Does playing with pediatric patients count as clinical exposure?

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ee1025

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I plan on shadowing as well, of course, but there are limited opportunities to do so on a regular basis. Volunteering at the children's hospital near me is described as "to provide play, distraction and comfort to our patients, and to provide guest services to all guests of the hospital."

Does this count as clinical exposure? Lots of patient interaction, but not as much with physicians.

I'm a rising sophomore and currently volunteering at a clinic near home for the summer, but I'm looking for something clinical to do when I get back to school.
Thanks!
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Agree with everyone else. As someone who has done this, you will gain patient contact skills and exposure to a variety of different situations and injuries that kids are experiencing. Also you will get to see how nurses, doctors, and aides interact with the patients and you will also communicate with staff about your patients. Eventually if you are a regular the kids will open up to you rather quickly from what I've experienced; it definitely helps you put your own childhood into perspective as well. Most of us probably have a hell of a lot more to be thankful for than we realize! Good experience all around.
 
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ee1025 said:
I plan on shadowing as well, of course, but there are limited opportunities to do so on a regular basis. Volunteering at the children's hospital near me is described as "to provide play, distraction and comfort to our patients, and to provide guest services to all guests of the hospital."

Does this count as clinical exposure? Lots of patient interaction, but not as much with physicians.
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Go for it.
 
I actually don't think this is clinical exposure. It certainly seems like valuable volunteering experience, but the idea of shadowing is to get an understanding of what physicians do, what their days are like, and how they interact with patients. I don't think that the experience being described would fit that.
 
Revolution9 said:
I actually don't think this is clinical exposure. It certainly seems like valuable volunteering experience, but the idea of shadowing is to get an understanding of what physicians do, what their days are like, and how they interact with patients. I don't think that the experience being described would fit that.
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The OP knows that this is not shadowing. The question was " is this clinical experience?".

Shadowing is one way to get clinical exposure but not the only way. Volunteering in a setting where you are face-to-face with patients is another way and being employed in a clinical capacity is a third way.
 
Thanks everyone, I'll definitely pursue this. Also looking at a hospice volunteer position.
 
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