Pre-health club that runs health fairs—how to report those hours?

[cold_urticaria]

If I've been part of a club (3+ years of leadership) that runs health fairs (but also does a lot of other student-facing activities outside of the health fairs), do I keep both types of hours in one single entry for my apps, or do I split them? It would probably be around 2000 hours of club/leadership/student-facing activities and about 72 hours of health fair activities (blood pressure screenings, BMI/body fat percentage screenings, vision screenings, etc.). I understand that they are very different activities to be lumping together, but I also could see the argument that it could potentially be a waste of 15 entries and also look like I'm fluffing up my activities by splitting them up.

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[LizzyM]

They are different roles and it isn't a waste of 15 spaces; at most, the split wastes one space. One is community service non-clinical (they aren't patients) and the other is leadership or something like that.

 

[cold_urticaria]

They are different roles and it isn't a waste of 15 spaces; at most, the split wastes one space. One is community service non-clinical (they aren't patients) and the other is leadership or something like that.

Would you say that the kind of volunteering hours done at health fairs, even if things like BP/BMI/vision screenings are taken by myself or other volunteers, count as non-clinical volunteering hours rather than clinical volunteering hours? If so, then in splitting the two activities (club activities vs health fairs) it would be club activities = leadership (or something adjacent) and health fairs = non-clinical volunteering?

 

[LizzyM]

My general definition of clinical experience requires that least one of the people in close proximity to you is a patient. The people at health fairs are not "patients". They are usually asymptomatic adults who want to be screened for health conditions that are more easily treated if detected before becoming symptomatic. So it is non-clinical.

If someone sees the non-clinical experience description and gives you a boost to "clinical" that's good but trying to pass something off as clinical and being second-guessed by someone who thinks that it is non-clinical is not good for you as an applicant.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Would you say that the kind of volunteering hours done at health fairs, even if things like BP/BMI/vision screenings are taken by myself or other volunteers, count as non-clinical volunteering hours rather than clinical volunteering hours? If so, then in splitting the two activities (club activities vs health fairs) it would be club activities = leadership (or something adjacent) and health fairs = non-clinical volunteering?

I look at it a little differently. Since it is a way to introduce access and awareness of health/wellness to a community, it serves as an educational and diagnostic function. In my past role, I have attended health fairs that also included oral exams. The dental students and residents brought out their portable chairs and they gave oral exams. To me that is a clinical experience, even if many of the attendees were in general good health. (You are smelling people and sticking things in their mouths as if they were patients.) If there was something serious, they got a referral for follow-up and a full diagnostic.

Of course at the same fair, you had people read eye charts and getting BP measurements. I'm not sure if people were taking HDL/LDL or A1c/glucose draws. Again this is for screening purposes. Interesting to say, at the breaks, the med, nursing, and dental students all had lunch with plenty of sodas. (Yay for job security...)

I agree, to be safe, list as "non-clinical". Is it much different than the dental Missions of Mercy or the Remote Area Medical weekend clinics? I don't think it's as different. On the other hand, it is a way that health professionals can reach out to the community outside their intimidating offices and educate others.

In my long ago student days, I volunteered to collect saliva samples and take BMI measurements of people for a genetics study at the Twins Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. I'm hard pressed to say it was a "clinical" experience.

 

[cold_urticaria]

I look at it a little differently. Since it is a way to introduce access and awareness of health/wellness to a community, it serves as an educational and diagnostic function. In my past role, I have attended health fairs that also included oral exams. The dental students and residents brought out their portable chairs and they gave oral exams. To me that is a clinical experience, even if many of the attendees were in general good health. (You are smelling people and sticking things in their mouths as if they were patients.) If there was something serious, they got a referral for follow-up and a full diagnostic.

Of course at the same fair, you had people read eye charts and getting BP measurements. I'm not sure if people were taking HDL/LDL or A1c/glucose draws. Again this is for screening purposes. Interesting to say, at the breaks, the med, nursing, and dental students all had lunch with plenty of sodas. (Yay for job security...)

You nailed it on the head in your first two paragraphs as for what my health fairs are like—on top of the BP/BMI/vision/HDL+LDL+glucose measurements, there were dental screenings run by dental students, OMM by med students, and usually more. Serious screening results then became referrals to nearby clinics.

I agree, to be safe, list as "non-clinical". Is it much different than the dental Missions of Mercy or the Remote Area Medical weekend clinics? I don't think it's as different. On the other hand, it is a way that health professionals can reach out to the community outside their intimidating offices and educate others.

In my long ago student days, I volunteered to collect saliva samples and take BMI measurements of people for a genetics study at the Twins Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. I'm hard pressed to say it was a "clinical" experience.

My general definition of clinical experience requires that least one of the people in close proximity to you is a patient. The people at health fairs are not "patients". They are usually asymptomatic adults who want to be screened for health conditions that are more easily treated if detected before becoming symptomatic. So it is non-clinical.

If someone sees the non-clinical experience description and gives you a boost to "clinical" that's good but trying to pass something off as clinical and being second-guessed by someone who thinks that it is non-clinical is not good for you as an applicant.

Thank you both for your advice though. I will follow in your advice to avoid the risk of trying to "upscale" the health fair hours as clinical when they could be received as not. This honestly takes a weight off of my shoulders and a lot of confusion out of my mind. Thank you again, your words really are invaluable.