List of All Possible Ways to Get Clinical Experiences

[muffeoniv]

Let's put together a list of all the ways you can gain clinical experience... I'll start with a few and if you post another I'll add it to the list.

- EMT-B
- ER Volunteer
- Volunteer at Clinic
- Medical Scribe
- Shadowing
- Hospice
- CNA
- ED Tech

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[WeAreNotRobots]

let's not and say we did.

 

[muffeoniv]

let's not and say we did.

What's the purpose of you saying that? Why do you have to say something negative to another person that's trying to do something useful\productive for someone that's maybe new to being a pre-med. Maybe there are freshmen or people new to SDN that aren't aware of the different types of clinical experiences available. People on here need to stop being so critical because the medical world is about helping each other. Constructive criticism is fine, but that's far from what you and other people are doing.

 

[torshi]

Yea man i agree, there are a lot of people on here that are absolutely no help whatsoever and just criticize everything.

Keep it up, you sound like someone that really cares and puts forth the effort to help other premeds such as yourself.

 

[torshi]

Let's put together a list of all the ways you can gain clinical experience... I'll start with a few and if you post another I'll add it to the list.

- EMT-B
- ER Volunteer
- Volunteer at Clinic
- Medical Scribe
- Shadowing
- Hospice
- CNA
- ED Tech

It's always good to include activities or volunteer work non-related to medicine such as:

volunteering at a child's advocacy center
Habitat for humanity-Help build houses for unfortunate families.
Some sort of Community Service is beneficial.

Join some non-profit organization to show passion for others and it shows your willingness to help your community. Med schools stress the importance of diversity and being well-rounded.

 

[the duck]

let's not and say we did.

Post padding much? When people actually create serious topics, we should be nice to them you know...

To clarify one thing above, ER techs, are EMT-Bs.
Volunteer at a nursing home.
Volunteer firefighter.


One idea that is definitely community service, and has some qualities of clinical experience (though not by LizzyM's rule) is volunteering at a suicide/crisis hotline. I would be something a bit different you could put on your resume.

 

[Catalystik]

Rehab center, physical therapy aide, phlebotomist, EKG tech, battlefield medic, facilitating therapeutic animal interactions.

BTW, shadowing is not considered a clinical experience as it is a passive observership. Clinical experience implies actively engaging with sick people.

 

[hiphopapotamous]

let's not and say we did.

If you don't want to contribute, why post anything at all? Just because your inflated ego told you so?

 

[tabascosauce]

let's not and say we did.

wtf is wrong with you

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

let's not and say we did.

+1

this thread is stupid. volunteer, research, things you like. end of story.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

wtf is wrong with you

if you make an impossible title for a post, or you end a post with i will not take you seriously.

also, why not list UNCOMMON or UNIQUE examples rather than ALL or TYPICAL ones?

that's WTF is wrong with me.

 

[Total180]

I was a Spanish interpreter at a free clinic...that one's pretty unique I would think, and gave me a TON to talk about during interviews. If you can speak another language, I would definitely recommend it.

 

[HK35]

BTW, shadowing is not considered a clinical experience as it is a passive observership. Clinical experience implies actively engaging with sick people.

Agreed, volunteering at a clinic or ER is not clinical experience unless you are having patient contact or interaction that goes beyond taking there used trays and saying hi

 

[gettheleadout]

Agreed, volunteering at a clinic or ER is not clinical experience unless you are having patient contact or interaction that goes beyond taking there used trays and saying hi

That's not what Cat meant...volunteering at a clinic/ER and shadowing are two completely different things, and most volunteers don't get to perform procedures, so...yeah.

 

[apumic]

Watching videos like this:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA3-SkdHtuk&feature=grec_index[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JahIzWy7ifA&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Doc of the Walk]

if you make an impossible title for a post, or you end a post with i will not take you seriously.

also, why not list UNCOMMON or UNIQUE examples rather than ALL or TYPICAL ones?

that's WTF is wrong with me.

You could do a mission trip, like I did in highschool. Some non-medical volunteering like being a consular at a summer-camp would be pretty fun/cool, provided that you like working with kids.

 

[torshi]

Funny vid:
"It shows how powerful physicians are" that's funny because it's true, anyone will listen to the doc

until...he said rectal exam...lol

 

[HK35]

That's not what Cat meant...volunteering at a clinic/ER and shadowing are two completely different things, and most volunteers don't get to perform procedures, so...yeah.

but either way there not good examples of clinical experience right?

 

[Self]

+1

this thread is stupid. volunteer, research, things you like. end of story.

Reading comprehension fail.
OP is asking for clinical experience specifically.
Research is not clinical experience.

Logic fail.
While all clinical experience we are able to get at this point is probably going to be in the form of volunteering, not all volunteering is clinical experience.

Reading comp fail + Logic fail squared.
Doing things you like will most likely not fall under clinical and, thus, is useless as a guide to finding relevant clinical experiences to put on an app. This is good answer for the question of "what should I do for volunteer hours," but, alas, this is not the question that was asked.

 

[45408]

+1

this thread is stupid. volunteer, research, things you like. end of story.

Research is good clinical experience? Hmmm, good to know.


Anyways, I've found that doing a surgery residency is great clinical experience. The attendings let me do quite a bit, and I'm even allowed to write my own orders and see patients. If any of you can do a residency or even part of one, it would look awesome on your resume.

 

[chiapet874]

but either way there not good examples of clinical experience right?

As LizzyM has stated many times: "If you can smell a patient, it counts as clinical experience"

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

clinical research and clinically related volunteer, numbnutses.

yes, both are possible.

 

[45408]

clinical research and clinically related volunteer, numbnutses.

yes, both are possible.

Clinical research often doesn't have much "clinical" in it. Chart review is clinical research.

 

[HK35]

Research is good clinical experience? Hmmm, good to know.


Anyways, I've found that doing a surgery residency is great clinical experience. The attendings let me do quite a bit, and I'm even allowed to write my own orders and see patients. If any of you can do a residency or even part of one, it would look awesome on your resume.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

since we're in the business of listing ALL experiences, i would support what prowler said about performing surgery. also, becoming a nurse, PA, or DO would be great ways of getting experience in order to apply for MD.

 

[bigDee]

since we're in the business of listing ALL experiences, i would support what prowler said about performing surgery. also, becoming a nurse, PA, or DO would be great ways of getting experience in order to apply for MD.

Picture someone fretting over their lack of clinical experience so they go and be a nurse so they can have lots to talk about to med schools haha

 

[orthomyxo]

Anyways, I've found that doing a surgery residency is great clinical experience. The attendings let me do quite a bit, and I'm even allowed to write my own orders and see patients. If any of you can do a residency or even part of one, it would look awesome on your resume.

 

[ReptarBar]

-being a doctor
-heart surgery
-using your own health potion to heal someone
-lvl 9 heal
-holding X for revive

 

[LizzyM]

Clinical research often doesn't have much "clinical" in it. Chart review is clinical research.

Correct, but clinical research coordinators who recruit subjects who are ill, explain the study, obtain informed consent, conduct interviews or otherwise collect data or samples directly from subjects are close enough to "smell" patients and are usually in a clinical setting would fit the bill.

 

[Doctor246853]

Let's put together a list of all the ways you can gain clinical experience... I'll start with a few and if you post another I'll add it to the list.

- EMT-B
- ER Volunteer
- Volunteer at Clinic
- Medical Scribe
- Shadowing
- Hospice
- CNA
- ED Tech

Can you PLEASE PLEASE add "ways to gain research experience" too. For the love of GOD it is hard to get.

 

[gettheleadout]

BTW, shadowing is not considered a clinical experience as it is a passive observership. Clinical experience implies actively engaging with sick people.

but either way there not good examples of clinical experience right?

As LizzyM has stated many times: "If you can smell a patient, it counts as clinical experience"

Just to clarify this:

Shadowing =/= clinical experience
Volunteering in a clinic/ER/etc... = clinical experience (yes, even if you aren't placing IV's/Foley's/surgery/etc...)

 

[apumic]

Just to clarify this:

Shadowing =/= clinical experience
Volunteering in a clinic/ER/etc... = clinical experience (yes, even if you aren't placing IV's/Foley's/surgery/etc...)

^Agreed.

Pt interaction in which you actually have some sort of responsibility IS clinical experience. Watching somebody else have clinical experience (i.e., shadowing) IS NOT clinical experience (no matter how many odors you may smell). Sometimes shadowing can straddle the line (e.g., while shadowing an ED doc, the doc tosses you his badge and tells you to grab a warm blanket out of the storage room in the middle of a code blue you've basically just become a temporary tech or the doc lets you assist in moving or steadying a pt). Nevertheless, you're really still shadowing at this pt.

 

[Isoprop]

Can you PLEASE PLEASE add "ways to gain research experience" too. For the love of GOD it is hard to get.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=475894

 

[slatermd]

Research is good clinical experience? Hmmm, good to know.


Anyways, I've found that doing a surgery residency is great clinical experience. The attendings let me do quite a bit, and I'm even allowed to write my own orders and see patients. If any of you can do a residency or even part of one, it would look awesome on your resume.

I saw this post quoted in someone's signature. It is gold.

 

[Geneticist]

So is volunteering in the ER always considered clinical work even if the tasks are menial?

On a side note, do I get to wear kick ass scrubs as a volunteer in the ER? Yeah, that's right...I'm doin' it for the scrubs...

 

[gettheleadout]

So is volunteering in the ER always considered clinical work even if the tasks are menial?

On a side note, do I get to wear kick ass scrubs as a volunteer in the ER? Yeah, that's right...I'm doin' it for the scrubs...

Strictly speaking, it's only clinical if you have some sort of interaction with patients, so while pushing patients' beds/wheelchairs around for 6 hours may be menial, if there are patients in those beds/wheelchairs it's still clinical.

As for the scrubs, it depends on the hospital. Consensus is if they don't require you to wear scrubs, don't. You'll look like a tool.

 

[Geneticist]

As for the scrubs, it depends on the hospital. Consensus is if they don't require you to wear scrubs, don't. You'll look like a tool.

In other words, only volunteer at hospitals that require scrubs.

 

[slatermd]

So is volunteering in the ER always considered clinical work even if the tasks are menial?

On a side note, do I get to wear kick ass scrubs as a volunteer in the ER? Yeah, that's right...I'm doin' it for the scrubs...

Strictly speaking, it's only clinical if you have some sort of interaction with patients, so while pushing patients' beds/wheelchairs around for 6 hours may be menial, if there are patients in those beds/wheelchairs it's still clinical.

As for the scrubs, it depends on the hospital. Consensus is if they don't require you to wear scrubs, don't. You'll look like a tool.

They tell you what to wear. At my hospital they don't allow volunteers to wear scrubs, to make sure that patients don't mistake us for somebody useful.

Instead, we get over-sized button-down short-sleeve shirts with button-down collars (the head of volunteer services calls them smocks...more like muumuus; a.k.a. the cotton equivalent of castration) -- maroon for the guys and pink for the girls. Everybody gets a hot pink name badge that says volunteer on it.

If you have any patient interaction at all, you can call it clinical experience. If you were interviewing with a real ball-buster they could say that shadowing isn't clinical experience if you just observe.

This just depends on who you shadow and what you do. Some surgeons will actually let you scrub. I also translate for the surgeon I shadow when needed. I interact with the patients a lot and am not a passive observer.

When it comes down to it, and you are put on the spot about your clinical experience, adcoms want to know whether or not you have a realistic idea of 1.) what a doctor does every single day and how monotonous/not glamorous it is and 2.) what it is like to be around sick people all the time.

Having clinical experience is a way of saying, "I have seen the unpleasant sides of medicine and I still want to make this my career."

 

[ha87]

Medical Assistant

 

[toasterpickins]

I know this isn't something that most people are able to do, but I'm finishing my PharmD degree in May and I got a lot of clinical experience during my 4th year which is all clinical rotations (lots of time working directly with physicians). I guess the same idea can be used for some people (pharmacists, nurses, respiratory techs, ER techs, etc.)

 

[tyler29028]

Waiting on airplanes to perform emergency tracheotomies with ball point pens.



But seriously, maybe working as summer camp nurse?

Outside, medicine, great?

 

[dbcooper23]

.

 

[dbeast]

I've got thousands of hours just showing up at random hospitals/clinics and giving free rectal exams until security asks me to leave.

 

[Geneticist]

I've got thousands of hours just showing up at random hospitals/clinics and giving free rectal exams until security asks me to leave.

I was going to do that but I didn't want to be that guy.

 

[apumic]

I've got thousands of hours just showing up at random hospitals/clinics and giving free rectal exams until security asks me to leave.

I just wear my badge and nobody asks any questions when I give my free rectal exams. Sometimes, the patients even put money in my tip jar...

 

[dbeast]

Taking LizzyM's famous adage to the extreme

 

[Geneticist]

The free rectals. I've gotten so good at them, I don't even have to use my hands anymore.

 

[apumic]

The free rectals. I've gotten so good at them, I don't even have to use my hands anymore.

That's pretty awesome. I still have to use my hands with gloves on them because my hospital doesn't have gloves that fit my feet -- otherwise I'd totally be down for two pts at a time.... I'm just glad my ED badge is all-access so I can do those free exams on the Gyn floor.... I highly recommend it. You sometimes meet some pretty amazing women doing it to; like this girl I took out on a date last night (after her exam):

 

[Geneticist]

What was she like before the exam?

 

[apumic]

What was she like before the exam?

Actually, she kind of looked that a couple of weeks ago but I also did some oral surgery and prescribed her some acne meds -- got her all cleared up in no time. The above (my post) is an after picture.