How important is clinical experience?

[soporific]

How important is it for MD/PhD admissions? I've been looking into volunteer opportunities and I am more interested in politics/legal system related stuff, because I've never done it before and it seems more unique, than volunteering in a hospital or shadowing a doctor (though I still plan to do a bit of the latter... meaning 20 hours or so?). I will have extensive biomedical research experience by application time, but will my EC choices make me seem unfocused?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[uniqenam]

How important is it for MD/PhD admissions? I've been looking into volunteer opportunities and I am more interested in politics/legal system related stuff, because I've never done it before and it seems more unique, than volunteering in a hospital or shadowing a doctor (though I still plan to do a bit of the latter... meaning 20 hours or so?). I will have extensive biomedical research experience by application time, but will my EC choices make me seem unfocused?

You'll be fine. It's good to do a little clinical shadowing just to CYA, but other than that don't worry at all. MD/PhD don't care to see 2k hours spent unwrapping lollipops for patients and fetching glasses of water.