, and serving them). I don't really do anything clinical basically. I know @Goro would consider this clinical, however I plan for this activity to be my main nonclinical volunteering experience (with likely some shelter/housing volunteering as a supplementary activity). I plan to list this activity as nonclinical, however if an adcom member considers this clinical, will they essentially move it to clinical themselves and "penalize" me for not having that much non clinical volunteering? Will it look like I have minimal nonclinical volunteering to people who think this way and then it will reflect bad on me?

4. Does this assisted living volunteering in most peoples' eyes help cover the service orientation criteria that AAMC mentions?

Any and all input is appreciated Thank you!

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[MyOdyssey]

1. Did you interact with the patients during your ride alongs? If so, probably clinical.

2. In depth research where you get involved with designing experiments and formulating hypotheses (the kind that comes from working on a project long term) is better than multiple, shallower experiences.

3. You’re not tending to the dementia patients in their role as patients (ie people seeking medical help) but rather as people going about their lives. I’d call that nonclinical.

 

[klever]

1. Did you interact with the patients during your ride alongs? If so, probably clinical.

2. In depth research where you get involved with designing experiments and formulating hypotheses (the kind that comes from working on a project long term) is better than multiple, shallower experiences.

3. You’re not tending to the dementia patients in their role as patients (ie people seeking medical help) but rather as people going about their lives. I’d call that nonclinical.

1. Yes, but I don't know if I should add it to the hour total of me being an EMT due to it being apart of the education to become an EMT, as it may be out of place.

2. Oh alright, thanks. That makes me feel a lot better.

3. I know most people (including myself) call it nonclinical, but there are a few members who believe it to be clinical, and I was wondering if this being my main nonclinical volunteering opportunity would be a negative in the adcom members eyes who see it this way, as they may mark it in their heads at clinical instead and in their eyes I would have minimal nonclinical volunteering experiences.

 

[MyOdyssey]

1. Yes, but I don't know if I should add it to the hour total of me being an EMT due to it being apart of the education to become an EMT, as it may be out of place.

2. Oh alright, thanks. That makes me feel a lot better.

3. I know most people (including myself) call it nonclinical, but there are a few members who believe it to be clinical, and I was wondering if this being my main nonclinical volunteering opportunity would be a negative in the adcom members eyes who see it this way, as they may mark it in their heads at clinical instead and in their eyes I would have minimal nonclinical volunteering experiences.

Were the ride alongs formal training where you’re receiving instruction or training by doing? The latter seems like EMT work to me.

Do you help the seniors with their medical care at all? If not, it still seems nonclinical.

Hopefully the adcoms will weigh in. @Goro @LizzyM @Mr.Smile12

 

[klever]

Were the ride alongs formal training where you’re receiving instruction or training by doing? The latter seems like EMT work to me.

Do you help the seniors with their medical care at all? If not, it still seems nonclinical.

Hopefully the adcoms will weigh in. @Goro @LizzyM @Mr.Smile12

1. Training by doing, definitely was EMT work. Just don't know whether to include it or not due to the context of it being training.

2. I agree it seems nonclinical, but a select few I believe would still see it as clinical (which is not intended) and I don't know the effect that would have.

3. Hopefully they do, and thank you for your thoughts!

 

[Med Ed]

1. If you put your EMT certification on the application then include the 50 hours under that experience. If you do not put your certification on the application then leave them off. I would not fold them into clinical employment since they were part of your training.

All jobs have period of learning at the outset, and many have formal on-the-job training, but this sounds different.

2. We see applications with 1000+ research hours. The fine details are irrelevant, the important part is what you got out of it.

3. I think you are fine to list this as non-clinical. It's your experience so you know the place and what you did better than anyone reading your application. I can see someone making the argument that this is quasi-clinical because you were working with a population with special medical needs, but I think it's enough of a gray zone that you could go either way.

 

[klever]

1. If you put your EMT certification on the application then include the 50 hours under that experience. If you do not put your certification on the application then leave them off. I would not fold them into clinical employment since they were part of your training.

All jobs have period of learning at the outset, and many have formal on-the-job training, but this sounds different.

2. We see applications with 1000+ research hours. The fine details are irrelevant, the important part is what you got out of it.

3. I think you are fine to list this as non-clinical. It's your experience so you know the place and what you did better than anyone reading your application. I can see someone making the argument that this is quasi-clinical because you were working with a population with special medical needs, but I think it's enough of a gray zone that you could go either way.

Thank you for your helpful responses, it means a lot!

And if someone does believe it to be clinical (even though I would've listed it as nonclinical), will it penalize me and take away from my nonclinical experiences?

 

[LizzyM]

No, usually it is a bump "up" if someone things something you've classified as non-clinical is, in their opinon, a clinical experience. The exception to this rule would be if you had no community service other than that one activity.

 

[klever]

No, usually it is a bump "up" if someone things something you've classified as non-clinical is, in their opinon, a clinical experience. The exception to this rule would be if you had no community service other than that one activity.

Thanks, thats good to hear.

However, it is my main nonclinical experience, so I have other nonclinical, but the bulk of my hours are at this assisted living home. My worry is that if it gets considered clinical by some, it wont look like I have many nonclinical hours other than that (a decent amount, but subpar then whats usually expected with just considering the other activities). Does this fall into the exception where it can hurt me? Or will it be okay as long as I have any other activity (even if the hours from these activites together are subpar what are usually expected to make up the nonclinical category).