Medical Enough Clinical Experience / Clinical Volunteering ? Do I have enough to apply this cycle

[GoSpursGo]

Just talked to my premed advisor and she basically stated that since my experiences didn't show longevity they don't look good. I literally couldn't do any stuff in person during most of COVID since I have a parent who is immunocompromised and was living with at the time so was not tryna increase that risk whatsoever. Overall kinda conflicted about whether to apply this cycle with this being my biggest concern. 516/3.75GPA

1. Vaccination clinic volunteer in an underserved region (80ish hours by the time I apply March through May of this year)

informed consent forms, taking the patients' medical history, informing them and answering questions about potential side effects, etc

2) Clinical research intern in endocrinology lab ( 3 months over summer before COVID) 125 hours

- helped screen potential patient candidates based on medical history, talked to them about the studies and what to expect

3) volunteer with a rural healthcare outreach group in India (60 hours over 3ish weeks)

worked in a mobile health clinic and helped administer medical services such as general physicals (taking blood pressure) and tests for chronic illnesses like diabetes. Distributed free treatments such as antibiotics and medication for skin conditions to the local impoverished or homeless individuals.

You have a good reason for not being active, but ultimately you need to show that you know what you're getting yourself into. I agree, this is pretty weak in terms of ECs, both clinically and non-clinically. Depending on your state of residence, you could stand a chance, but I would advise waiting a year and really getting more experience.

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[Goro]

I do have other ECs btw 1500ish hours in a lab (1st author poster, second author publication pending) (600 hours non clinical, teaching underserved, Best Buddies chapter at my school, building government at my school, other small things)

The work in India will be viewed at voluntourism and won't count.

Your clinical research is more done with research subjects, rather than patients, and as such, won't count in my eyes.

So yes, you are lacking in patient contact experience and will simply be crowded out by stronger candidates.

In the meantime, continue with the vaccine work, or try to scribe, or be a COVID screener or contact tracer.

Do not apply until you have the best possible app. You should have > 150 hrs of patient contact experiences. Shadowing is a separate category.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Is it really still voluntourism if it is quite literally the same region and town where I have spent a cumulative multiple years of my life? I have a deep connection to the region and witnessed the problems people were going through first hand, as I grew up doing yearly summer trips to this place until high school and a few more times after that (my parents& grandparents hometown)

I more or less agree with @Goro . If the India trip was part of some larger narrative of global health, or even of simply exploring experiences in healthcare, then it would be seen more favorably. But right now it sort of stands all on its own, and the natural question is going to be "why didn't this person volunteer more over the other 205 weeks they were in college?" Honestly not sure if it's better or worse that you had family in the region--again, if the problems made such an impact on you, then where were you in the other summers? I'm not trying to be harsh, but it sort of sounds like you realized you needed more volunteer hours and decided to knock a few hours out while you were on a trip that you were already going on.

How much the research intern counts, in my mind, really depends on how sick these people were (ie, were they relatively healthy members of the community who you just spoke with on the phone (bad), or established patients who were already there for care (better)?).

 

[Goro]

No, because all we know is that you went back home to visit gramma.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As @Goro and I mention to many seeking our advice, you don't really stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. That's at least a reason why your justification would convince me to downplay the significance of this experience in realistically understanding the challenges of the US health care system.

Now I can present the contrarian view that some faculty do consider the patient intake and questioning element of clinical research as having some value as clinical experience. Clearly this depends on the faculty member and how a committee will view these experiences. It does not meet my position of understanding the doctor-patient relationship.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Agree 100% with the above responses. You need to get some more clinical experiences with direct patient contact. Good experiences would be a scribe or medical assistant...a position where you are interacting face-to-face with patients as this is what you will be doing when you are a doctor (unless you go into radiology or pathology). The research is not going to count.