Really need some help. Currently a senior who recently decided that medical school was the way to go. I have volunteered as a tutor and will be volunteering at a hospital in the next couple weeks once I'm cleared. Also worked during undergrad. The two things I lack are clinical experience and research. The hospital I will be volunteering at made it clear that they did not offer clinical opportunities. I've read that some people work as a CNA or EMT. Are those good options? Of the two CNA is the shortest which would be the most ideal for me especially during the summer so I can finish science prerequisites in the fall. Also how can I get research? I'm graduating in May. I've applied for research assistant jobs just for the sake of applying but no luck which is understandable. Any thoughts would be appreciated. As always, I'll look for Goro's input.
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Clinical Experience
Started by atorres
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Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
Also look into seeing if any of the hospitals in your area have scribes working in their EDs. Depending on the hospital and the physicians you would be working with you can have the opportunity to learn a lot. Also check the job market in your area to see who is hiring what as you may or may not have better prospects as a CNA vs EMT.
Depending on where you are, a CNA course can be anywhere from three weeks to a couple months. On the other hand, an EMT course can be anywhere from around three to six months depending on the educational institution and state requirements. If you wish to do either of those, I would recommend finding a program and enrolling soon if you plan to build your education and experience in that regard by the next cycle.
You can do research. It certainly won't hurt. But, it isn't as necessary for admission to most osteopathic programs.
As your post seems hint at the fact that you have recently made this decision, I'm assuming that you haven't taken the MCAT yet. You'll also want to be sure to prepare adequately (at least 3 months) for that as well.
You want the best chance possible the first time around. If all of this gets to be too much, don't be afraid to take another year. Continue to build your experience, utilizing your education.
When do you decide to apply, the best piece of advice I can give you is to apply EARLY.
Good luck with your journey.
You can also be a Home Health Aide, which requires no training (where I live). If you work for an agency you probably won't make a lot of money, but will gain plenty of experience. Being hired by a family privately (through Craigslist, word of mouth, etc) is more lucrative and flexible. I care for the elderly, and there is a lot of down time where I'm being paid to study (and my employer is totally ok with it).
Does being a Home Health Aid count as clinical?? I was thinking doing HHA or CNA but I realized ill do the same job taking care of an elderly / person the only difference is that I won't be working in a nursing home .. And HHA it's free where I live
Forget research...its not that important
Find a physician to shadow (that is your clinical experience & LOR).
Get a good MCAT (very important)
