does this count as clinical experience

[romanjetfighter]

i did search before posting this seemingly over-asked question so sorry but

i am an escort at a VA hospital, meaning i sit in a room and clinics or outpatients call us and we push people in wheelchairs from place to place, sometimes push gurneys from ward to ward, etc.

is this considered clinical or what? i smell the patients but i'm not really involved with anything. i like doing this and i get great exercise and talking to all the patients and the nurses at different wards/clinics is fun, but if it's not clinical i would start looking to volunteer elsewhere.

thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer

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[NightGod]

Yes, that's clinical experience. A very common one for pre-meds, actually.

 

[CodeBlu]

Yes. This is clinical.

 

[DrHouse579]

I also did patient escort in hs. Do you get pagers too? I think it counts as clinical volunteering, I mean, you did have to go through the hospital volunteer services, right? However, I did this in HIGH SCHOOL, I've moved on to ED and ICU. I think the rule of thumb for any volunteering you're planning to put on your app is you should be able to say a few meaningful sentences about the experience. As someone who has done patient escort, I do not think you can claim anything significant about wheeling patients from their room to the door. And really the only thing you get a feel for is department abbreviations and the layout of the hospital, nothing that really gives you a taste of practicing medicine. At least for me.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

I had over 9000 (no really) hours of volunteer throughout high school but I don't think I can pu that on AMCAS unless it's college volunteer.

 

[LizzyM]

I had over 9000 (no really) hours of volunteer throughout high school but I don't think I can pu that on AMCAS unless it's college volunteer.

There is no rule against it. However, you should have some service and some clinical exposure while in college; otherwise, adcoms will ask, "why didn't you continue with something similar (service and/or clinical setting)?"

 

[qwirkz]

Would being a patient transporter (Cardiac Cath. Lab) as a job (though I barely noticed from the paycheck ) for three years count for anything?

If not, would it seem silly to go back and do something similar as a volunteer? Or would I need to search other types of volunteering?

 

[LizzyM]

Would being a patient transporter (Cardiac Cath. Lab) as a job (though I barely noticed from the paycheck ) for three years count for anything?

If not, would it seem silly to go back and do something similar as a volunteer? Or would I need to search other types of volunteering?

That's employment. It does "count" as a clinical exposure. However, one should also demonstrate altruism through volunteer service to the poor/ uneducated/ needy. This service can be clinical or non-clinical (tutoring little kids, teaching adult literacy, homeless shelter, food pantry, soup kitchen, etc).

 

[qwirkz]

However, one should also demonstrate altruism through volunteer service to the poor/ uneducated/ needy.

...I thought that's what I was doing for myself all throughout my undergrad...