Clinical experience and research question

[neature]

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I am a rising sophomore and currently work as a dietary aide at a nursing home. Does anyone know if this would be considered clinical experience? In a typical day I check resident diet cards, deliver meals, prepare the food to fit the needs of individual residents (such as cutting up food, positioning food for the resident so they can eat independently, etc.), and bring residents to different places in the nursing home. I have found that one of the biggest parts of my job has been simply spending time with the residents and talking with them because many are lonely. I love working with the elderly and this job, but would it be worthwhile to find another job for the remainder of undergrad that would be considered more clinical? I also volunteer at 3 hospitals so maybe this isn't a huge issue.

Secondly, I have completed many hours of religion research and will be publishing a research paper this fall (that I wrote freshman year) and possibly attending some research conferences to present my findings. I also have the opportunity to complete an independent study with a professor in which we will be exploring the relationship between medicine and religion this fall. I will be writing a 30+ page paper for this independent study and hopefully publishing this paper as well. Is this something that would be seen as valuable research experience? I am very passionate about research in this field and exploring the variety of world religions and can definitely talk about how it has been a valuable experience, but is this something that would be worthwhile mentioning? I understand that it is different than science research and will hopefully be pursuing lab research my junior year through another independent study.

 

[mitch8017]

I am a rising sophomore and currently work as a dietary aide at a nursing home. Does anyone know if this would be considered clinical experience? In a typical day I check resident diet cards, deliver meals, prepare the food to fit the needs of individual residents (such as cutting up food, positioning food for the resident so they can eat independently, etc.), and bring residents to different places in the nursing home. I have found that one of the biggest parts of my job has been simply spending time with the residents and talking with them because many are lonely. I love working with the elderly and this job, but would it be worthwhile to find another job for the remainder of undergrad that would be considered more clinical? I also volunteer at 3 hospitals so maybe this isn't a huge issue.

Secondly, I have completed many hours of religion research and will be publishing a research paper this fall (that I wrote freshman year) and possibly attending some research conferences to present my findings. I also have the opportunity to complete an independent study with a professor in which we will be exploring the relationship between medicine and religion this fall. I will be writing a 30+ page paper for this independent study and hopefully publishing this paper as well. Is this something that would be seen as valuable research experience? I am very passionate about research in this field and exploring the variety of world religions and can definitely talk about how it has been a valuable experience, but is this something that would be worthwhile mentioning? I understand that it is different than science research and will hopefully be pursuing lab research my junior year through another independent study.

Bit of a gray area, if you follow the LizzyM motto that if you are close enough to smell the patient then its clinical, then it qualifies. I would recommend trying to get some type of position or responsibilities where you are handling cares for the residents. Personally I worked as a nursing aide in a nursing home and I can't think of anything that could have been better for developing lasting patient care skills. You are a part of the resident's everyday life and get to build a great relationship with them over time whereas people who work as a phlebotomist,tech, or aide in a hospital often only get to see patients for 5-15 min at a time then never see them again (however, to give some love to those jobs you are in a more "doctor-like" environment and often get to see more of what the doctor's are doing). All being said I loved working as a nursing aide and was always excited to get to work even when I was hitting 80-90 hours/week.

 

[anonymoose1640]

Secondly, I have completed many hours of religion research and will be publishing a research paper this fall (that I wrote freshman year) and possibly attending some research conferences to present my findings. I also have the opportunity to complete an independent study with a professor in which we will be exploring the relationship between medicine and religion this fall. I will be writing a 30+ page paper for this independent study and hopefully publishing this paper as well. Is this something that would be seen as valuable research experience? I am very passionate about research in this field and exploring the variety of world religions and can definitely talk about how it has been a valuable experience, but is this something that would be worthwhile mentioning? I understand that it is different than science research and will hopefully be pursuing lab research my junior year through another independent study.

I don't know enough to answer your first question, but for the second - I would say it might count. The point of research is that it teaches you to think critically, ask questions, develop procedures, and write papers. While research in religion is not something I'm personally familiar with, I would hazard a guess that you developed those skills through your work. I know people who applied to medical school who never picked up a pipette and instead pursued research in policy or economics, so I see no reason that research on religion might not count. Also, some schools offer a master of divinity as a dual degree option with their MDs, so I imagine those schools might look favorably on your research (look into the jesuit MD schools, Georgetown, Creighton, Loyola).

I'm not an adcom, just a student so of course take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I do think you should definitely pursue some lab research next year like you said, I think it will only help boost your application.

Hope that helps, good luck with your junior year 🙂

 

[neature]

Bit of a gray area, if you follow the LizzyM motto that if you are close enough to smell the patient then its clinical, then it qualifies. I would recommend trying to get some type of position or responsibilities where you are handling cares for the residents. Personally I worked as a nursing aide in a nursing home and I can't think of anything that could have been better for developing lasting patient care skills. You are a part of the resident's everyday life and get to build a great relationship with them over time whereas people who work as a phlebotomist,tech, or aide in a hospital often only get to see patients for 5-15 min at a time then never see them again (however, to give some love to those jobs you are in a more "doctor-like" environment and often get to see more of what the doctor's are doing). All being said I loved working as a nursing aide and was always excited to get to work even when I was hitting 80-90 hours/week.

Thanks for your response! I love working at the nursing home I am at and could likely pursue working as a CNA there next summer if I wanted to so that is something I can definitely consider.

 

[neature]

I don't know enough to answer your first question, but for the second - I would say it might count. The point of research is that it teaches you to think critically, ask questions, develop procedures, and write papers. While research in religion is not something I'm personally familiar with, I would hazard a guess that you developed those skills through your work. I know people who applied to medical school who never picked up a pipette and instead pursued research in policy or economics, so I see no reason that research on religion might not count. Also, some schools offer a master of divinity as a dual degree option with their MDs, so I imagine those schools might look favorably on your research (look into the jesuit MD schools, Georgetown, Creighton, Loyola).

I'm not an adcom, just a student so of course take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I do think you should definitely pursue some lab research next year like you said, I think it will only help boost your application.

Hope that helps, good luck with your junior year 🙂

I definitely would say that I learned/developed a lot of new skills throughout my research experience so far. One of the most valuable things I have learned is how to respectfully interact with people from different backgrounds/cultures/religions especially when discussing sensitive topics such as faith (I am thinking this might be a helpful skill to have in the future). I actually will only by a sophomore this year and am going to be focusing on my religion research this year because of the independent study opportunity, but during my junior year I will definitely look into get some lab research experience (I know my school offers a course that is an independent study for lab research where you get to design and conduct your own research).

 

[anonymoose1640]

I definitely would say that I learned/developed a lot of new skills throughout my research experience so far. One of the most valuable things I have learned is how to respectfully interact with people from different backgrounds/cultures/religions especially when discussing sensitive topics such as faith (I am thinking this might be a helpful skill to have in the future). I actually will only by a sophomore this year and am going to be focusing on my religion research this year because of the independent study opportunity, but during my junior year I will definitely look into get some lab research experience (I know my school offers a course that is an independent study for lab research where you get to design and conduct your own research).

That sounds great 🙂 Try and get involved in some bench work when you can, but I think your religion research is unique and is clearly very important to you, so I absolutely think you should continue to pursue it. Good luck with your sophomore year 🙂 and keep up the good work!

 

[mitch8017]

That sounds great 🙂 Try and get involved in some bench work when you can, but I think your religion research is unique and is clearly very important to you, so I absolutely think you should continue to pursue it. Good luck with your sophomore year 🙂 and keep up the good work!

I agree the religion research sounds very interesting and I am sure could be a wonderful talking point in an interview. Just make sure not to push your views and anyone and that should be a nice "gold star" of sorts on your application

 

[LizzyM]

I'd say the nursing home work counts given that you are responsible for checking and following doctor's orders regarding what the patient gets.
You should also strive to get some exposure to a physician's role in other health care setting (through employment or shadowing) and be sure to get some volunteer service hours even in a non-clinical setting.

The research sounds very interesting given that you are collecting data from people of different cultures. This would be a "I'd like to meet this applicant" moment for me if I were reading your application!

 

[neature]

I'd say the nursing home work counts given that you are responsible for checking and following doctor's orders regarding what the patient gets.
You should also strive to get some exposure to a physician's role in other health care setting (through employment or shadowing) and be sure to get some volunteer service hours even in a non-clinical setting.

The research sounds very interesting given that you are collecting data from people of different cultures. This would be a "I'd like to meet this applicant" moment for me if I were reading your application!

I will definitely plan to get more exposure to a physician's role in other health care settings. I volunteer in the emergency department at three hospitals and am planning to participate in a shadow program in which I should get around 50 hours in a variety of specialties over winter break this year. Would it be a good idea to expand my volunteer experiences by volunteering at the nursing home I work at? I have noticed many of the residents are lonely and would love a visitor to chat with. I never have enough time while working to talk with all the residents, so maybe volunteering would be a good way to interact more with the residents?

 

[LizzyM]

I will definitely plan to get more exposure to a physician's role in other health care settings. I volunteer in the emergency department at three hospitals and am planning to participate in a shadow program in which I should get around 50 hours in a variety of specialties over winter break this year. Would it be a good idea to expand my volunteer experiences by volunteering at the nursing home I work at? I have noticed many of the residents are lonely and would love a visitor to chat with. I never have enough time while working to talk with all the residents, so maybe volunteering would be a good way to interact more with the residents?

If you are interested in volunteering as a friendly visitor at a nursing home, then it would be a great volunteer activity for you.