Clinical experience: paid vs volunteer

[samosamosa]

Does a paid clinical position count as clinical experience, or do I need to have specifically volunteer clinical experience? How much does paid vs volunteer matter?

This is what I have done so far:
Currently in a paid medical technician position (working directly w/patients)
200 hrs working at front desk/patient discharge in a hospital (does this count as clinical?)
800 hours non-clinical volunteering at homeless shelter

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[LizzyM]

You need clinical experience. It may be paid or unpaid.
You need community service. It may be clinical or non-clinical. Many people kill two birds with one stone but some schools like to see non-clinical volunteerism for precisely that reason.

You have the homeless shelter thing and a paid med tech job so you have something on each side.

How close are you to patients when you help with discharge? My guess is that you are close enough to call it clinical (see sig line).

 

[samosamosa]

@LizzyM Thanks for your reply! At the hospital, when discharging I bring wheelchairs up to the patients' rooms and help them into the chair, and then wheel them out to the curb, so I guess it's clinical then!

 

[Rajaredhilu]

You need clinical experience. It may be paid or unpaid.
You need community service. It may be clinical or non-clinical. Many people kill two birds with one stone but some schools like to see non-clinical volunteerism for precisely that reason.

You have the homeless shelter thing and a paid med tech job so you have something on each side.

How close are you to patients when you help with discharge? My guess is that you are close enough to call it clinical (see sig line).

On a related note, does doctor shadowing count towards clinical hours?

 

[LizzyM]

On a related note, does doctor shadowing count towards clinical hours?

Shadowing now has its own tag in the Experience section. Each experience may have only one tag. If there is some requirement for "clinical hours" outside of the AMCAS application (e.g. to get a committee letter), then you should ask someone in the group that has made that stipulation what counts toward clinical hours.

 

[Goro]

Does a paid clinical position count as clinical experience, or do I need to have specifically volunteer clinical experience? How much does paid vs volunteer matter?

This is what I have done so far:
Currently in a paid medical technician position (working directly w/patients)
200 hrs working at front desk/patient discharge in a hospital (does this count as clinical?)
800 hours non-clinical volunteering at homeless shelter

Yes, absolutely. We like to see you display altruism, but if you have a clinical job, and do non-clinical volunteering, you are doing what we want to see.
Your numbers here are outstanding.