How to get better clinical experience?

[Tigriski]

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up until my final year of undergrad I thought I was going for a PhD in biotech but changed to medicine (it's always been in my mind and my coursework actually fits it well; I was a plant pathology major). Through alternative breaks and studying social injustices I arrived at medicine.

I have plenty of shadowing hours, probably more than 120 hours. I would visit distant relatives who are physicians over holiday breaks and go into work with them for a week or so.

THE ISSUE: I don't have any real clinical volunteering experience. I scurried around and got into hospital volunteering but all I do is greet patients and do administrative stuff. I don't have ANY patient contact, other than with the people that come to visit them as I walk down the hall with them. I've learned more about the hospital as a system and all the programs offered as a way to change health than patient condition.

Yes that's valuable, but I feel like it's going to look stupid when I apply this summer. only 200 hours of essentially just being in the hospital. I didn't have time to volunteer during the year (which is why i did alternative breaks) and did research.

I just feel useless and adcoms are going to view my volunteering as "checking off the box." frankly, that's what I'm doing because it looks bad if I dont. I feel like im in a damned if I do and damned if i dont place

 

[ArteryStudyPainting]

You do need more patient contact, I'll agree. I will say, however, you should, are probably are, making the most of your time in the hospital. When I volunteered in ICU I was able to observe a single procedure, and that was over the course of a year! You use these experiences to grow as a person, and doctor. Yes, more contact is nice, but think about the small differences you made for yourself, and those patients you did interact with. Speaking of which, technically, that is considered patient contact by definition.

In terms of the hospital, prove to someone you want to make a difference and/or prove that you should be with a doctor that will take you under their wing, so to speak. Try to get into those procedures. Try to get the most you can out of your volunteering without being a nuisance to units and/or and hospital. Try to move around to different parts of the hospital: MICU, SICU, L&D, ED; that all good stuff.

tl;dr: It's what you make of it, and the quality of your reflections should be reflected in your application and then in the interview.