Clinical ECs

[SolitaireAddikt]

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Hey

So here is my situation. I've been volunteering for my school on-campus EMT-type service for two years. I've had to respond to a few emergency situations, with the possibility that my case load will increase next year. Starting second semester of my second year, I began volunteering at a local hospital. The ward I was on only has around 10 patients in it at any given time, and thus my volunteer rounds took no time at all- literally...I amassed a total of 12 hours for the entire semester.

Now, going into third year, I am considering dropping my position at the hospital. I would like to know whether or not the hours (200 so far) that I've spent with my school's EMT core is sufficient clinical experience.

One of my major concerns is that the EMT group I am a part of is entirely student run- thus I would not be able to get a letter of rec for my time served on the team. Is not having a clinical LOR a bad thing?

And just in case you need it, my cGPA is 3.67 (1st year- 3.65, 2nd year- 3.7...expecting GPA to go up over the course of the next two years). My sGPA is 3.69. No MCAT yet. I will only be considering MD schools.

Thanks

 

[Mobius1985]

It's my understanding that for EMT classes to help you, you need to be certified and you need to use the gained skills in a volunteer or paid position. The core courses you took to get there, are classes and not "extracurricular" which means aside from class work. I don't happen to agree with this, but it's what I've read here on SDN. It sounds like you haven't had a lot of real clinical experience, so you'll need to highlight what you've done in your Personal Statement. Your volunteer gig, though sparse in patient experience, is still a community service.

I'm glad you had the hospital volunteering to list too. I'm not sure I'd drop it though. What about going to another department where you'd have more patient interaction (ideally ER, since you have the EMT background, but I actually got my best experience from post-op, so be open-minded, as long as you're not in the gift shop)? If you don't see this happening, try to get into the hospice, or go to a nursing home, or find a local clinic that needs volunteers. A variety of clinical venues looks good on the application. Don't forget to get some shadowing experience with a few types of docs over this next year too.

I was never asked for a clinical or volunteer letter. If you are, then I'm sure there is a student who is the squad leader who can write a letter for you.

The GPA is looking good. Don't let it drop.

 

[SolitaireAddikt]

It's my understanding that for EMT classes to help you, you need to be certified and you need to use the gained skills in a volunteer or paid position. The core courses you took to get there, are classes and not "extracurricular" which means aside from class work. I don't happen to agree with this, but it's what I've read here on SDN. It sounds like you haven't had a lot of real clinical experience, so you'll need to highlight what you've done in your Personal Statement. Your volunteer gig, though sparse in patient experience, is still a community service.

I'm glad you had the hospital volunteering to list too. I'm not sure I'd drop it though. What about going to another department where you'd have more patient interaction (ideally ER, since you have the EMT background, but I actually got my best experience from post-op, so be open-minded, as long as you're not in the gift shop)? If you don't see this happening, try to get into the hospice, or go to a nursing home, or find a local clinic that needs volunteers. A variety of clinical venues looks good on the application. Don't forget to get some shadowing experience with a few types of docs over this next year too.

I was never asked for a clinical or volunteer letter. If you are, then I'm sure there is a student who is the squad leader who can write a letter for you.

The GPA is looking good. Don't let it drop.

I think you misunderstood me 🙂 I *have* been volunteering as an EMT for 2 years. I wasn't talking about just taking the classes (I did the EMT training course in my first semester). But I had seen some other posts saying that EMT didn't count (maybe it was because people were getting paid, I wasn't sure).

I would switch into the ER department of the hospital if I could. The problem is that my French (I'm going to school in Quebec) may not be good enough to volunteer in that department (apparently you need to be fluent...I can speak enough to get by on the ward I currently work on). I may switch into a program that involves cuddling infants since it seems to have a bigger time commitment. The French problem extends to nursing homes and hospices as well (or basically anything off campus).

I was thinking of volunteering for this charity that arranges friendly visits for isolated seniors. One of their programs involves accompanying an elderly person to their medical appointments once a week. Would this count as clinical?

Thanks again!

 

[Mobius1985]

Ride-alongs with EMTs don't count as a clinical experience, but would rather be viewed as shadowing an EMT. If you are actively involved in helping a patient as an EMT, even though you are not in a clinic, I feel that being part of a therapeutic team would generally be looked on as "clinical experience." I believe the same argument would hold for providing an escort to seniors going to visit a doctor (just as being a hospital transporter would qualify). If you have an option of being present during the medical evaluation, that would be even better (ie, a bit of embedded shadowing).