Is this volunteering clinical or non-clinical?

[penpenclown]

I volunteer at Planned Parenthood but I don't think it should be classified as clinical although I'm technically in the clinic. Basically the job is mainly to sit in the lobby of the clinic and try to get people to sign up for the email list/volunteering/etc. and also give people stuff to entertain themselves while waiting in the lobby. I figure none of that particularly counts as clinical. I have other clinical and non-clinical volunteering gigs so it doesn't really matter too much, but it's good to know what to consider it so I know which other volunteering activity to focus on more.

Thanks in advance!

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[PA_dud3]

I don't believe this would be clinical but I will defer to an adcom.

 

[993444]

How much interaction do you have with the patients? And what kind?

 

[Moko]

I would err on the side of non-clinical here even though you were technically in contact with patients. I usually warn folks against "upselling" experiences. Just my thoughts

 

[993444]

I would err on the side of non-clinical here even though you were technically in contact with patients. I usually warn folks against "upselling" experiences. Just my thoughts

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone does something once and then writes about it in a way that makes it seem like it’s a regular part of the job. Someone I know was a patient care rep and his job was mainly doing triage but one of the techs let him work the machines a couple times and he wrote his experience in a way that would make you think that working the machines and doing the tests were part of his regular duties.

 

[Moko]

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone does something once and then writes about it in a way that makes it seem like it’s a regular part of the job. Someone I know was a patient care rep and his job was mainly doing triage but one of the techs let him work the machines a couple times and he wrote his experience in a way that would make you think that working the machines and doing the tests were part of his regular duties.

I would express shock, but these types of behavior are not surprising given the standards expected by medical schools. Sometimes these things become quite obvious when we bring it up during interviews (particularly with research), though I'm sure many things still slip through. I'm still developing my BS radar.

 

[Dr panda]

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone does something once and then writes about it in a way that makes it seem like it’s a regular part of the job. Someone I know was a patient care rep and his job was mainly doing triage but one of the techs let him work the machines a couple times and he wrote his experience in a way that would make you think that working the machines and doing the tests were part of his regular duties.

That means you never read resumes of people who apply for jobs... Otherwise you would not be surprised

 

[993444]

I would express shock, but these types of behavior are not surprising given the standards expected by medical schools. Sometimes these things become quite obvious when we bring it up during interviews (particularly with research), though I'm sure many things still slip through. I'm still developing my BS radar.

He was eventually caught when some of his interviewers asked him why he was doing those job duties without a tech certification

 

[993444]

That means you never read resumes of people who apply for jobs... Otherwise you would not be surprised

I never said I was surprised, I said it was a pet peeve of mine.

 

[penpenclown]

How much interaction do you have with the patients? And what kind?

I'm pretty much just going up to people and saying something along the lines of "Hi, would you like to join the mailing list/volunteer? It's important to stay informed and engaged because yadda yadda, you can take a button or some candy if you'd like. We also have some coloring pages etc. if you'd like". Occasionally I do other stuff like help people get registered to vote around voting season but stuff like that is obviously not clinical.

I would err on the side of non-clinical here even though you were technically in contact with patients. I usually warn folks against "upselling" experiences. Just my thoughts

Yeah that's pretty much what I was thinking.


Thanks for answering!

 

[Goro]

I would express shock, but these types of behavior are not surprising given the standards expected by medical schools. Sometimes these things become quite obvious when we bring it up during interviews (particularly with research), though I'm sure many things still slip through. I'm still developing my BS radar.

One of them ore common ones is people are in a lab doing scut work like pouring agar plates, making media or autoclaving...yet they count it as research.

They melt into gooey puddles on the floor when you start pressing them for detail on their "research"