Is this Clinical or Non-Clinical (Smell Test Inconclusive)

[Agent Michael Scarn]

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[oobie]

It is clinical experience. I have done hospice volunteering which is like what you are doing now.

 

[neekzg]

can you smell the patient or not???

 

[Lawpy]

LizzyM's clinical rule applies here, and nursing home volunteering is certainly a clinical experience (there are nurses in the nursing home, and you are interacting with elderly residents in a healthcare setting).

However, if you are unsure, you can follow the @Goro guidelines for clinical experience

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

 

[spiffysteve]

Definitely clinical. Also the title of the thread made me laugh so thank you.

 

[LizzyM]

I guess I'm in the minority here and I do appreciate that there is something of an art to determining whether something is a "clinical experience". I guess the first question is, "am I interacting with a 'patient'?" A person enrolled in hospice is a patient. A person who comes to a clinic seeking clinical services is a patient. A person wearing an ID bracelet in an acute care hospital is a patient. Now a nursing home is a bit of a one-off. It is a "home" and some PC people will make a point of reminding you that these are "residents" in the "home" and that this is not a medical setting and that they are not patients but people living in a residential institution. If you bag groceries for a woman with cerebral palsy, is that a clinical service because she has a chronic medical condition? If you work the library front desk and the library patron is in a wheelchair does that make it a clinical experience? Just because someone has a disability or a chronic medical condition doesn't mean that they are a patient 24/7. That said, there is a real value in serving those in need in your community and getting to really know people whose lives and experiences are different from yours. You aren't providing clinical services and you aren't observing people providing clinical services but as a volunteer opportunity, it is a good one. Just don't skip having some experiences, paid or unpaid, in a setting where you are able to observe physicians, nurses or other health professionals delivering clinical care.

 

[Lawpy]

I guess I'm in the minority here and I do appreciate that there is something of an art to determining whether something is a "clinical experience". I guess the first question is, "am I interacting with a 'patient'?" A person enrolled in hospice is a patient. A person who comes to a clinic seeking clinical services is a patient. A person wearing an ID bracelet in an acute care hospital is a patient. Now a nursing home is a bit of a one-off. It is a "home" and some PC people will make a point of reminding you that these are "residents" in the "home" and that this is not a medical setting and that they are not patients but people living in a residential institution. If you bag groceries for a woman with cerebral palsy, is that a clinical service because she has a chronic medical condition? If you work the library front desk and the library patron is in a wheelchair does that make it a clinical experience? Just because someone has a disability or a chronic medical condition doesn't mean that they are a patient 24/7. That said, there is a real value in serving those in need in your community and getting to really know people whose lives and experiences are different from yours. You aren't providing clinical services and you aren't observing people providing clinical services but as a volunteer opportunity, it is a good one. Just don't skip having some experiences, paid or unpaid, in a setting where you are able to observe physicians, nurses or other health professionals delivering clinical care.

Er... time to revise the rule right now to make it flexible and not just an absolute indicator

 

[Goro]

I consider it clinical. And more kudos for being able to face mortality.

I have spent about 80 hours at a nursing home. I visit a resident once a week to talk, read a story, or something similar. He/she has had a stroke and can't leave the bed, but my role has nothing to do with the nurses or rehab staff.

I know the "LizzyM" smell test, but in this case I'm not sure if the context I'm smelling this resident makes her/him a patient.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Agent Michael Scarn]

Thanks, all. I have done other more obviously clinical volunteering, so I was wondering how to classify this on the AMCAS.

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks, all. I have done other more obviously clinical volunteering, so I was wondering how to classify this on the AMCAS.

I'd always suggest calling it "non-clinical" and let adcoms mentally give you a boost up if they think like Goro while not penalizing you for "up-coding" if they think more like me.