Clinical Research

[docelh]

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Now that scribing is out, I am looking at a clinical research program at a nearby medical school. The program allows participants to contribute to research (gathering & interpreting data), work with physician investigators, interact with patients, and possibly assist if a crisis arises. Pound for pound, the patient/shadowing exposure beats just about most other unpaid clinical opportunities out there (e.g., testing fluids for the free clinic).

Needless to say, it sounds like a sweet gig as it would cover both research & clinical in the pre-med Holy Trinity of ECs. If I were fortunate to participate, I'd prefer to rack in my clinical requirement exclusively via this position. Questions:

1. Would this cover the shadowing requirement since I would be observing physicians in this role?
2. Is it important to do other clinical exposure - ED, free clinic, local hospital - for diversity's sake?
3. How important is clinical volunteering? This position is unpaid, but I'm not sure it would fall under that category since it is research and there are strict professional expectations involved. I would like to state here that I am involved in non-clinical volunteering.

I have a good idea on how to proceed and structure my overall ECs to meld my interests and the baseline requirements. But as usual, I welcome all your feedback, insights or criticism.

 

[lmarina1]

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