Clinical Experience

[student2520]

What are some ways to get clinical experience that don’t require a pricy certificate and months of classes?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AJS59]

Look into some volunteering at a hospital...I currently volunteer at a VA hospital as a patient escort and that has been really meaningful! If not that, other forms of clinical employment (i.e. delivering food trays to patients in their rooms, etc.)

 

[candbgirl]

Look into some volunteering at a hospital...I currently volunteer at a VA hospital as a patient escort and that has been really meaningful! If not that, other forms of clinical employment (i.e. delivering food trays to patients in their rooms, etc.)

I second the volunteering at VA hospitals. It’s very interesting and you get great stories and looks at a life different than yours.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Search the article archive.

What Kind of Clinical Experience Should Premeds Get? - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Finding Paid Clinical Experience - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Five Paid Ways to Get Clinical Experience - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[student2520]

Hi, would volunteering as a visual interpreter for individuals with visual impairments count as some sort of clinical experience or community volunteering? It provides direct care as I interact with the users and help them with anything they may need in their day to day, although it is virtual, it provides direct engagement.


Also, does anyone know what the best way to get trained as a phlebotomist or medical assistant is? I want to do it over the summer, but I can't seem to find any courses.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Based on what information is given, I think it's non clinical. It likely counts towards service orientation especially if you are in person.

Check your local CC for courses in medical assisting.

 

[LizzyM]

If the people with whom you would be communicating with (virtually) are not seeking medical care, in other words, are not "patients", I would not call it clinical experience. Not every interaction with a person who has a disability is "clinical". It is non-clinical volunteering but it isn't quite as high on the hierarchy of experiences as something that is face-to-face with people who are living in poverty.

If it interests you and you'd do it even if you weren't applying to med school, go ahead and serve others that way. If you are looking to make the most of the hours you have to devote to community service, this might not be the best use of your time.

 

[candbgirl]

Why are you looking to do virtual activities?

 

[student2520]

Why are you looking to do virtual activities?

I don’t live in a walkable city and I don’t have a car. But I would be doing this specific activity anyways because it’s really valuable to me, and it’s something I want to do.

I was just curious where it would be classified on the grand scheme of things because some say that volunteering at retirement homes or for programs helping individuals with special needs is clinical volunteering. And I thought it was somewhat similar and I’ve been doing it for a while, so I was just wondering.

 

[student2520]

If the people with whom you would be communicating with (virtually) are not seeking medical care, in other words, are not "patients", I would not call it clinical experience. Not every interaction with a person who has a disability is "clinical". It is non-clinical volunteering but it isn't quite as high on the hierarchy of experiences as something that is face-to-face with people who are living in poverty.

If it interests you and you'd do it even if you weren't applying to med school, go ahead and serve others that way. If you are looking to make the most of the hours you have to devote to community service, this might not be the best use of your time.

Thanks, and that’s sort of what I was thinking, but someone told me it may be so I just wanted to check.

I’d do it even if I wasn’t applying to med school I was just asking for clarification. But thanks for the added input.

 

[LizzyM]

I don’t live in a walkable city and I don’t have a car. But I would be doing this specific activity anyways because it’s really valuable to me, and it’s something I want to do.

I was just curious where it would be classified on the grand scheme of things because some say that volunteering at retirement homes or for programs helping individuals with special needs is clinical volunteering. And I thought it was somewhat similar and I’ve been doing it for a while, so I was just wondering.

This is a question that comes up frequently. There are those of us who believe that for something to be a "clinical" experience it must involve interacting with a PATIENT. A person who resides in a nursing home is called a "resident" and they are not patients in their day-to-day lives although they may be taking medications and may need help with activities of daily living including bathing and dressing. That is not medical care and is sometimes referred to as "custodial care". Likewise, a person with special needs is not a patient except when they are in the process of receiving medical care from a physician. For the purposes of pre-med, I would not count services received from various therapists (speech, physical, occupational, behavioral, etc) in a school or office setting as "clinical" although students wishing to prepare for careers in those fields might volunteer with those professionals and count it as "clinical" for that profession.



It is useful to have non-clinical volunteering experiences with people who are disabled. Volunteering gives you a glimpse into their lives, and in many cases, into their home life. You may find it useful to draw on these experiences when you meet patients some day who are in similar situations.

 

[Goro]

I don’t live in a walkable city and I don’t have a car. But I would be doing this specific activity anyways because it’s really valuable to me, and it’s something I want to do.

I was just curious where it would be classified on the grand scheme of things because some say that volunteering at retirement homes or for programs helping individuals with special needs is clinical volunteering. And I thought it was somewhat similar and I’ve been doing it for a while, so I was just wondering.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimer’s or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

some say that volunteering at retirement homes or for programs helping individuals with special needs is clinical volunteering.

You've gotten great answers from our experts about this. I point out that an experience is clinical if you work with patients or their health records (and not in an IT way). If you are trained by doctors to assist them, you have a better argument for "clinical." If you want to be a physician, you need to know what they do and the environment in which they generally work. Shadowing helps as would working with patients where doctors routinely see patients.

Your responsibilities are also important. Assisting with daily activities is "patient care experience" for nurses, therapists, and physician assistants in retirement/assisted living centers, though doctors aren't usually there. It is not a task we assign or pay doctors to do routinely. That's why I ask about observations in the doctor- patient relationship and see if your clinical volunteering roles put you in position to answer these questions.