Does this classify as clinical volunteering?

[toofastdan]

Hey y'all. I'm gearing up for applications this upcoming cycle. I'm kind of confused on what is considered clinical volunteering.

I have volunteered at a hospital where I helped talk to patients, transport them from different departments, and stock supplies. This is very cookie-cutter though. I also volunteered to help record the outcomes of some clinical trials. I conducted walk tests and cognitive tests on chemotherapy patients, recording this info in redcap. This experience was much more meaningful. Since my duties were done on a volunteer basis, I could potentially see it being classified as clinical volunteering. On the other hand, since this was focused on clinical trials, I can see this being classified as a research activity. I'm curious to see how people would classify this... Thanks for the thought!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[wpneuro]

I agree that it could be categorized as either! I'd suggest looking at the categories of your other activities/experiences and seeing what areas need more bolstering, and slotting this experience where needed. You could also decide based on what you want to emphasize in your description - if it's as a clinical thing, talk up working with patients, talking to them, coordinating stuff, etc.; if it's as research, spend more time on recording outcomes, ensuring accurate data collection, analyzing data if you had the opportunity, y'know like the research-y logistics side of things.

 

[wondervisions]

First one is definitely clinical. Not sure about the second.

 

[Fencer]

Clinical volunteering, not research... While your observations might be incorporated eventually into research studies, you seem to have no role in design of the interventions for the trial. However, in your research essay and other essays, you can comment on how this experience shaped your views of clinical research.

 

[toofastdan]

Clinical volunteering, not research... While your observations might be incorporated eventually into research studies, you seem to have no role in design of the interventions for the trial. However, in your research essay and other essays, you can comment on how this experience shaped your views of clinical research.

Thanks for the advice! To clarify, I had no role in the design of the trials. In fact, I was blinded to this information and the only responsibility I had was to collect walk / cognitive test info. I'm definitely mentioning this in my essays - it was a precision medicine study which is what I'm passionate about. Again, huge thanks!