Are externships good, do they count as clinical experience?

[toff4l]

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There is a major teaching hospital near where I live that is offering a one month long externship for college students interested in pursuing a career in medicine.

"Participants in the externship,
which will take place during July and August of 2011, will observe and interact with medical
students,interns,residents,and fellows involved in the hospital's residency and subspecialty programs."

It is free but you have to apply for it and you will get a certificate at the end. Have you done anything like this? Could this be considered shadowing?

 

[Catalystik]

If you aren't interacting with the patients yourself, it wouldn't be clinical experience, but it does sound like a passive observership, in which case it would include physician shadowing.

 

[toff4l]

If you aren't interacting with the patients yourself, it wouldn't be clinical experience, but it does sound like a passive observership, in which case it would include physician shadowing.

From your standpoint, do you think the program is something worthwhile?

 

[Catalystik]

When one reads about the difficulties many applicants have in finding appropriate physicians to shadow, this opportunity looks terrific.

More detail about what the daily schedule entails might be good to have before deciding. Keep in mind that watching physicians interact with one another is a good thing, but it's more important to watch physicians interacting with their patients.