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The entirety of my clinical volunteering comes from a summer spent in East Africa at a rural clinic run by a relative (a licensed physician in his country). This was not part of a study abroad program or a paid volunteer placement. I was the only foreigner working there in recent memory. The clinic serves a low-income population where patients, optionally, pay what they can afford to. I lived with my extended family during my time there. The overhead costs in hosting me came out to less than what it would cost to simply hire a local. That being said, I don't think I was taking a job a local was lining up for either. This was my relative's passion project after retiring to their home township to take care of their parents and not a commercial venture.
My role was functionally identical to that of a medical assistant, such as triaging patients, scribing, and preparing materials for the physician before minor procedures, etc. The biggest deviation to what I've performed as an MA in the States was communicating via a translator app. I understand that working with a family member, especially in an international setting, can raise eyebrows around oversight and scope. That concern is fair. I understand it's only my word backing it, but my role was strictly supportive. I was there to assist, not to make decisions or work independently, and both the physician and I were explicit about maintaining that line. Nonetheless, I still recognize that the part of the world I was working in (regardless of what my actual work was) still might be still be read "voluntourism" at best, or an ethics violation at worst.
I'm very grateful for this opportunity because the mission personally resonates with me. I had to switch paid MA jobs to make the time, but it was more than worth it to reconnect with my culture/mother tongue, and to build relationships with patients and families I would not have otherwise had the chance to meet. While one experience isn't necessarily "better" than another, I'm not sure I would have had the same experience or takeaway through more conventional paid employment or clinical volunteering back home. I'll admit I'm a little biased as this was my first time in Africa!
As for why this is my only source of clinical volunteering... I went through most of undergrad with the impression (based on what I had seen online and heard from others) that paid clinical work was at least as valuable, if not more so, because it offered greater responsibility and more direct patient contact. Honestly, it came as a shock this month to see on MSAR that for the research-focused schools I planned on applying to, 90%+ of matriculants had done clinical volunteering but half or less reported paid clinical service. I live in a rural college town where inpatient/outpatient volunteering opportunities are scare relative to the student body size, and after a few failed volunteer submission cycles, I decided to focus on other causes which spoke to me. I've spent a considerable amount of time working with children affected by chronic illness, which I recognize is service-oriented but still not clinical. It was purely by chance I connected with my relative that summer, and at the time, I thought I was forfeiting what I believed to be more "valuable" paid hours in the eyes of ADCOMs.
Given how close this cycle is, I do not think I can accumulate any meaningful clinical volunteering hours domestically before applying. I feel a little defeated since I've guided most of my activities around where I could have the most impact, rather than checking off boxes, but I recognize this is entirely due to my own misunderstanding
My question is whether adcoms are likely to flag all-abroad clinical hours, and if so, how to frame it proactively in my application. Has anyone navigated something similar?
My role was functionally identical to that of a medical assistant, such as triaging patients, scribing, and preparing materials for the physician before minor procedures, etc. The biggest deviation to what I've performed as an MA in the States was communicating via a translator app. I understand that working with a family member, especially in an international setting, can raise eyebrows around oversight and scope. That concern is fair. I understand it's only my word backing it, but my role was strictly supportive. I was there to assist, not to make decisions or work independently, and both the physician and I were explicit about maintaining that line. Nonetheless, I still recognize that the part of the world I was working in (regardless of what my actual work was) still might be still be read "voluntourism" at best, or an ethics violation at worst.
I'm very grateful for this opportunity because the mission personally resonates with me. I had to switch paid MA jobs to make the time, but it was more than worth it to reconnect with my culture/mother tongue, and to build relationships with patients and families I would not have otherwise had the chance to meet. While one experience isn't necessarily "better" than another, I'm not sure I would have had the same experience or takeaway through more conventional paid employment or clinical volunteering back home. I'll admit I'm a little biased as this was my first time in Africa!
As for why this is my only source of clinical volunteering... I went through most of undergrad with the impression (based on what I had seen online and heard from others) that paid clinical work was at least as valuable, if not more so, because it offered greater responsibility and more direct patient contact. Honestly, it came as a shock this month to see on MSAR that for the research-focused schools I planned on applying to, 90%+ of matriculants had done clinical volunteering but half or less reported paid clinical service. I live in a rural college town where inpatient/outpatient volunteering opportunities are scare relative to the student body size, and after a few failed volunteer submission cycles, I decided to focus on other causes which spoke to me. I've spent a considerable amount of time working with children affected by chronic illness, which I recognize is service-oriented but still not clinical. It was purely by chance I connected with my relative that summer, and at the time, I thought I was forfeiting what I believed to be more "valuable" paid hours in the eyes of ADCOMs.
Given how close this cycle is, I do not think I can accumulate any meaningful clinical volunteering hours domestically before applying. I feel a little defeated since I've guided most of my activities around where I could have the most impact, rather than checking off boxes, but I recognize this is entirely due to my own misunderstanding
My question is whether adcoms are likely to flag all-abroad clinical hours, and if so, how to frame it proactively in my application. Has anyone navigated something similar?
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