Does this qualify as clinical experience?

[GoPenguinsGo]

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I've started volunteering this week at a free local health clinic for underservd people in my community and I'd like to describe some of the things I'm going to be doing to see if I can qualify this as clinical experience. I:
-Will be taking patient's temperature before they walk in and converse with them about symptoms to see if they are experiencing any related to COVID
-I call patients by phone to see confirm appointments coming up with them
-I help patients schedule their follow up appointments
-When talking to patients, I sometimes need to use a medical translator to discuss referring them to our main hosptial for a procedure they need done if they speak a different language than English

There's probably more to the job, but today was my first full day and alot of it was learning to use Epic. Any ideas if these count as clinical experience?

 

[Catalystik]

I've started volunteering this week at a free local health clinic for underservd people in my community and I'd like to describe some of the things I'm going to be doing to see if I can qualify this as clinical experience. I:
-Will be taking patient's temperature before they walk in and converse with them about symptoms to see if they are experiencing any related to COVID
-I call patients by phone to see confirm appointments coming up with them
-I help patients schedule their follow up appointments
-When talking to patients, I sometimes need to use a medical translator to discuss referring them to our main hosptial for a procedure they need done if they speak a different language than English

There's probably more to the job, but today was my first full day and alot of it was learning to use Epic. Any ideas if these count as clinical experience?

Yes, it's a Volunteer Clinical Experience for med school application purposes.

 

[LizzyM]

You are face-to-face with patients so it meets my definition of clinical experience.

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

You are face-to-face with patients so it meets my definition of clinical experience.

It's mostly face to face; sometimes it's over the phone (like when I'm calling them to confirm appointments with them).

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

Yes, it's a Volunteer Clinical Experience for med school application purposes.

I love your avatar. You and @Moko have the best ones

 

[LizzyM]

It's mostly face to face; sometimes it's over the phone (like when I'm calling them to confirm appointments with them).

If some of the interactions are face-to-face, you can count the experience as clincial, even if some of the interactions are by phone or intercom or other electronic means.

 

[MyOdyssey]

I've started volunteering this week at a free local health clinic for underservd people in my community and I'd like to describe some of the things I'm going to be doing to see if I can qualify this as clinical experience. I:
-Will be taking patient's temperature before they walk in and converse with them about symptoms to see if they are experiencing any related to COVID
-I call patients by phone to see confirm appointments coming up with them
-I help patients schedule their follow up appointments
-When talking to patients, I sometimes need to use a medical translator to discuss referring them to our main hosptial for a procedure they need done if they speak a different language than English

There's probably more to the job, but today was my first full day and alot of it was learning to use Epic. Any ideas if these count as clinical experience?

You’re able to do this during Covid?

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

You’re able to do this during Covid?

Yup. The clinic needed a volunteer and I called.

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

Just to give an update as yesterday was my second day:

The patient population I am fortunate enough to work with are extremely underserved, and none of them have any form of health insurance, and the entire visit is completely free for them. They don't even have Medicaid and some are undocumented immigrants. My patients also speak over 700 (yes you read that correctly) different languages! Yesterday I was screening a patient who only speaks Uzbek and I needed a translator! I helped at the front desk and would walk into the patient waiting room to take new arrival's temperature and ask them screening questions ("Have you experienced any of these symptoms of COVID" "Have you tested positive for COVID in the last 14 days" etc) and then I would walk back and check them in on the computer and let the MA know they are here ready to be roomed. I also helped work with the patients to schedule follow up visits if they needed something (colonoscopy, pap smear, etc).

I love it so far.

 

[mreyno18]

What do you guys think about this type of volunteering but at a women's clinic / health center instead of a free clinic -- still clinical?

 

[Catalystik]

What do you guys think about this type of volunteering but at a women's clinic / health center instead of a free clinic -- still clinical?

Are you interacting with patients in a helpful way? Then, yes, it's still clinical volunteering. It might not get you the "bonus points" of working with those in need if it's a pay-for-service facility, but it still covers expectations.