Clinical Experience - Receptionist?

[doraxplorer]

Hi SDNers, I'm a rising sophomore in college. I'm planning on either volunteering at a hospital this summer or working as a medical receptionist at a physician's office. Does the latter count as clinical experience? Thanks in advance!

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[Blesbok]

Probably about as much as working in a law office counts as clinical experience.

 

[shemarty]

Ideally, clinical experiences involves being on the "front lines of patient care."

Working as a receptionist is good work experience, sure, but it doesn't demonstrate to medical school admissions committees that you understand what this field is all about.

 

[BeardedRunner]

Not clinical experience, but it will gain you some minor brownie points bc you can list it under your work experiences.

 

[shiftingmirage]

Receptionist isn't clinical experience, but perhaps you can shadow the physician on your days off, and he can write you a LOR.

 

[doraxplorer]

thanks for the replys! I might just work this summer and volunteer in the hospital next summer.

 

[Stratego]

Personally, I'd disagree with the above comments, probably because being a medical receptionist in a small office is my primary source of clinical experience (aside from some hospital volunteering). As a medical receptionist, I am constantly interacting with sick people, checking them in, escorting them to their exam room, assisting with procedures, doing EKGs, collecting specimens, prioritizing lab results and appointments, talking on the phone with patients, not to mention cleaning rooms and bookkeeping, etc. I think this is an excellent source of patient interaction, but the duties of such a position can vary widely.

 

[DendWrite]

Personally, I'd disagree with the above comments, probably because being a medical receptionist in a small office is my primary source of clinical experience (aside from some hospital volunteering). As a medical receptionist, I am constantly interacting with sick people, checking them in, escorting them to their exam room, assisting with procedures, doing EKGs, collecting specimens, prioritizing lab results and appointments, talking on the phone with patients, not to mention cleaning rooms and bookkeeping, etc. I think this is an excellent source of patient interaction, but the duties of such a position can vary widely.

Good call. The way I see it, the amount of real "clinical experience" you can get as a non-trained undergrad (i.e. not a RN or PA) is pretty limited. In a lot of cases, it just means watching a physician or getting blankets and handing out snacks (again, not in ALL cases, but in my experience and my friends', this tends to be the norm). A receptionist job will get you a lot of patient interaction, teach you some things about the inner workings of healthcare, and it's likely to pick you up some extra cash (which you deserve for doing work over the summer). Sounds like a good deal to me. If it's like a "manning the desk at the hospital gift shop job" it wouldn't be so valuable, but from the way you described it ("medical receptionist"), I don't think this would be the case.

Keep in mind that there's no set in stone scale of what is clinical experience, other than the infamous "close enough to smell the patients" mantra. Focus on what you are actually getting out of the experience rather than what you think adcoms will think about it...it's actually having the experience and being able to discuss it intelligently that counts, not how it falls into a category on the AMCAS.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I'm with the three above posts. Being a receptionist will teach you how the nuts and bolts of a doctor's office (or hospital department) work. You'll get the practical experience that so many pre-meds lack, and that's what's most useful and important.

 

[dw2158]

Personally, I'd disagree with the above comments, probably because being a medical receptionist in a small office is my primary source of clinical experience (aside from some hospital volunteering). As a medical receptionist, I am constantly interacting with sick people, checking them in, escorting them to their exam room, assisting with procedures, doing EKGs, collecting specimens, prioritizing lab results and appointments, talking on the phone with patients, not to mention cleaning rooms and bookkeeping, etc. I think this is an excellent source of patient interaction, but the duties of such a position can vary widely.

👍

i was also an administrative assistant in a small private practice. in this type of environment, if you want to learn and do more, you totally can! eventually i not only checked people in and organized their records, i was also responsible for taking their vitals, informing them about test results, etc. it was great clinical experience for sure-- it gave me a MUCH better idea of what a doctor's life is like and the type of people a doctor interacts with.

 

[Stratego]

👍
in this type of environment, if you want to learn and do more, you totally can!

I agree. The doctor is willing to explain anything, and having access to all his old textbooks and reference books is a goldmine.

 

[danimjo]

I have one more thing to add that I don't think as been covered. Most of my clinical experience is as a receptionist. One thing it adds to your resume that you won't have time to learn in medical school is the business end of running a practice. Many doctors end up going into private practice and have to learn how to run a business on top of being a doctor. That learning curve can be challenging. As a receptionist you often gain important business insights on how to market a practice, how to build patient relationships, how to handle insurance billing (which is a huge issue in medical practice anywhere), you learn how to handle patients who fall behind on payments, you learn to handle patients that are upset with the care they received, you learn how to work with local labs, you learn how to order medical supplies and keep track of medical records, plus you really get to see what being in a practice day in and day out is like.
Although I have volunteer experience in a hospital, and experience as a CNA, by far the most insightful and valuable experience I gained was as a receptionist. Furthermore, lots of medical schools take into account that you worked and volunteered while in college. They will look at that and at your GPA and realize you were a busy beaver to keep your grades up and stay that busy out of class, and it shows that you are capable of multi-tasking and working long hours even as an undergrad.

 

[DrJosephKim]

If you do well as a receptionist, perhaps you can also gain some skills as a medical assistant. That would certainly qualify as clinical experience.