Clinical Experience

[13132]

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What exactly does this mean? I do medical related volunteering, but is this clinical experience, and if it is then do I have to split the hours when I report it?

Thanks

 

[emlibrary]

If you can smell a patient, it is clinical experience. Any job that needs some sort of certification will get you the experience, which can include CNA, EMT, etc.

You can also come about this volunteering

 

[13132]

Well I can certainly smell patients when I volunteer, but would I then not be able to list this experience as volunteering if I considered it clinical experience.

 

[LizzyM]

Well I can certainly smell patients when I volunteer, but would I then not be able to list this experience as volunteering if I considered it clinical experience.

The experience section of the AMCAS application has a pull-down menu of categories of experiences. There are two volunteer categories: volunteer, clinical and volunteer, non-clinical. There are two categories of employment: employment, miliatry and employment, non-military. There is a category for teaching/tutoring that can overlap with employment, non-military or with volunteer/non-clinical so you can see that it is your call as to how you might categorize something that would fit into more than one category.... However "clinical experience" is not a category, it is either "volunteer, clinical" or some kind of employment or perhaps research with human subjects who are also patients.

 

[13132]

The experience section of the AMCAS application has a pull-down menu of categories of experiences. There are two volunteer categories: volunteer, clinical and volunteer, non-clinical. There are two categories of employment: employment, miliatry and employment, non-military. There is a category for teaching/tutoring that can overlap with employment, non-military or with volunteer/non-clinical so you can see that it is your call as to how you might categorize something that would fit into more than one category.... However "clinical experience" is not a category, it is either "volunteer, clinical" or some kind of employment or perhaps research with human subjects who are also patients.

Ok thanks. It seems I will probably have to make the judgement call when I see the application. I am going to have to do the same thing with a trip to Honduras which included clinical experience, volunteer, and shadowing.

 

[LizzyM]

Ok thanks. It seems I will probably have to make the judgement call when I see the application. I am going to have to do the same thing with a trip to Honduras which included clinical experience, volunteer, and shadowing.

just FYI: there is no category for shadowing, most people classify it as "other" or "volunteer, clinical" although some people are critical of classifying shadowing alone as "volunteer clinical" as no one but the shadow is helped by the shadowing experience.

You could call it "volunteer, clinical" describe the clinical volunteering and in the details mention the opportunities to observe clinicians at work.

 

[13132]

just FYI: there is no category for shadowing, most people classify it as "other" or "volunteer, clinical" although some people are critical of classifying shadowing alone as "volunteer clinical" as no one but the shadow is helped by the shadowing experience.

You could call it "volunteer, clinical" describe the clinical volunteering and in the details mention the opportunities to observe clinicians at work.

Thanks so much for that information. I had no idea there wasn't a shadowing category, but that is really good to know.

 

[Doubtnichts]

Is shadowing considered clinical experience?? I was never really sure about this...

 

[apumic]

Is shadowing considered clinical experience?? I was never really sure about this...

Nope. They are two different requirements.

 

[Doubtnichts]

Nope. They are two different requirements.

Explain please?

 

[LizzyM]

Most people will have some volunteering either clinical or non-clinical (or both). Because medicine is a service industry, there is an expectation at some schools that you will have made service to others part of your lifestyle.

Shadowing doesn't have its own label in the experience section of the AMCAS. Not every school requires it but some will want to know that you are familiar with what physicians do and the structure of their workday (or work week). It is best to use the "other" label on the AMCAS application rather than "volunteer, clinical" in that you aren't actually volunteering to provide a service but are receiving the services of a physician who volunteers to have you following him around.

Clinical experience can come as employment or as a volunteer. There are separate labels for these two activities. There is no label called "clinical experience".