offered contradicting clinical advice

[cablecutter]

when asking around about ideal clinical experience, three different people have told me three different things
-scribing/MA work is ideal because you form close ties with a physician and interact closely with patients
-EMT work is better than scribing/MA as those jobs do not actually take any part in patient treatment while EMTs are able to directly contribute to patient health
-EMT work is actually bad to have on a resume as their responsibilities are different than physicians, because of this, prospective students learn bad treatment habits that are viewed as a detriment to medical schools (??? this one i believe the least)

are any of these statements true? which source of clinical experience reflects best upon an application, does it even matter?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[LunaOri]

It doesn’t matter. EMT work gives you more direct patient contact; scribing allows you to observ physicians.

 

[GoSpursGo]

These are more or less the gold standard clijical experiences. Everyone would agree that these experiences are strong, so it’s not that important to quibble over which experience is better

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Let's just take it into a more abstract arena.

Ideal clinical experience in a nutshell:
1) Patient-facing, especially marginalized patients (close to smelling them), no palpating or touching unless trained
2) Observing doctors (of appropriate profession) with patients
3) Interact with the healthcare system and bureaucracy

A checklist exists in Becoming a Student Doctor.

 

[LizzyM]

Twenty years ago, EMT work was very, very common and scribing was unheard of. Over time, more applicants have been scribes and fewer are serving as EMTs. It is nice, I think, that pre-meds have options as different applicants have different circumstances and nothing is one size fits all or necessarily "the best" over all other experiences.

 

[klever]

Let's just take it into a more abstract arena.

Ideal clinical experience in a nutshell:
1) Patient-facing, especially marginalized patients (close to smelling them), no palpating or touching unless trained
2) Observing doctors (of appropriate profession) with patients
3) Interact with the healthcare system and bureaucracy

A checklist exists in Becoming a Student Doctor.

Hmm, so if one of these ticks aren't met, you should try and find a clinical experience that covers it? For example, EMT only covers 1) and 3), would it be ideal to get an experience that covers 2) alongside it?

 

[cablecutter]

Hmm, so if one of these ticks aren't met, you should try and find a clinical experience that covers it? For example, EMT only covers 1) and 3), would it be ideal to get an experience that covers 2) alongside it?

i've heard of students who have both EMT and scribing experience. takes a bit longer, but definitely feasible since scribes don't really need any certifications and are trained on-site. since i'm certain i'll be taking at least one gap year, i'll probably end up doing the same.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hmm, so if one of these ticks aren't met, you should try and find a clinical experience that covers it? For example, EMT only covers 1) and 3), would it be ideal to get an experience that covers 2) alongside it?

You should know what doctors actually do if you decide to be a doctor vs a PA or dentist or pharmacist or podiatrist, etc.

 

[klever]

i've heard of students who have both EMT and scribing experience. takes a bit longer, but definitely feasible since scribes don't really need any certifications and are trained on-site. since i'm certain i'll be taking at least one gap year, i'll probably end up doing the same.

Yea, I was planning to do something along those lines as well.

You should know what doctors actually do if you decide to be a doctor vs a PA or dentist or pharmacist or podiatrist, etc.

Is shadowing a way to show this?

 

[Goro]

Is shadowing a way to show this?

Yews. Shadowing tells you what a doctor's day is like, and also how different doctors approach patient care