How to list old experiences (~10 years old) in addition to current experience?

[Drythagoras]

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I'm a PhD student who'll apply in the summer of 2026 broadly for MD programs, I used to be a premed a long time ago (10+ years ago)

Decided in January 2025 that i'll be applying in 2026, so I don't have a lot of time to get the clinical hours I need.

Will my old experience count?

Experience from 10 years+ ago (will this still count?):
- Private PCP clinic:
50h shadowing, 50h volunteering (taking weight, bp)
- 100h hospital volunteer

Current Clinical Experience (all in 2025-2026), is this enough?:
- 350-700h recruiting patients for research
- 100-200h hospice
- 40 hours shadowing

 

[polymerization]

I had a similar situation but I had hundreds of direct patient care hours. I only ever had one of my reviewers ask me why I included them (think MA roles ~2000ish hours each).

If they're very obviously relevant like these and you have good stories to tell, you should definitely include them.

From my seat, it felt like an honor to revisit those early memories with more mature eyes and get to relive making my first stumbles in the field...and I really do think there's something to be said about your ability to communicate humility for a version of yourself from the distant past even if it seems self-effacing in an application context.

I don't know, I guess I just see it as such a psychologically rich source for context that can give your application a touchstone. It just depends on how you wield it and how deep you're willing to dig into—often—the most shocking, offputting moments at the hospital that overwhelmed you enough to say "never again," even if you didn't mean it. It just takes effort and bravery to open that up again in a way that is honest, vulnerable, and still confident while still meeting genre expectations for the context of admissions.