is this enough clinical experience?

[blackopal]

I went to my local hospital to see about volunteering (yes, I saw that many of you said hospital volunteering is a drag, but they mentioned some interesting possible placements in the literature they sent me). Unfortunately, at this time, they only had a few openings, mostly involving clerical work. I ended up agreeing to the option with the most patient interaction - which was in the "registration" area. Basically, my duties would be to escort patients to different areas of the hospital for stuff like X-rays and mammograms, and tell them how to put on the gown.
Would that be sufficient for the kind of volunteer experience that a med school is looking for?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Fin-Nor]

if u were an adcom person, would u think that that is enough? -- maybe try another hospital? clinic?

generally speaking, your experience shouldnt be to make the adcoms happy, but rather to see if medicine is fit for you. you should be able to learn about your environment and how things operate. teaching ppl how to put on gowns sound kinda bland to me.

 

[TTSD]

I agree with what Bryant just said. Don't do something to make the adcom happy, do something that makes YOU happy (Something worthwile doing, breeding like a rabbit will impress no one but your girlfriend).

Though as in for the apps, unless you have some otherstuff going on.. what you're doing sounds like pretty standard patient-escort duty that about every freshman goes through in college and highschool.

What a medschool is looking for, don't quote me on this, is to find someone who gets thrown into the lions den, loves it, and flourishes in it.

Try to find some research at your school, or shadow a doctor. You WANT to be thrown to the wolves. It'll either break you or make you and I think that's what medschools like to see. Experiences that show your committment to medicine and to yourself.

 

[Chankovsky]

I'm basically in the same position as blackopal is in. Where would you recommend I go to get more patient interaction. Basically, the hospitals in my area have the same mentality.

 

[Chankovsky]

I'm basically in the same position as blackopal is in. Where would you recommend I go to get more patient interaction. Basically, the hospitals in my area have the same mentality.

 

[jbing]

try and find a clinical research gig. volunteer with them if you have to. it usually involves a significant amount of patient interaction and ive been able to do blood draws, blood pressures, ekgs, etc. just as a clinical research assistant. as a premed it doesn't get much more clinical than that.

 

[USFpremed21]

I volunteer at Moffit H. Lee Cancer Research Center in Tampa. I started out in chemo/infusion department where my duties consisted of delivering warm blankets, pillows, juices, etc. to chemo patients but I didn't enjoy it very much because I felt like a "waitress," not as a real volunteer. The patients were extremely depressed and closed and I didn't feel appreciated, neither by the patients or the nurses. So I applied for a position in "Arts in Medicine" program as an artist's aide because I've always loved painting and drawing and thought why not.
I got the position and I've been doing it for a couple months now. I do art therapy with patients through expressive arts(mostly painting) and I really enjoy it.
I think volunteering really depends on what you enjoy doing. As in my case, I think I am much better off working in the art program although it lacks "real" medicine side, rather than to be stuck in chemo/infusion dept where I was merely delivering apple juices to already depressed patients who didn't even bother to make eye contact.
If I were you, I'd try local free health clinics(if you know Spanish, it's always a plus), local AIDS clinics(there's always at least one in most places) and even looking up overseas volunteering(I did it over the summer and I highly recommend it) if you have time and money.
And of course, ANY volunteering experience is better than none.
Good luck !

 

[deleted6669]

a few other options...
call the local free/homeless medicine clinic. they always want volunteers.
consider an emt-basic program. it's only 110 hrs burt gets you doing actual clinical work instead of being a secretary wherever you end up volunteering.
nursing homes also take volunteers
shadow a doc for a few months 1 day/week.
you need some exposure to medicine, any of these things will set you on the right path.
good luck

 

[2badr]

Try to volunteer doing something you enjoy. If you're discouraged and bored, it could easily come across to the patients. You don't want it to appear that you are only there for the sake of your medschool application.
_____________________________________________

"...rather than to be stuck in chemo/infusion dept where I was merely delivering apple juices to already depressed patients who didn't even bother to make eye contact..."

They are sick. They are possibly scared and maybe even confused. Sometimes their hair is coming out in clumps. Their skin sometimes simply hangs onto their bones. They recognize themselves only in pictures that line the hospital room.. .They could also be in a great deal of pain and be too sick to smile.

You could be serving juice to a young mother who could possibly be leaving behind a young child/children if the chemo doesn't work out.
I don't think eye-contact is at the top of their list of "things I need to do."

They are not just patients, they are people with lives, feelings, hopes and dreams that may never come to pass. You have to have compassion, remember? We are trying to become doctors to serve people, not just some "patient".

(I hope I did not offend you; that was not my intention.)

 

[Alleria]

.

 

[ATPase]

Speaking of HIPPA, how will that affect medical students?

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by blackopal
I went to my local hospital to see about volunteering (yes, I saw that many of you said hospital volunteering is a drag, but they mentioned some interesting possible placements in the literature they sent me). Unfortunately, at this time, they only had a few openings, mostly involving clerical work. I ended up agreeing to the option with the most patient interaction - which was in the "registration" area. Basically, my duties would be to escort patients to different areas of the hospital for stuff like X-rays and mammograms, and tell them how to put on the gown.
Would that be sufficient for the kind of volunteer experience that a med school is looking for?

Hey, that sounds like an important job to me. Wouldn't it be great to have someone wheel you down to x-rays, etc that is upbeat, cheerful and helps your mind feel a little bit at ease. That is a great way to interact with patients and help them during a time that may be traumatic for them.

You start there, then after awhile if you have done a great job ask to move to a different locationif you want to.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by Amy B
Hey, that sounds like an important job to me. Wouldn't it be great to have someone wheel you down to x-rays, etc that is upbeat, cheerful and helps your mind feel a little bit at ease. That is a great way to interact with patients and help them during a time that may be traumatic for them.

You start there, then after awhile if you have done a great job ask to move to a different locationif you want to.

i agree with dr amy b do.....

i mean when i first read the OP i didnt think it was bad.....
you get to have patient contact and actually help the place keep running. if you are upbeat and glad about just being able to help then you can eventually build good relationships with the people that work there like the nurses and such.

 

[bigbaubdi]

I totally agree with Amy B and jlee. I have done patient transport for about a year and it has been extremely rewarding for me. The neat thing is that I have gotten chance to interact with a variety of patients from different sections, i.e. eating disorders, psychiatric disorders, digestive diseases, maternity ward, cardiology, oncology, pediatrics, etc.. The window of opportunity is brief 5-10 minutes but at the same time you also get a chance to see how doctors, nurses, and technicians interact with each other.

 

[lola]

you could also see if you can find a physician to shadow... i think escorting patients is good experience, but you should also try to find something that exposes you to the physician's role. you wouldn't need to shadow for an extended time period, but maybe you could see if you could shadow for a few hours/week for a couple of months or so.

nmapcpro, i worked full time and was able to squeeze in a few hours/week volunteering at a nicu on sunday evenings. it would be great if we all had hours to spend volunteering, but you certainly don't need tons and tons of clinical experience to get into med school. it can work to your advantage if you have it, but not having tons of clinical experience didn't put me at a big disadvantage.

 

[harrypotter]

lola: what did you do in the nicu? Do you mind if I ask at which hospital?

thanks!
al

 

[efex101]

Regardless of non-trad status you still have to demonstrate via some volunteering that you know what you are getting into, and that you do have "altruism" in you. Adcoms are interested in accepting candidates that can not only do well academically but people that care about the condition of other individuals. This does not mean that you have to put in a ton of hours volunteering, if you can spare a couple of hours per week that should be more than plenty. Doing things that you would do regardless of what adcoms think is the trick to getting something out of your volunteering experience.

 

[Rohan]

when you guys say shadow a doctor.. is it alright to shadow a doctor in a private practice? or should be in a hospital?

 

[SilleAngyl]

I am currently volunteering at a hospice. Although it may sound like a scary idea at first, once you get there and jump in, its really not that bad. Most of the patients are surprisingly very upbeat. Its also a good way to expose yourself to death and the dying process, since, as future physicians, we will be dealing with it more that other professions will. My duties consist of anything from answering phones, to feeding patients, and also just sitting down and keeping them company. So far, its been a great experience that I would highly recommend.

 

[musiclink213]

i volunteered at a hospital in nyc, and although they say you're not supposed to, i still got to see so many procedures, and do the ekg's and vital signs. i also did the standard walk around and talk to patients. honestly, that was my favorite part. they were so happy a lot of the time that it wasn't just somebody bringing more bad news coming to talk with them. honestly, i think the patient interaction is most important, because once we graduate med schools, you're gonna need to learn to deal with people who are sick, may not want to talk, or don't speak english, or just don't want your help, and it's better to develop these skills as an undergrad.

also, some places allow you to get more responsibilities once you've been there for a while.

also, you can try to talk to the pre-med advisor in your school. i know the one in my school has contacts with a bunch of physicians in the area that let us shadow them, and all we have to do is ask.

 

[nerdgrrl]

I volunteer at a women's health clinic, and I spend the entire night with patients. I take vitals, etc. My program is technically a medical assisting training program, and after a year, I'll be certified. I've been at the clinic for about four months, and in a couple weeks, I'll begin training on phlebotomy, and actually assisting the doctor.

Low-cost/free clinics are usually dying for volunteers, and they're usually so underfunded the volunteers actually get to do real stuff. Give it a shot. I tried the hospital thing and lasted 2 weeks. All I got to do was make chart packets- boring!!!