Is this “Clinical Volunteering”?

[HopefulPremed2000]

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This is my first post so my apologies if this isn’t the correct area for this. I’m a Junior in undergrad right now and I volunteer for my health center. I essentially check students in, help them fill out paperwork, and escort them to their clinicians office. I don’t plan on applying until June of 2022 after I graduate but this is the only volunteering I do that could be considered clinical and I’m wondering if I need to start looking for something else instead to get clinical volunteering hours. Any input would be appreciated!

 

[JimKimSlim]

If you can smell patients, it’s clinical experience.

However, I expect clinical volunteering to be an activity where you have meaningful interactions with patients, and you can totally have meaningful interactions with sick students. Be extra-attentive and helpful. Reach out to them and ask if you could do anything for them. You want to have some kind of a “story” or “memory” to demonstrate that you not only physically interacted with patients but also directly contributed to the patient’s well-being.

 

[HopefulPremed2000]

If you can smell patients, it’s clinical experience.

However, I expect clinical volunteering to be an activity where you have meaningful interactions with patients, and you can totally have meaningful interactions with sick students. Be extra-attentive and helpful. Reach out to them and ask if you could do anything for them. You want to have some kind of a “story” or “memory” to demonstrate that you not only physically interacted with patients but also directly contributed to the patient’s well-being.

Okay, wonderful. Thank you for your help! I will take that advice with me into my coming shifts.

 

[Moko]

This is my first post so my apologies if this isn’t the correct area for this. I’m a Junior in undergrad right now and I volunteer for my health center. I essentially check students in, help them fill out paperwork, and escort them to their clinicians office. I don’t plan on applying until June of 2022 after I graduate but this is the only volunteering I do that could be considered clinical and I’m wondering if I need to start looking for something else instead to get clinical volunteering hours. Any input would be appreciated!

Not all clinical experience is created equal, and this volunteering at your student health center seems like a pretty weak experience. You are dealing primarily with young healthy people who are also your student colleagues. You are not going out of your comfort zone to take care of those who are different than you, nor are you interacting with the vulnerable and/or sick. How you write about any experience is important as @JimKimSlim said, but there is a limit as to how much you can spin this into a meaningful activity. I strongly suggest finding other ways to gain clinical experience (e.g. free clinics, hospices, rehabs, hospital volunteering, etc. when things open up). In the mean time, you can also pursue non-clinical volunteering at places like homeless shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, etc. Just my thoughts.

 

[candbgirl]

This is my first post so my apologies if this isn’t the correct area for this. I’m a Junior in undergrad right now and I volunteer for my health center. I essentially check students in, help them fill out paperwork, and escort them to their clinicians office. I don’t plan on applying until June of 2022 after I graduate but this is the only volunteering I do that could be considered clinical and I’m wondering if I need to start looking for something else instead to get clinical volunteering hours. Any input would be appreciated!

You really need to get off campus and out of your comfort zone. The purpose of clinical experiences is to give you the opportunity to interact with the sick, injured and dying. How do you even know you want to work with the sick, injured and dying for the next 35+ years? I suppose because we are dealing with a pandemic, what you are doing is okay for now. But you need to look for something else for the summer into the next school year.

 

[HopefulPremed2000]

Not all clinical experience is created equal, and this volunteering at your student health center seems like a pretty weak experience. You are dealing primarily with young healthy people who are also your student colleagues. You are not going out of your comfort zone to take care of those who are different than you, nor are you interacting with the vulnerable and/or sick. How you write about any experience is important as @JimKimSlim said, but there is a limit as to how much you can spin this into a meaningful activity. I strongly suggest finding other ways to gain clinical experience (e.g. free clinics, hospices, rehabs, hospital volunteering, etc. when things open up). In the mean time, you can also pursue non-clinical volunteering at places like homeless shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, etc. Just my thoughts.

Wonderful, thank you for your advice! I will look for another experience as well. I’m involved with multiple non-clinical volunteering opportunities at the moment.

 

[HopefulPremed2000]

You really need to get off campus and out of your comfort zone. The purpose of clinical experiences is to give you the opportunity to interact with the sick, injured and dying. How do you even know you want to work with the sick, injured and dying for the next 35+ years? I suppose because we are dealing with a pandemic, what you are doing is okay for now. But you need to look for something else for the summer into the next school year.

Noted, thank you.

 

[JimKimSlim]

Not all clinical experience is created equal, and this volunteering at your student health center seems like a pretty weak experience. You are dealing primarily with young healthy people who are also your student colleagues. You are not going out of your comfort zone to take care of those who are different than you, nor are you interacting with the vulnerable and/or sick. How you write about any experience is important as @JimKimSlim said, but there is a limit as to how much you can spin this into a meaningful activity. I strongly suggest finding other ways to gain clinical experience (e.g. free clinics, hospices, rehabs, hospital volunteering, etc. when things open up). In the mean time, you can also pursue non-clinical volunteering at places like homeless shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, etc. Just my thoughts.

Yes, do look for volunteering activities that challenge you in clinical settings. But it’s very hard to find clinical volunteering due to COVID nowadays (at least in my city). If OP cannot find any clinical volunteering opportunities, OP MIGHT get away with the receptionist activity with good writing. Again, this will be the last resort.