Is this Clinical experience?

[chemdoctor]

Hey everyone. I work under a physician (as a volunteer), doing all sorts of stuff. I check vitals, (like blood pressure, etc.), I dilate their eyes, help get them water bottles, help them out, help them read eye charts etc. but is this considered clinical? I don’t know what to call it because the doctor said I could volunteer.

I don’t mind saying it’s shadowing but I feel like I interact with patients a lot and don’t JUST observe. Is it possible for me to be label this clinical?

I don’t wanna say I was a “medical assistant” Bc I don’t have the degree but I pretty much do all this stuff as a volunteer.

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[el_duderino]

Absolutely clinical experience.

 

[chemdoctor]

Absolutely clinical experience.

Really? You think so?? I was really worried because I'm not sure. I'm NOT a "medical assistant" and I really don't wanna put this as SHADOWING because I'm not just standing there observing... I'm doing way more than that. What could I say I do here though? It's not really clinical RESEARCH... I mean it IS a LITTLE bit, but these people ARE patients as well. It fluctuates between PATIENTS as well as SUBJECTS... So it's like I'm getting BOTH experiences with this physician (he's an LOR writer too)...

I really feel like this is clinical experience but I don't want adcoms to think I'm lying

 

[chemdoctor]

@Goro what do you think? @LizzyM ?

 

[JustaDO]

Hey everyone. I work under a physician (as a volunteer), doing all sorts of stuff. I check vitals, (like blood pressure, etc.), I dilate their eyes, help get them water bottles, help them out, help them read eye charts etc. but is this considered clinical? I don’t know what to call it because the doctor said I could volunteer.

I don’t mind saying it’s shadowing but I feel like I interact with patients a lot and don’t JUST observe. Is it possible for me to be label this clinical?

I don’t wanna say I was a “medical assistant” Bc I don’t have the degree but I pretty much do all this stuff as a volunteer.

Use common sense to answer this question.

Really? You think so?? I was really worried because I'm not sure. I'm NOT a "medical assistant" and I really don't wanna put this as SHADOWING because I'm not just standing there observing... I'm doing way more than that. What could I say I do here though? It's not really clinical RESEARCH... I mean it IS a LITTLE bit, but these people ARE patients as well. It fluctuates between PATIENTS as well as SUBJECTS... So it's like I'm getting BOTH experiences with this physician (he's an LOR writer too)...

I really feel like this is clinical experience but I don't want adcoms to think I'm lying

See above plus caps lock. This reads like a internal monologue.

 

[Goro]

Hey everyone. I work under a physician (as a volunteer), doing all sorts of stuff. I check vitals, (like blood pressure, etc.), I dilate their eyes, help get them water bottles, help them out, help them read eye charts etc. but is this considered clinical? I don’t know what to call it because the doctor said I could volunteer.

I don’t mind saying it’s shadowing but I feel like I interact with patients a lot and don’t JUST observe. Is it possible for me to be label this clinical?

I don’t wanna say I was a “medical assistant” Bc I don’t have the degree but I pretty much do all this stuff as a volunteer.

Yes, it's clinical. As long as you have been on sdn, how could you have any doubts?

 

[chemdoctor]

Yes, it's clinical. As long as you have been on sdn, how could you have any doubts?

LOL trust me. It's the neuroticism on SDN that has given me doubts about my application

Thanks Goro! I'm gonna list this as my most meaningful activity because quite honestly, it legitimately was. Is that OK too? Also would it be OK to list clinical research AND patient experience with this physician as two separate things? The research part didnt mean much to me, but the patient interaction was great

 

[Walter Raleigh]

You are a volunteer working with patients under a physician. It is clinical experience.

 

[chemdoctor]

You are a volunteer working with patients under a physician. It is clinical experience.

Yes!! Thank you. Not sure what I’d label it as though...

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Clinical volunteering. You worked with a physician and assisted them in their duties.

 

[LizzyM]

volunteer, clinical.... I think that's still a category in the experience section of the AMCAS application. Give yourself whatever title feels comfortable. You can call yourself "volunteer" if "medical assistant" seems like an exaggeration given your lack of credential.

 

[Goro]

LOL trust me. It's the neuroticism on SDN that has given me doubts about my application

Thanks Goro! I'm gonna list this as my most meaningful activity because quite honestly, it legitimately was. Is that OK too? Also would it be OK to list clinical research AND patient experience with this physician as two separate things? The research part didnt mean much to me, but the patient interaction was great

Clinical research and patient contact experience are two different things . You should know that by now as well

 

[chemdoctor]

volunteer, clinical.... I think that's still a category in the experience section of the AMCAS application. Give yourself whatever title feels comfortable. You can call yourself "volunteer" if "medical assistant" seems like an exaggeration given your lack of credential.

That makes sense. I don’t have a medical assistant degree or anything

 

[chemdoctor]

Clinical research and patient contact experience are two different things . You should know that by now as well

Yeah I know that. I was asking if having both from the same physician would look strange. I’ve doen both but sometimes they overlap ...

 

[_TheStruggl3_]

Maybe it's possible you could label yourself as a medical assistant? Some private practices actually hire people for a "medical assistant" role with no actual degree since the certification is technically not required, but I'd go over that with the physician, especially if you want a LOR from them (so they refer to you as a med assistant rather than volunteer in the letter). Only saying this because I was hired as a "medical assistant" title and also take vitals, help with urine/strep test, but I def don't have a certification lmao.

 

[chemdoctor]

Maybe it's possible you could label yourself as a medical assistant? Some private practices actually hire people for a "medical assistant" role with no actual degree since the certification is technically not required, but I'd go over that with the physician, especially if you want a LOR from them (so they refer to you as a med assistant rather than volunteer in the letter). Only saying this because I was hired as a "medical assistant" title and also take vitals, help with urine/strep test, but I def don't have a certification lmao.

Really? No certification? But you were paid right? So people volunteer as Medical assistants? I agree. Definitely sounds better than volunteer yehe

 

[_TheStruggl3_]

Really? No certification? But you were paid right? So people volunteer as Medical assistants? I agree. Definitely sounds better than volunteer yehe

no certification but paid under the table less than minimum wage (and in free lunch loool) so not a formal contracted employment. Maybe listing it as a clinical volunteering section is uncommon but when putting your physician's contact info in it and having their LOR specify that "chemdoctor was the best medical assistant I've ever had" would make it sound swag

 

[chemdoctor]

Thank you ever

no certification but paid under the table less than minimum wage (and in free lunch loool) so not a formal contracted employment. Maybe listing it as a clinical volunteering section is uncommon but when putting your physician's contact info in it and having their LOR specify that "chemdoctor was the best medical assistant I've ever had" would make it sound swag

Thanks. I think I'm gonna list "medical assistant". This is awesome because I've been doing this for the last year and will be applying next year so I'll probably get around 200 hours out of it!!