How much of a leg up is experience working in a hospital? (PCT)

[summerallwinter]

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Quick question.

I began my quest to practice medicine intending to go to PA school, where medical experience through volunteer or paid hours is a fairly universal requirement. I currently work at a hospital on the floor as a tech nearly full time (32-36 hours a week).

When it comes time to apply for med school, how much do you think this will help me? My GPA is fairly good, 3.6, and I expect to do okay on the MCAT (I am a pretty studious person). My college is also about average. So I am hoping my work experience will give me a substantial advantage. Do you guys think this will be the case? Obviously if I can get into med school and do become a MD, once I begin rotations, I'll have an obvious leg up over students who haven't yet worked in a hospital. But as far as getting in...?

 

[CALLR001]

I don't think it will help as much as you hope. Believe it or not many pre-meds have some form of hospital (clinical) experience, it is almost a prerequisite. I personally worked in the ER for 4 years as an EMT. I have a better GPA and an MCAT in the 30's and don't feel that the work experience has helped to much in the admissions process. It definately doesn's hurt, but it won't make up for bad stats. Although your 3.6 is respectable and a solid MCAT would go a long way.

 

[sully677]

Quick question.

I began my quest to practice medicine intending to go to PA school, where medical experience through volunteer or paid hours is a fairly universal requirement. I currently work at a hospital on the floor as a tech nearly full time (32-36 hours a week).

When it comes time to apply for med school, how much do you think this will help me? My GPA is fairly good, 3.6, and I expect to do okay on the MCAT (I am a pretty studious person). My college is also about average. So I am hoping my work experience will give me a substantial advantage. Do you guys think this will be the case? Obviously if I can get into med school and do become a MD, once I begin rotations, I'll have an obvious leg up over students who haven't yet worked in a hospital. But as far as getting in...?

I doubt this will give you a "substantial advantage." A good majority of people applying to medical school will have work/volunteer/shadowing experience is a hospital or clinical setting. Also, I doubt working as a tech or nurse assistant will help anyone when they begin rounds in medical school.

 

[Emmet2301]

I hope that working in a hospital helps because I want to do the same thing. I think it would help because you can't get too much clinical experience just volunteering and shadowing.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I don't think working in a hospital will give you much of an advantage during rotations. Lots of med students have worked in hospitals as techs. Being a tech is much different from learning to be a physician.

Your patient care experience will probably help you out in the admissions process, but the fact that you got paid for it won't make a difference.

 

[mvenus929]

In terms of admissions, it won't give you a substantial advantage over the applicant who volunteered at, say, a free clinic or some other source of clinical volunteering. Clinical experience is required for medical school, whether it be paid or not. You have to understand what you're getting into, so if you can articulate why your job helped you see that better than the pre-med who volunteered in the ER for three years, it'll give some advantage.

Regardless, it won't make up for bad grades or a bad MCAT score.

In terms of being on rotations, I think the only advantage you're going to have is that you're more familiar with how the hospital is run than someone who didn't view medicine from a hospital setting. But then, not all your rotations are going to be in a hospital, either.

 

[halekulani]

Quick question.
So I am hoping my work experience will give me a substantial advantage. Do you guys think this will be the case?

quick answer
no.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

quick answer
no.

This.

Clinical experience is an expectation, not an advantage.

 

[Tired Pigeon]

In terms of admissions, it won't give you a substantial advantage over the applicant who volunteered at, say, a free clinic or some other source of clinical volunteering. Clinical experience is required for medical school, whether it be paid or not. You have to understand what you're getting into, so if you can articulate why your job helped you see that better than the pre-med who volunteered in the ER for three years, it'll give some advantage.

Agree with above. I am serving on the adcom at my school this year and I can tell you I haven't seen a single applicant without significant clinical experience.

 

[icalz]

Digression: anyone know where that expression came from? A leg up? I can't think of how that would infer an advantage....maybe in indian leg wrestling (i think its called?)

 

[ruiner]

I would argue the opposite to these posters. I do not think it's a substantial advantage but my numbers suck and every interviewer I've talked to, my job has been a big talking point. I got accepted to both schools that I got to talk to so it must mean something. Granted that's one person's story, but from the premeds I've talked to, not all of them have had significant patient contact like people in our jobs. And what volunteers do at a hospital does not compare to the experience techs get.

 

[stromijj]

most have clinical experience but each one is different and some are better than others imo. i worked as a nursing assistant and volunteer in a free clinic. volunteering in the clinic was hardly as equal to the clinical experience i received from being a cna. it should help some, especially if it is a focus of interest in your interviews.

 

[Tired Pigeon]

Generally speaking, volunteering at a hospital does not equate to significant clinical experience. Most applicants that gain clinical experience through volunteer work do so through other avenues such volunteering with a free clinic, hospice, etc.

 

[ahmcadams]

Along the lines of what has been mentioned above, clinical experience - be it through shadowing, volunteer work, clinically oriented research, etc. - is expected, if not explicitly required, by essentially all medical schools.

That said, if your experience was particularly meaningful and you were able to interact with patients in more than superficial ways (beyond simple shadowing, etc.), it will certainly be an asset during your interviews. It won't necessarily give you an advantage during clerkships, but one step at a time...