How much of a Big Deal is it to just have clinical volunteer hours instead of Clinical employement hours

[2026PreMed]

I have a healthy volunteer position in an emergency department. Lots of potential hours but unpaid. Would aquiring a clinical job such as a scribe or med assist job serve me better on the applicaiton or are they looked at the same by adcoms ?

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[Rachapkis]

The variety, depth, and quality of your experiences are what matter, not the fact that a position is paid or not.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Doesn’t matter at all

 

[chilly_md]

Please see previous discussion on a prior thread you started:

Thread 'How important is a Clinical Medical Job ?'

Jul 8, 2024

Hello all.

I am already racking up Clinical Volunteer hours and will be collecting non-clinical hours and research hours soon.

Assuming I have these in good quantities by my application date (2026) would a medical job really help or would I be better off investing the time into GPA/MCAT.

Additionally if I do not have a Clinical Medical Job will it hurt my application ? Will adcoms look at me differently ?

Thanks 🙂

• 2026PreMed
• adcom application clincal experience
• Replies: 12
• Forum: Pre-Medical (MD)

Closing.