Clinical Experience. Is this enough?

[Kikaku21]

What do you think?

I am starting to volunteer in an ER now, and will also shadow an ER doc there. Also, I will be volunteering at a community clinic starting in august. I intend to to each up until the time when I apply next June. So, I'll have about a year of clinical experience. Also, I did a little bit of shadowing before.. About 10 hours or so.

I decided to apply to medical school about a year ago and have been spending all of my time doing post-bacc and working. Is this going to be enough clinical experience? Or is this going to be a problem??

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[Bluntman]

Is this going to be enough clinical experience? Or is this going to be a problem??

Sounds great to me!

 

[idandps]

What do you think?

I am starting to volunteer in an ER now, and will also shadow an ER doc there. Also, I will be volunteering at a community clinic starting in august. I intend to to each up until the time when I apply next June. So, I'll have about a year of clinical experience. Also, I did a little bit of shadowing before.. About 10 hours or so.

I decided to apply to medical school about a year ago and have been spending all of my time doing post-bacc and working. Is this going to be enough clinical experience? Or is this going to be a problem??

What do you think?

 

[coco11]

I have a question to go along with this one. I have lots of ECs in general, but much of my extensive volunteering has been only distantly medically related (ie teaching middle schoolers about AIDS prevention, acting as a mentor, etc).

My only clinical exp is some shadowing of 2 diff doc's (30 hr)
and working in an oncologists office for about 5 months (had patient contact). I have enough anecdotes to use in my PS and interviews, I'm just wondering if this is enough to have on my app to land me an interview.

I also have 2 yr research, other volunteering, leadership, etc.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[LizzyM]

All together now, LizzyM's mantra for assessing clinical experiences:

"Have you smelled patients?"

 

[coco11]

All together now, LizzyM's mantra for assessing clinical experiences:

"Have you smelled patients?"

How LONG have you had to have smelled patients for though? Ha.

 

[TheCybermen]

What do you think?

I am starting to volunteer in an ER now, and will also shadow an ER doc there. Also, I will be volunteering at a community clinic starting in august. I intend to to each up until the time when I apply next June. So, I'll have about a year of clinical experience. Also, I did a little bit of shadowing before.. About 10 hours or so.

I decided to apply to medical school about a year ago and have been spending all of my time doing post-bacc and working. Is this going to be enough clinical experience? Or is this going to be a problem??

very nice - i think the trick will lie in communicating these experiences in a meaningful manner, but you can shoulder that task when it comes time for your personal statement. good luck.

 

[LizzyM]

I dont' measure "enough" in terms of hours but in terms of months.

In other words, 2 hours per week for a year is better than 40 hours per week for 4 weeks. It shows a dedication to an institution over the long haul.

One semester or one summer is not enough (e.g. Sept-Dec or Jan-May or June-Aug). It is a measure of the bare minimum and indicative in some cases of someone who is just crossing off items on the "pre-med gotta do it" list.

 

[2DEG]

I will be a re-applicant this year. After I was rejected, I met with one of the dean of admissions. He told me that I should try to get more clinical experience.

Here is what I have done - related to healthcare. I have shadowed two primary care physicians (in the same clinic) for 5 months. And I am one of the two initiators for establishing a dialysis center in a third world country. The project has been going really well.

During the third week of June, I am gonna start working on a research project where I will have some patient contact. I am also gonna be doing some volunteer work, and counseling at a community health center. I guess both of these are gonna be good experiences..but I plan to submit my application in July and hopefully get interviews in December, January time frame. Is this gonna be enough?

I kind of feel like eventhough I am truly interested in those two volunteer work I will be doing, listing these in my application might make it seem as if I am just trying to do it for the sake of putting it on my application. I plan to continue working on the research projects even if I become a medical student at that school.

Best wishes all. It really hurts to be rejected.

 

[mconnell]

Does this sound like enough? I have been a nurse for the last year (working in a long term care/sub-acute facility and now in a TCU/med-surg at a local hospital). I am planning on shadowing doctors in the months to come. Will this be enough to get me into med school?

 

[LizzyM]

Does this sound like enough? I have been a nurse for the last year (working in a long term care/sub-acute facility and now in a TCU/med-surg at a local hospital). I am planning on shadowing doctors in the months to come. Will this be enough to get me into med school?

In terms of clinical experience, an employed nurse who knows what is involved in working as a physician (what are the differences in scope of practice, in the work-day, etc) has enough clinical experience.

The question for you is different: it is, "why switch from nursing to medicine?"

 

[mconnell]

The question for you is different: it is, "why switch from nursing to medicine?"

In all actuality, I used nursing as a stepping stone. I wanted (more appropriately...needed) to work in healthcare and nursing was a quicker way to get there. I have always dreamed of becoming a doctor and this was one way to get my foot in the door.

 

[LizzyM]

In all actuality, I used nursing as a stepping stone. I wanted (more appropriately...needed) to work in healthcare and nursing was a quicker way to get there. I have always dreamed of becoming a doctor and this was one way to get my foot in the door.

Then just be honest and explain it. You certainly should have no worries about having enough clinical experinence. You've smelled patients and you know what doctors do. You also have the advantage of having walked in a nurse's shoes and you know what docs can do to make a nurse's job easy, or miserable. I think that such an experinece can also make you a better doctor (good team player, empathetic to the situation of other team members).

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

Do you think large amounts of clinical exposure could in some cases be a trump card? Such as seven years concurrent as a PACS admin, X-Ray tech, and 3-D visualization specialist? I'm hoping so.

 

[mconnell]

But at the same time it wouldn't hurt to add to that experience, would it? Shadowing doctors? Volunteering in clinics? etc, etc, etc.

 

[LizzyM]

Do you think large amounts of clinical exposure could in some cases be a trump card? Such as seven years concurrent as a PACS admin, X-Ray tech, and 3-D visualization specialist? I'm hoping so.

Sometimes it can be a turn off. You are working as an allied professional. Why do you want to leave that to go to medical school? I presume you've been face to face with patients and you've given them commands (don't move, take a deep breath and hold it, etc) but many of the other interactions between physicians and patients are missing from your experience as a tech and archivist. Are you intending to go into radiology or do you see med school as an opportunity to get out of radiology and do something different? I think that you should be prepared to answer these questions at interview but don't assume because you've been employed in an allied profession that you have a trump card -- if anything, your pre-med courses & MCAT will need to be as good or better than average to prove that you are academically strong enough to hold your own in the class.