AmeriCorps vs. Clinical Experience?

[siouxfan45]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I have the opportunity to be an AmeriCorps VISTA this year (a completely non-healthcare related position). To heighten my chances of acceptance to medical school should I pursue this opportunity for a year or a clinical experience?

Other opportunities available:
Emergency Room Tech (Cleaning, restocking, patient/staff duties)
Support Services Technician (Restocks, personal care, pulls sutures, scheduling, patient care)
Nurse Aide
Patient Transporter
Environmental Services

 

[theseeker4]

I have the opportunity to be an AmeriCorps VISTA this year (a completely non-healthcare related position). To heighten my chances of acceptance to medical school should I pursue this opportunity for a year or a clinical experience?

Other opportunities available:
Emergency Room Tech (Cleaning, restocking, patient/staff duties)
Support Services Technician (Restocks, personal care, pulls sutures, scheduling, patient care)
Nurse Aide
Patient Transporter
Environmental Services

Do you have clinical experience? If no, you will definitely need that for your application, so either make sure you can fit it in after AmeriCorps and before you apply, or do that instead of AmeriCorps. If you already have clinical experience that you can talk about intelligently with an interviewer, take the AmeriCorps opportunity.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

You need some degree of clinical experience. You absolutely do not need a year of it, but if you want a year of it, that's great: it can only help.

I did clinical stuff throughout college, and when I took my year off to volunteer with AmeriCorps every so often I would go shadow a doc to keep my clinical street cred for adcoms.

bases: covered

boxes: cynically checked

fun americorps year: had

 

[colierun23]

I know no one has posted on this in 2 years, but the thread fit my question.

I have been an AmeriCorps member since March of this year, and my term ends in Sept (quarter term). My position is not medically related, and focuses on helping those in poverty obtain employment. I am re-applying to medical school for the 2013 term, and am trying to pick and choose my activities carefully. I have the option to renew my AmeriCorps term this September, but I don't know if I should try to get a job at the hospital instead. I have been volunteering in the ER once a week since March, and have previous clinical experience, but I'm not sure it is enough. Thoughts??

Thanks for any input! 🙂

 

[mehc012]

I know no one has posted on this in 2 years, but the thread fit my question.

I have been an AmeriCorps member since March of this year, and my term ends in Sept (quarter term). My position is not medically related, and focuses on helping those in poverty obtain employment. I am re-applying to medical school for the 2013 term, and am trying to pick and choose my activities carefully. I have the option to renew my AmeriCorps term this September, but I don't know if I should try to get a job at the hospital instead. I have been volunteering in the ER once a week since March, and have previous clinical experience, but I'm not sure it is enough. Thoughts??

Thanks for any input! 🙂

2 years? Try 3 months. I don't know what answer you're looking for that isn't already on the thread...we can restate the advice a few different times for you, but you're the only one who can really make the judgement call.

 

[colierun23]

Sorry, I don't go on here much. I was looking at the wrong date. I am basically just wondering if AmeriCorps is a valuable aspect to my application in general, or if more clinical experience would be favored. No one on this thread stated if AmeriCorps "looks good" to medical schools.

 

[mehc012]

If you already have clinical experience that you can talk about intelligently with an interviewer, take the AmeriCorps opportunity.

You need clinical experience, so if you have none, or it's so old/minor that you can't discuss it very well, you should focus on getting some. If you already have it, though, AmeriCorps does look good, so go for it!

Valid clinical experience + AmeriCorps > More clinical experience >>>>>>>no clinical experience + AmeriCorps

 

[colierun23]

Thanks! I am volunteering in the ER 4 hours a week currently as well. In the past I have worked for a chiropractor and an MD, so hopefully I have enough to focus on AmeriCorps plus my ER volunteering.

 

[robertch8]

I'm a former AmeriCorps member (although I was in a primary care clinic 1 year and a methadone treatment clinic another year) and what I did during my 2 years in AmeriCorps was take outside time when possible to go shadow a physician and I know other members who would volunteer at hospitals and were able to get that counted as outside service hours. So while all of those things did help me at the end of the day, it's how you construct and phrase your experiences in your PS, secondary responses, and interview is what really will count not what specific experience in of itself counts more.