Need advice on clinical experience (have a full time corporate job not looking to quit)

[andii]

currently volunteering at a hospital+ hospice- is this a decent way to get clinical experience? All I do in the hospital is check in w patients in the surgical units and see if they need anything and some restocking. At the hospice I visit them and chat with them (more meaningful imo but hard to rack up hours due to the way my program is structured and because they are preventing me from volunteering at another hospice because of conflict of interest). I do think despite what people say about hospital volunteering I have witnessed conversations and situations between patients and surgeons and families and doctors that have been quite educational.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

That was a good chunk of my clinical experience in a similar corporate job situation. I also found some private practice docs that let me shadow/volunteer "MA" for them on Saturdays and via telehealth.

 

[andii]

That was a good chunk of my clinical experience in a similar corporate job situation. I also found some private practice docs that let me shadow/volunteer "MA" for them on Saturdays and via telehealth.

Sounds good! If you don’t mind me asking, how did you manager clinical and non clinical volunteering

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

I was pulling 60-80 hour weeks for like 3 years tbh. I had to do prereqs on top of it all too. My nonclinical was more sporadic, except I did virtual crisis line volunteering every week. I did food banking, random activities for unhoused people, etc, when I could fit it in. I took a week off once to do a summer camp for sick kids. Toward the end of my premed time I also found a kinda cool thing, volunteering with an equine therapy place for kids with physical and developmental disabilities on Saturdays.

 

[andii]

I was pulling 60-80 hour weeks for like 3 years tbh. I had to do prereqs on top of it all too. My nonclinical was more sporadic, except I did virtual crisis line volunteering every week. I did food banking, random activities for unhoused people, etc, when I could fit it in. I took a week off once to do a summer camp for sick kids. Toward the end of my premed time I also found a kinda cool thing, volunteering with an equine therapy place for kids with physical and developmental disabilities on Saturdays.

Yeah I am in a similar boat. I do 4-5 hours of clinical (more like 4 because things with hospice are kinda ever changing). I am struggling with non clinical because I know I need it but the one place I really like volunteering at is far and idk if I should switch to something that works better with my work and study schedule but idk it it’ll look bad if I quit right now

 

[andii]

Yeah I am in a similar boat. I do 4-5 hours of clinical (more like 4 because things with hospice are kinda ever changing). I am struggling with non clinical because I know I need it but the one place I really like volunteering at is far and idk if I should switch to something that works better with my work and study schedule but idk it it’ll look bad if I quit right now

And I also don’t know if 20-30 hours at different places looks bad

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

And I also don’t know if 20-30 hours at different places looks bad

Yeah they prefer 100h+ as a minimum for at least one thing per category. I'd just gut it out and focus on one place, get 100ish hours over 6-12m, then you can dabble and have a couple places with 20-50ish hours each.

 

[andii]

Yeah they prefer 100h+ as a minimum for at least one thing per category. I'd just gut it out and focus on one place, get 100ish hours over 6-12m, then you can dabble and have a couple places with 20-50ish hours each.

Makes sense, thank you. My main concerns about my clinical is the same. I am learning a lot through hospital volunteering but my hospice volunteering is more meaningful. The thing with my hospice volunteering is that I get to spend 1-1.5 hours with one maybe two patients if I am lucky a week. It’s so incredibly gratifying but so hard to rack up hours and I am not sure if I’ll have hundred by the time I apply because of the nature of work there. I’ll definitely have 100 for the hospital

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

I'd push a year if your clinical is low tbh. That's the number they really care about most for ECs. I applied with like 600 hours or something, 150h is the generally agreed on screening cutoff.

 

[andii]

I'd push a year if your clinical is low tbh. That's the number they really care about most for ECs. I applied with like 600 hours or something, 150h is the generally agreed on screening cutoff.

I’ll be around 150-200 (conservatively, will hit 100 this November) with my hospital, but my hospice hours are very sporadic and I don’t know how to increase that because of the nature of the work and limitations with volunteering at other hospice providers. With both combined I’ll probably be at 250+

 

[MusicDOc124]

volunteering at a hospital+ hospice

they are preventing me from volunteering at another hospice because of conflict of interest

What? I've never heard of volunteering, especially in such a capacity, having a 'conflict of interest' or 'non-compete'. Interesting.

 

[andii]

What? I've never heard of volunteering, especially in such a capacity, having a 'conflict of interest' or 'non-compete'. Interesting.

Yeah a couple hospice places turned me down because I was volunteering at a hospice already. I asked my current hospice if they would allow it and they said no

 

[MusicDOc124]

that’s really screwed up IMO

 

[LizzyM]

Maybe other hospices are trying to give other pre-meds a chance to do that work rather than letting one person scoop up all the opportunities??

 

[Goro]

currently volunteering at a hospital+ hospice- is this a decent way to get clinical experience?

Absolutely!!!

I have a heigh regard for people who do hospice work. Most people don't like getting up close to our mortality.

 

[MusicDOc124]

Absolutely!!!

I have a heigh regard for people who do hospice work. Most people don't like getting up close to our mortality.

Which is why I'm further baffled at why/how these places can/will restrict a VOLUNTEER from talking to the people living there who could just use someone to talk to! BIG WTF there IMO.