Medical Can caretaker hours count for clinical experience?

[MusicDOc124]

Hey there; hope you are staying safe during the pandemic!

I was looking over the AAMC criteria for clinical experience and I was wondering if I could add caretaker hours to my application given my circumstances below?

For about the last four years, I have provided direct and indirect care for both of my parents:

In the case of my father,

1. Helped/forced him to quit smoking (cold turkey) after 35 years, so that he could undergo a Laryngectomy for T1-laryngeal cancer because the surgeon refused to operate otherwise; he has now been nicotine free for over four years.
2. Nearly a couple years after his surgery, I discovered a coin-like mass after observing one of his routine CT-scans and promptly guided medical attention to it, which revealed an undiagnosed T1-adenocarcinoma that was then subjected to a partial-lobectomy after biopsy confirmation.
3. Subsequently helped him rehabilitate, physically and especially mentally, after said partial-lobectomy.
4. Assisted him everyday with his limitations brought on by his COPD and Sleep Apnea.

In the case of my mother,

1. Helped to regulate her hypertension through preventative care, which at times, regularly exceeded 160 sys, but generally varied from stages one-two.
2. Helped her quit smoking (progressively) after over 30ish years to prevent further COPD flare-ups/complications from hypertension. Easily the hardest thing I have ever done in my life because she was a five-pack a day smoker; one that would rather die doing what she ‘loved’! Not only did it take me a year to do so, but I had to also explain pertinent models of addiction and create a mental-treatment plan for her that was modified after multiple relapses; thankfully persistence is one of my assets as she has now been nicotine free for two months.

I was also responsible for arranging their medical appointments, deciphering medical jargon, and assisting them with insurance issues/information; the latter proved to be extremely frustrating on many occasions (I have a lot of stories unfortunately).

If these qualify as caretaker-clinical experiences, then I am not sure how to quantify my commitment in this regard or how an Adcom would for that matter. However, I do believe I learned invaluable skills like humility, altruism, and patience among many others that fueled my will/desire to become a physician. Plus, as a neuroscientist, I am proud of the fact that I was able to guide them both towards nicotine cessation; not a trivial feat by any means. So what would be appropriate in this case?

Thanks!

In general, no.

This is being a good family member. Unless this was absolutely full time where someone was physically or mentally incapable of caring for one's self, and not just when you get home from work or from doing whatever about your normal day-to-day stuff, then no, this does not qualify, especially because some of it can't even be quantified in time, such as the helping one quit smoking. This is all being attentive to health issues within family and wanting the best for them, and that's great.

From the sound of it, it was not full time. Discussing quitting smoking would not be counted. Finding something on a scan that happened to be something is great, but it's a one-time thing that happened and you were not providing care, you were being attentive to the care provided and thorough.

The one thing here that maybe could be, and it would depend on if you were doing it around the clock or on your own, is the rehabilitation. If there was inpatient, or PT/OT visits, and you're not trained in that area such as a PTA or OTA, then it would not qualify and would divert to the above in that it is you being a great child to your parents.

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[TheBoneDoctah]

Probably not, unfortunately.

This is being a good son/daughter. You could definitely use these experiences though in your personal statement and secondaries because I do think they are good to talk about.