Anybody else loving their clinical experience?

[bucks2010]

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Here at SDN we talk a lot about the value of clinical experience on an application. For those that have begun their clinical experience, I'm wondering how many others are out there that love what they do?

I was lucky enough to find a position in a hospital where I get to interact with patients all day. The staff I work with is fantastic and the environment is excellent - the 12 hr shifts actually aren't as taxing as I would've imagined.

Are there any others out there like myself?

 

[Residual]

The staff at the place I volunteer at is quite friendly, and it's generally pleasant. I can't say I find the tasks I'm given terribly exciting, but it could be worse. There's a fair amount of patient interaction, which is pretty cool, and there are sometimes other volunteers to chat with.

I wouldn't want to do that (cleaning rooms, transporting patients, stocking supplies) for the rest of my life, but it's not a bad time. Of course, I'm only doing 3 hour shifts at most there...

 

[enTropeeeeeeeee]

Here at SDN we talk a lot about the value of clinical experience on an application. For those that have begun their clinical experience, I'm wondering how many others are out there that love what they do?

I was lucky enough to find a position in a hospital where I get to interact with patients all day. The staff I work with is fantastic and the environment is excellent - the 12 hr shifts actually aren't as taxing as I would've imagined.

Are there any others out there like myself?

I generally enjoy my clinical experience, but find my job there to be near useless. The nurses are nice, but not when you are in the way.

 

[Evergrey]

Volunteering in a hospital, when I was doing what I was supposed to be doing (stocking carts, folding linens, etc.) was one of the most boring, unrewarding things I ever did. The worst is when it's slow and the staff don't even need you. The chance to interact with patients and learn a bit about medicine was great, but I'm much rather be mentoring with kids than volunteering in a hospital!

 

[PremedGunner]

youre not there to stock carts or fold linens, youre there to learn. actually talk to the nurses and try to learn something about medicine

 

[Evergrey]

youre not there to stock carts or fold linens, youre there to learn. actually talk to the nurses and try to learn something about medicine

🙄 Thanks for telling me what I should have been doing, but it doesn't apply *at all* to my situation. You have to know that pre-meds, and medical students, seem very entitled to a lot of hospital staff. Even if they aren't entitled people. I went in excited to help out and work hard in exchange for being able to learn a few things each shift. But no matter how unfair it seems, many don't see it as their responsibility to teach you. If I didn't spend most of my time doing what you tell me I shouldn't have been doing, I would have gotten kicked out. Clearly it was a bad volunteering program, but the point is that this happens at a lot of places. I am just jaded with hospital volunteering, because I got sick of taking time out of my life to help, and then having people walk up to me and tell me that I was worthless (literally).

 

[wanderer]

youre not there to stock carts or fold linens, youre there to learn. actually talk to the nurses and try to learn something about medicine

Oh really? What's the incentive of the hospital to let volunteers come in if all they do is just learn? It costs the hospitals a small amount of money to let people volunteer and a lot of hospitals won't let volunteers ever touch patients. In order to get the best volunteer experience at a hospital you either need to be in a hospital that is poorly run, or has physicians and nurses who remember what it was like for them to volunteer way back. Even on my best days, half of my shifts were filled with scut like changing sheets. Not saying I didn't learn a lot, but volunteering at any hospital can get to be really annoying after some time. And anyone who says that volunteering was fun 100% of the time either hit the jackpot or has a really bad memory.

 

[jellybean13]

youre not there to stock carts or fold linens, youre there to learn. actually talk to the nurses and try to learn something about medicine

👎

That's crap. There are plenty of hospitals and PIs and physicians who are willing to give pre-meds rewarding experiences, even if it is just shadowing. Stocking carts and folding linens isn't doing anything to forward your medical career and neither is chatting with nurses, and it is pretty ridiculous of you to try to tell someone to "make the best" of their towel folding experience...

 

[orthomyxo]

12 hour shifts you say? 👎

 

[Malice]

I hate clinical experience with a passion. I can't wait to be a doc so I can begin to ignore patients.

 

[45408]

Yeah, I loved it. I was an EMT for a company that ran 911 calls in the inner city. Crazy shiznit every day.

 

[bucks2010]

Maybe my experience is an outlier. I should note that I'm in a paid position (nursing aide) so it's not like I show up for 12 hrs for free... no way I'd do that.

I would agree that if stocking carts and folding linens is all you do, you're in a pretty soul-sucking position. I would encourage those of you stuck in a rut to do all you can to find a paid position somewhere. Hospitals can't really give you much responsibility if you're not a trained employee with accountability for your actions. I do things like take vitals, draw specimens for labs, give baths, change sheets, track input/output, etc. and I didn't have to pay for certification to do it (training is provided by my hospital). Sometimes I'm able to see patients for most of the duration of their hospital stay, so I get to see a lot of how the healthcare team functions.

Keep looking if you haven't found something with significant patient interaction yet.

 

[Cleavername]

Are there any others out there like myself?

u bet. my experience involves being in the OR with surgeons while they operate. i stand in the room with them for the full duration and take down data for a research, its a triple experience in 1, shadowing the docs, research, and volunteer since i talk to them and calm them down and wut not post-op. so far i am luvin it. its one of those unique experiences u dont get any where else. i really wish i done this sooner.

 

[StephenMaturin]

I really like being a scribe. It does get old always being the least useful person in the room, but I learn a lot, and to be honest it's kind of nice to have a job with no real stress or responsibility.

 

[deleted357625]

volunteer work in hospital is boring ;/
I couldn't wait for my first day tho

 

[Doctor246853]

Here at SDN we talk a lot about the value of clinical experience on an application. For those that have begun their clinical experience, I'm wondering how many others are out there that love what they do?

I was lucky enough to find a position in a hospital where I get to interact with patients all day. The staff I work with is fantastic and the environment is excellent - the 12 hr shifts actually aren't as taxing as I would've imagined.

Are there any others out there like myself?

Im an O.R. Aide and I fukin love it. I get to see alot of things, learn the equipment, learn how its run, see the procedures and have plenty of time to study after downtime.😀 Its kinda hard to beat that.

 

[FirefighterDoc]

Im a Firefighter/EMT and an ER tech and i love them both. I know people always say to wait until clinicals to decide, but i have my heart set on Emergency Medicine(this is after shadowing surgeons and my primary among other things, so im not making it completely blind).

 

[Kaustikos]

Yeah, I loved it. I was an EMT for a company that ran 911 calls in the inner city. Crazy shiznit every day.

They let you volunteer as an EMT/help out? That's cool because where I'm at - they only let you volunteer in safe places where you can't screw **** up. I'm supposing some sort of certification with EMT is required or is it the same as volunteering in general?

Also, I only liked one experience at a Cardiology Department - they let me do EKGs/help with stress tests or Echos/watch surgeries which was awesome. After that, every other volunteer position SUCKED.

 

[13132]

It is fantastic. I work/volunteer 7-10PM in the ER of the hospital near my campus. It is the 4th busiest in a pretty populated state so it can be pretty exciting at time. I have free range over what I am able to see and what rooms I go into (as long as the patient doesn't object). I usually keep to following nurses because the doctors are very busy and make it clear they don't need/want you being their shadow.

 

[Geekchick921]

I loved my clinical experience job. I work in an office setting right now and I'm bored out of my mind. I had to leave my unit secretary job because of the hours and my daughter's daycare, and I miss it so much. Never a boring day, and since they hadn't had a clerk for awhile before I was hired, I usually felt really appreciated (with the exception of one nurse who I came close to asking sarcastically, on numerous occasions, if she needed me to come with her to the bathroom because she couldn't seem to do anything else without me), and I ran that unit like a well-oiled machine.