having no clinical/hospital experience

[mozart_fan]

I've been wondering. I am a freshman and I have no clinical/hospital experience, and there is still plenty of time. Do you know of anyone who got in with little or none of it, but was involved in other EC's/work???????

Currently I help individuals with translation/ESL/citizenship prep at my local Cambodian Community Center....i've done it before I became pre-med...i wouldn't want to give it up yet to volunteer at a hospital. The commitment is ongoing but the involvement is random...anybody else here who was not willing to give up something for hospital volunteering?

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[coachB]

yeah, and it has definitely hurt me. take some time, put in 3-4 hours a week at the hospital, and you will be happy you did so.

 

[meanderson]

Originally posted by mozart_fan
I've been wondering. I am a freshman and I have no clinical/hospital experience, and there is still plenty of time. Do you know of anyone who got in with little or none of it, but was involved in other EC's/work???????

I got in to several schools without any shadowing or hospital tech-like work, although I think it made my application a closer call at my state school than if I would have had a lot of shadowing. SOme schools it matters a lot. Some schools not very much.

 

[jhk43]

Originally posted by mozart_fan
I've been wondering. I am a freshman and I have no clinical/hospital experience, and there is still plenty of time. Do you know of anyone who got in with little or none of it, but was involved in other EC's/work???????

Currently I help individuals with translation/ESL/citizenship prep at my local Cambodian Community Center....i've done it before I became pre-med...i wouldn't want to give it up yet to volunteer at a hospital. The commitment is ongoing but the involvement is random...anybody else here who was not willing to give up something for hospital volunteering?

does clinical research qualify as hospital experience? i've never shadowed, per se

 

[jlee9531]

you dont need to shadow. anything that can allow you patient interaction would be a great volunteering opportunity.

at clinics, hospitals, childrens hopsitals, ER, etc...

tho i have known people to have gotten in with no research, i personally do not know anyone who has gotten in with absolutely no medically related volunteering.

i believe clinical research can be considered research which is nice...but i dont know about it being considered a clinical/volunteer type experience.

mozart, i dont understand why you cant just do something else and keep your committment at the cambodian center. i am sure if you volunteered elsewhere on a set schedule ie...once a week...that you can still volunteer at the center since chances are its gonna fall on the other days more than it is that one day you are scheduled to volunteer.

 

[Bad Mojo]

I got accepted without any clinical experience on my application. After my application was in, I did end up shadowing an oncologist, but it was on my application and never came up in interviews. I think that I had other things that made up for it. I do have to mention that the school I'm going to has a strong research base, and I have had multiple years of research experience.

 

[Bones2008]

Originally posted by Bad Mojo
I got accepted without any clinical experience on my application.

This is the exception rather than the norm. To the OP, many schools state explicitly that clinical experience is strongly recommended or required. From an admissions standpoint, you'll definitely want to do some (the more the better). However, even more importantly, you should do it for yourself. Wouldn't it suck to drop out of med school during third year rotations because you just then discover that you dislike working with sick people (and after racking up two years of loans, too)? As a freshman, all your options are still wide open. Do some hospital/patient work early so you can decide for yourself if that's the kind of environment you want to work in as a career.

 

[Super Rob]

Nothing is for certain in this medical school admissions process.

The most important question that you can answer on your personal statement or during your interview is why you want to be a doctor.

The second most important question that you can answer is how you know what a career in medicine entails.

And the best way to answer these questions is through anecdote.

Why DO you want to be a doctor? If the answer is, "To help people with nosebleeds," then volunteer or try to find an orderly or tech job at the nearest nosebleed clinic.

I found that asking to volunteer more often leads to a job than asking for a job leads to a job. hint.

Good luck and it is NOT too late. Medicine did not enter my mind as a career option until about the age of twenty (YOUNG by my standards). For some people, it is much later. It is convenient to apply to medical school as a senior in college, but life doesn't end if you graduate and then apply. Just save your money and make sure this is something you really want to do. I mean, it's a much better option than 99% of the other jobs on the planet, but take a few years to rule out teaching, law, accounting, doctoral studies in the humanities, other occupations that make the "real world" bearable, etc.